Tybee Island, Georgia

Tybee Island is the gateway to the Savannah harbor.  All ships entering the harbor to Savannah must pass this small two mile long island.   To greet their way was the Tybee Island Light Station, and the “Waving Girl”.

One of Savannah's favorite stories involves the life of Florence Martus (1868 - 1943), who was known well by Savannahians and sailors of the sea as the Waving Girl. The daughter of a sergeant stationed at Fort Pulaski, Florence later moved to a cottage along the river near the entrance of the harbor with her brother George, the Cockspur Island Lighthouse keeper.

As the story goes, life at the remote cottage was lonely for Florence whose closest companion was her devoted collie. At an early age, she developed a close affinity with the passing ships and welcomed each one with a wave of her handkerchief. Sailors began returning her greeting by waving back or with a blast of the ship's horn. Eventually Florence started greeting the ships arriving in the dark by waving a lantern.

Florence Martus continued her waving tradition for 44 years and it is estimated that she welcomed more than 50,000 ships during her lifetime. There is a lot of unsubstantiated speculation about Florence having fallen in love with a sailor who never returned to Savannah. The facts, however, about why she started and continued the waving tradition for so many years remain a mystery.

The Tybee Lighthouse was built in 1773.  This was the third lighthouse to be built on tybee.  It was burned in 1861 by the confederates and re-built in 1867 after the Civil War.  The bottom 60 feet are the original 1773 Lighthouse and the top 85 feet were reconstructed in 1867.

Before the lighthouse was converted to electricity in 1933, three light keepers were required to man the light station.  The keepers made frequent trips to the top of the lighthouse carrying fuel in large pails.  Each keeper had his own house.  All of these houses still stand today, making the Tybee Island Light Station one of the most intact Light Stations in the United States.

Fort Pulaski

In the days before the Civil War, brick forts were America's main defense against overseas enemies. In one two-day battle during the Civil War, new technology proved its superiority to brick forts. The Union army used rifled cannons to compel a surrender by Confederates inside Fort Pulaski. No one ever built a brick fort again after the battle.

Fort Pulaski National Monument offers visitors the chance to experience many interesting and exciting activities year-round. Fort Pulaski itself is a large-scale outdoor exhibit. The main structure, together with outlying works including demilune, drawbridges, ditches, and dikes, is a fine example of historic military architecture.  Indoor exhibits highlight the history of Fort Pulaski from the fort's construction, to its eventual fall due to advancing military technology.

For nearly two months, Union troops erected 36 guns in 11 batteries on the western shore of Tybee Island. The Union cannons on Tybee Island, over a mile away, converged on Fort Pulaski on April 10, 1862. After 30 hours, the brick walls of the fort were breached, and the Confederate fort surrendered on April 11. The historic battle featured the first significant use of rifled artillery against a masonry fort and had international ramifications on the future design and construction of coastal forts.

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