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298 GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS
still to be seen the ruins of the old stronghold which played such an important part
in the drama of independence: Fort Morris. Large trees are today growing upon
the parapets. Even the footpaths which lead to it, through the dense thickets, are
obscured by an undergrowth of weeds and briars, bespeaking the desolation which
for more than a century has brooded over the abandoned earth-works. But the
massive embankments of the old fort can still be distinctly traced. It commands
the entrance to the Midway River, from which, however, both the sails of commerce
and the ironclads of war have long since vanished.
To one who is in any wise familiar with the history of the Revolution in Georgia,
it is pathetic to witness the wreckage which time has here wrought; but the splendid
memories which cluster about the precincts, like an ever-green mantle of ivy, are
sufficient to fire the dullest imagination. There is little hope for the Georgian who
can stand unmoved upon these heroic heights. It was here that Gen. Charles Lee
assembled his forces for the expedition into Florida. It was here that Col. Samuel
Elbert, under executive orders from Button Gwinnett, embarked his troops for the
assault upon St. Augustine. It was here that Col. John Mclntosh, refusing to sur
render the fort to an overwhelming force of the enemy, sent to the British commander
his defiant message: '' Come and take it! "
But what invests the old fort with the greatest interest perhaps is the fact that
when the State of Georgia was overrun by the British, consequent upon the fall of
Savannah, it was the very last spot on Georgia soil where the old Colonial flag was
still unfurled. Even an order from General Howe, directing an abandonment of the
stronghold, was disregarded by the gallant officer in command, who preferred to
accept the gage of battle. It was not until beleaguered and stormed and overrun
by- superior numbers that it finally yielded to the terrific onslaught; and the next
memorial erected by the patriotic women of Georgia should be planted upon these
brave heights to tell the world that when Savannah and Augusta were both in the
power of the British there was still waving from the ramparts of the old fort at
Sunbury the defiant folds of an unconquered banner.
It is safely within the bounds of historic inference to state that the famous earth
works must have been constructed at some time prior to the Revolution. There was
probably at least an excellent beginning made for the future stronghold on this
identical spot.
At any rate, the structure which came to be Fort Morris was erected chiefly
by the residents of Bermuda, now Colonel's, Island, who, in building it, employed
almost exclusively the labor of slaves. It was called Fort Morris, in honor of the
captain who here commanded a company of Continental artillery raised for coast
defense, on the eve of hostilities with England. The old fort was located about 350
•feet outside the southern limits of Sunbury, at the bend of the river. Though an
earthwork, it was most substantially built and enclosed fully an acre of ground. It
was 275 feet in length on the water front. The two sides were somewhat irregular
in shape and were respectively 191 and 140 feet in length. The rear wall was 240
feet in length. The parapets were ten feet wide and rose six feet above the parade
of the fort, while the superior slope of the embankment toward the river was twenty-
five feet above high water. There were seven embrasures, each about five feet wide.
Surrounding the pile was a moat ten feet wide at the bottom and twenty feet wide
at the top. The sally port was in the rear or western wall.
Says Doctor Stacy: "The guns have all been removed. One was carried to
Hinesville when the place was first laid off sixty years ago, and has been often
and long used on Fourth of July and other public occasions and may still be seen
there in the court-house yard. Two of them were carried to Riceboro during the late
war between the States, but no use was made of them. Two more were taken by
Captain Lamar and, after being used as signal guns at Sunbury, were transported
to Fort Bartow at Savannah and fell into the hands of the Federals. Two more
were left lying half buried in the soil of the parade ground, and still another in
the old field half way between the fort and the site of the town. These have all
since been removed. At least the writer did not see them when he visited the spot.
One of the two carried to Riceboro was removed by the late Col. Charles C.
Jones in 1880 to his home on the Sand Hills near Augusta, and now adorns the lawn
in front of the residence which has passed into the hands of his son, Charles Edge-