Fort Frederica National Monument!

What Is Fort Frederica National Monument?

Fort Frederica National Monument preserves and interprets the British fort and town that fended off the Spanish during the War of Jenkins’ Ear!

What Makes It Historical?

Three years after claiming the colony of Georgia for Britain, General James Oglethorpe turned his attention south to Spanish Florida! The two empires were not on the coziest terms, especially since the British were moving in on land formerly claimed by Spain, so General Oglethorpe thought it best to set up a miltary presence toward the lower end of his new colony. Fort Frederica went up here on St. Simons Island in 1736, named for Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, but feminized to distinguish it from Fort Frederick one colony to the north!

The main fort structure was a small tabby building on the Frederica River, where 18-pounder cannons kept watch for enemy ships. The rest of the fort, including the barracks and eventual townsite—all 40 acres—were surrounded by an earthen wall and a dry moat with three bastions, a spur battery, two storehouses, a guardhouse, and a stockade! At the time, it was pretty formidable, and good thing too. In 1739, England declared war on Spain to get better access to trade in Spain’s North American territories. General Oglethorpe led a failed attack on St. Augustine, which led to a Spanish retatliation in 1742! Taking Fort St. Simons, the Spanish were nonetheless repelled by the Brits of Fort Frederica in the Battles of Gully Hole and Bloody Marsh! This ended any and all future attempts by the Spanish to claim land in Britain’s North American territory!

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

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