Description of Fort Frederica
I. THE FORT 1. CONTEMPORARY DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FORT Early on the second day (February 19, 1736) of Frederica’s beginning, Oglethorpe and his men “traced out a Fort with 4 Bastions by cutting up the Turf from the Ground, dug enough of the Ditch & 141 raised enough of the Rampart for a Sample for the men to work upon.” The fort was “in the Front of the said Town, commanding the River both ways, where the Town Guard was kept, which was built large 142 enough upon Occasion to contain the Inhabitants of the said Town”, who numbered at least 116 souls 143 in the early days. Within little more than a month, this fort was defensible. The indication is that in its first form, the fortification was entirely of earth, without any palisade or other timberwork whatsoever. But as time went by and the essentials were taken care of, additional strength was added. From eyewitness and other descriptions, this fort appears to have been 141 Collections of the Georgia Historical Society (Savannah, 1840-1916), III, 15 (hereafter cited as Collections); see also Francis Moore, “Voyage to Georgia Begun in the Year 1735”, in Collections, I, 109. 142 Colonial Records of the State of Georgia (Atlanta, 1904-1916; and MS. Volumes), XXXIX, 488. Hereafter cited as CR 39488. 143 Margaret Davis Cate, “Fort Frederica and the Battle of Bloody Marsh”, Georgia Historical Quarterly, XXVII, no. 2, 117. Cited hereafter as “Cate”. 99 conventional in design: a square with four regular bastions surrounded by a dry ditch and palisaded covert way.
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