Fort Morris

Fort Morris is a Georgia historical marker in Liberty County, dedicated 1957.

At the visitors center on Fort Morris State Historic Site.

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Erected at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, to guard the Port of Sunbury and St. John's Parish, Fort Morris was an enclosed earthwork in the shape of an irregular quadrangle. Surrounded by a parapet and moat, it contained a parade of about an acre. The fort was defended by more than 25 pieces of ordnance of varied size. It was named in honor of Captain Morris, who commanded the company of artillery by which it was first garrisoned early in 1776. Colonel John McIntosh commanded the garrison on November 25, 1778, when Col. L.V. Fuser, with 500 British ground troops, supported by armed ships in the Medway River, landed at Sunbury and demanded the immediate surrender of Fort Morris. Colonel McIntosh, with 127 Continental troops, some militia and citizens of Sunbury, less than 200 men in all, replied, "Come and Take It!" The enemy retreated to the South, and Continental troops held Fort Morris until January 9, 1779, when it was captured by British forces.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1764 · Carte de la Nouvelle Georgie (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1776 · A General Map of the Southern British Colonies, in America. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1776 · A general map of the southern British colonies in America comprehending North and South… (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1778 · Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1816 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI, 1778, covering the location of Fort Morris, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI, 1778, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Commission. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

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