Defending Savannah: History and Archaeology of the Gibson's Point Battery

The Gibson's Point Battery Database includes the artifacts recovered during the course of two archaeological surveys conducted by the faculty, staff, and students of Morehead State University and Georgia Southern University - Armstrong Campus in 2025 and 2026, and the documents collected as part of the Gibson's Point Battery Public History Project. The following on-line catalogue shares the artifacts and historical documents associated with this battery on Whitemarsh Island, Georgia.

The Confederate Battery built on Gibson's Point was named after the landowner, Richard T. Gibson, who acquired the property from his father Robert S. Gibson in 1834. Constructed in early 1864 to protect the Confederate held city of Savannah, Georgia, the Battery was built by enslaved labor to protect Whitemarsh Island, which was a battleground between Union and Rebel forces over the last two years of the war.

Gibson's Point Battery consisted of two gun implacements closer to Richardson Creek and a central redoubt. The battery was armed with two 8-inch siege howitzers and two 32-pounder cannons. The redoubt has been preserved and was the subject of an archaeological survey in 2025 and 2026.

Photographs by Serenity Jo Baughman
Metadata for artifacts and research materials by Emma McClure and Joan Rose

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1864-02-05 Daily Evening Bulletin

Daily Evening Bulletin (Philadelphia, PA)

An excerpt from the Daily Evening Bulletin detailing the reconneissance of the 4th New Hampshire Infantry Regiment and 85th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment on Wilmington Island on January 21, 1861 and the wounding of four Union soldiers, published on February 5, 1864.

“An Advance Toward Savannah” Daily Evening Bulletin. February 5, 1864.
1864-02-23 Savannah Daily News

Savannah Daily News (Savannah, GA)

An excerpt from the Savannah Daily News detailing news from Whitemarsh Island on the landing of a Union force of 100 men on the island, published on February 23, 1864.

“Latest from Whitmarsh.” Savannah Daily News. February 23, 1864.
1864-02-25 Columbus Daily Sun

Columbus Daily Sun (Columbus, GA)

An excerpt from the Columbus Daily Sun detailing a skirmish between Federal troops and Confederate troops that occurred on Whitemarsh Island and later shelling of the island, published on February 25, 1864.

“A Brush with the Federals.” Columbus Daily Sun. February 25, 1864.
1864-02-25 Columbus Daily Times

Columbus Daily Times (Columbus, Ga.)

An excerpt from the Columbus Daily Times detailing a skirmish between Federal and Confederate troops that occurred on Whitemarsh Island, published on February 25, 1864.

“Latest from Whitmarsh.” Columbus Daily Times. February 25, 1864.
1864-03-09 Washington Reporter Tribune

Washington Reporter Tribune (Washington, D.C.)

An article on the actions on Whitemarsh Island and Gibson Point on February 22, 1864, published by the Washington Reporter Tribune on March 9, 1864.

From the 85th Regiment. (1864, March 9). Washington Reporter Tribune.
1864-03-24 Wilmington Journal

Wilmington Journal (Wilmington N.C.)

An excerpt from the Wilmington Journal detailing a Federal expedition to Whitemarsh Island by the combined forces of the 85th Pennsylvania, a detachment of the 67th Ohio, and the 4th New Hampshire regiments, published on March 24, 1864.

“The Expedition to Whitemarsh Island.” Wilmington Journal. March, 24.1864
1864-04-22 Columbus Daily Sun

Columbus Daily Sun (Columbus, GA)

A short excerpt from the Columbus Daily Sun discussing the regiment stationed at Causton's Bluff just across from Whitemarsh Island, published on April 22, 1864.

“Thirteenth Georgia Regiment.” Columbus Daily Sun. April 22, 1864.
1864-06-13 Columbus Times

Columbus Times (Columbus, GA)

An excerpt from the Columbus Times detailing suspicious actions taken by the Union forces on and around Whitemarsh Island, published on June 13, 1864.

“Suspicious” Columbus Times. June 13, 1864.
1864-10-19 Early County News

Early County News (Blakely, GA)

A letter sent to the Early County News describing living conditions of the 1st Georgia Regiment on Whitemarsh Island and nearby Wilmington Island, published on October 19, 1864.

“Whitemarsh Island, Near Savannah, Oct. 8, 1864” Early County News. October 19, 1864.
1878-01-03 Savannah Morning News

Savannah Morning News (Savannah, GA)

An excerpt from the Savannah Morning News detailing Confederate fortifications along the Georgia cost during the Civil War, published on January 3, 1878.

“Confederate Fortifications.” Savanna Morning News. January 3, 1878.
Affairs on Wilmington and Whitemarsh Islands, Ga.

Quincy A. Gillmore, Rudolph Rosa, and Alexander R. Lawton

Reports submitted from General Quincy A. Gillmore (USA), Colonel Rudolph Rosa (USA), and General Alexander R. Lawson (CSA), related to military actions on Wilmington and Whitemarsh Islands, Georgia from March 30-31, 1862.

U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 128 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1880–1901), Series I, Vol. 6, p. 120-123.
Affairs on Wilmington and Whitemarsh Islands, Ga.

Rudolph Rosa

A report submitted by Colonel Rudolph Rosa, of the 46th New York Volunteer Infantry, from Tybee Island, Georgia on April 3, 1862 describing military actions on Wilmington and Whitemarsh Islands on March 30-31, 1862.

U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 128 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1880–1901), Series I, Vol. 53, p. 2-3.
An Address Delivered Before The Confederate Survivors Association

Charles C. Jones Jr.

An address given by Colonel Charles C. Jones Jr. discussing the military actions around Fort McAllister and Fort Pulaski during the Civil War.

Jones, Charles C., Jr. Military Lessons Inculcated on the Coast of Georgia During the Confederate War: An Address Delivered Before the Confederate Survivors' Association, Augusta, Georgia, at its Fifth Annual Meeting, on Memorial Day, April 26, 1883. Augusta, GA: Chronicle Printing Establishment, 1883.
Archaeological Investigations at Causton's Bluff

Lawrence E. Babits

A report on Causton's Bluff in Chatham County, Georgia, published by Lawrence E. Babits in collaboration with Armstrong State College in April of 1987.

Babits, Lawrence E. 1987. Archaeological Investigations at Causton’s Bluff, Chatham County, Georgia. Report prepared for the Savannah District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Savannah, GA.
A Regimental History of the 13th Georgia Infantry Regiment

Kenneth C. Collier

A regimental history of the 13th Georgia Regiment with a focus on the Early Guards, Company G, written and published by Kenneth C. Collier in June 1997.

Kenneth C. Collier, The 13th Georgia: A Regimental History of the 13th Georgia Infantry Regiment, a Part of the Lawton-Gordon-Evans Georgia Brigade (Self-published, 1997),
Battery Gibson Field Notes - March 14-20, 2025

Sean Norman

The transcribed field notes of Sean Norman while at Gibson's Point Battery, and surrounding Civil War sites in Savannah and Whitemarsh Island, Georgia from March 14 to April 3, 2025.
Battery Halleck Report

David G. Anderson

A report on the test excavation at Battery Helleck in Chatham County, Georgia, published by Interagency Archeological Services Division in 1995.

Anderson, David G. Test Excavations at Civil War Period Battery Halleck, Fort Pulaski National Monument, Chatham County, Georgia. Technical Reports No. 2. Atlanta, GA: Interagency Archeological Services Division, National Park Service, 1995.
Battery Wimberly Report

Lawrence E. Babits

A preliminary topographical and documentary survey of Battery Wimberly at Wormsloe State Historic Site, published by Armstrong State College in 1992.

Babits, L. E. Battery Wimberly: A Preliminary Topographical and Documentary Survey, Wormsloe State Historic Site, Savannah, Georgia. Savannah, GA: Armstrong State College, 1992.
Chatham County – Savannah Comprehensive Plan

Chatham County - Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission.

Community Assessment Report published by the Chatham County - Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission in March of 2006.

Chatham County - Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission. Chatham County – Savannah Comprehensive Plan: Community Assessment Report. (Savannah, Ga: Chatham County - Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission, 2006).
Confederate Military History, Georgia: Chapter Related to Whitemarsh Island

Joseph T. Derry

A chapter found in Volume 6 from the series Confederate Militart History describing the skirmish on Whitemarsh Island in April of 1862. Includes a brief history of the 13th Georgia Infantry. Derry, Joseph T. Georgia. Vol. 6 of Confederate Military History: A Library of Confederate States History, edited by Clement Anselm Evans. Atlanta: Confederate Publishing Company, 1899. Pages 35 and 82-93.
Confederate Soldier in the Civil War

Ben LaBree

Confederate military rosters for the department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida under Lieutenant-General William J. Hardee, published by the Courier-Journal Job Printing Company in 1895.

LaBree, Ben, ed. The Confederate Soldier in the Civil War, 1861–1865. Louisville, KY: Courier-Journal Job Printing Company, 1895, 270.
Diary of Captain Ralph Ely

George M. Blackburn

The personal wartime diary of Captain Ralph Ely of the Eighth Michigan Infantry during the American Civil War, published by the Central Michigan University Press in 1965.

Ely, Ralph. With the Wandering Regiment: The Diary of Captain Ralph Ely of the Eighth Michigan Infantry. Edited by George M. Blackburn. Mount Pleasant, MI: Central Michigan University Press, 1965.
Evacuation of Whitemarsh Island

P. P. Brown Jr. and T. B. Roy

Report of the evacuation of Whitemarsh Island, Georgia on December 11, 1864 by Colonel P. P. Brown, U. S. Forces Headquarters, Fort Pulaski, Georgia and Confederate orders issued to the troops on Whitemarsh Island to evacuate on December 19, 1864 by Assistant Adjutant General T. B. Roy.

U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 128 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1880–1901), Series I, Vol. 44, p. 691, 967.
Excavation of a Confederate Bombproof at Fort Bartow

Rick Leech

An archaeological report documenting the 1985-1986 excavation of a Confederate Bombproof at Fort Bartow, located on Causton's Bluff, published by Armstrong State College in 1986. Leech, Rick. Excavation of a Confederate Bombproof at Fort Bartow, Causton's Bluff near Savannah, Georgia 1985-1986. Savannah, GA: Armstrong State College, 1986.
Expedition to Within Five Miles of Savannah: Capture of Twenty Rebels

Luther S. Dickey

An article found in the History of the Eighty-fifth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1865, comprising an authentic narrative of Casey's division at the Battle of Seven Pines by Luther S. Dickey describing an expidition to Whitmarsh Island by the 85th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in February of 1864.

Dickey, Luther S. History of the Eighty-fifth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1865, Comprising an Authentic Narrative of Casey's Division at the Battle of Seven Pines. New York: J.C. & W.E. Powers, 1915. Pages 299-302.