Fort McIntosh (Georgia)
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Fort McIntosh is an American military fortification from the American Revolution located near the Satilla River in Brantley County, Georgia, near the present site of the intersection of U.S. Route 82 and Georgia State Route 110 near the town of Atkinson, Georgia.
The log fortress was constructed by William McIntosh, brother of Colonel Lachlan McIntosh, to guard the Georgia frontier against attacks by Tory sympathizing Floridians and hostile Native American tribes.
The fort was a square log and earth structure about 100 feet on each side with a bastion at each corner. The fort was garrisoned by 40 men from the 3rd South Carolina Regiment and 20 Continentals from the 1st Brigade Georgia Militia, under command of Captain Richard Winn.
On February 17, 1777, the base was attacked by Tories and Indians and forced to surrender the next day. All of the prisoners were released with the exception of two officers who were taken as hostages to St. Augustine, Florida.
The text on the Georgia Historic Marker near the site: Near this town, on the northeast side of the Satilla river, fort McIntosh was built early in the Revolutionary War, to protect extensive herds of cattle ranging between that river and the Altamaha. It became an important post on the southern frontier. The fort, a small stockade 100 feet square with a bastion at each corner and a blockhouse in the center, was garrisoned by 40 men from the 3rd Carolina Regiment and 20 Continentals from the Georgia Brigade, under command of Captain Richard Winn. On February 17, 1777, a large force of Tories and Indians, commanded by Colonel Brown, Colonel Cunningham and Colonel McGirth, attacked Fort McIntosh, besieging it for more than 24 hours. Captain Winn refused all demands for surrender, until there was no longer hope for reinforcements from fort Howe and he was forced by superior numbers to evacuate the post. Under terms of surrender, a British company was to escort the Georgia troops to the Altamaha to protect them from massacre by the Indians. These terms were not honored, and Captain Winn and his small company marched unguarded by night through the dense forest and swamp to Fort Howe.
