Have you ever camped at a haunted campground? I have recently camped at Ft. McAllister State Park, in Savannah, Georgia. I did not know it was haunted when we booked it, but the second we step foot in the park I knew we were not alone. I did not have an encounter with all of the 79 souls that died there, but I did have an encounter with 3 of them. Ft. McAllister State Park about 30 minutes south of the city of Savannah on the banks of the Ogeechee River. The fort was designed by Capt. John McCrady and Gen. Robert E. Lee. It had seven cannon platforms that surrounded the fort. The center of the fort had the hospital, supply area, barracks, officer's quarters, gun power, and additional guns. It was a key defensive Confederate fort that was a key to defending Savannah ports from attacks. In addition to Fort McAllister was Fort Pulaski and Fort James Jackson defiance of the Union naval blockade. Ft. McAllister was considered a successful fort because it withstood 7 attacks with minimal damage for the first few years after its construction. It is during one of these attacks that Major John B. Gallie, who was decapitated by a Union shell that ricocheted off one of Fort McAllister’s cannons. I did not encounter this spirit although many of the park officials I talk to have. Then on December 13, 1864, the Union forces led by Gen. William T. Sherman defeated Ft. McAllister. Once the fort was defeated then General Sherman had no problem capturing Savannah. After the defeat, Fort McAllister served as a prison camp for Confederate soldiers who were captured along the coast. It remained a prison camp till the end of the Civil War. It is unknown how many prisoners were killed while they were being held captive. After the war, it was bought by Henry Ford who later gave it to the state. Then in 1970, it was made into a state historical park. At the state park, there are over 1,725 Acres in addition to the part that is a fort. When you pay to camp you also need to pay a separate fee to visit the fort. I highly recommend this, not just because I encountered 1 out of the 3 spirits. You can fully tour the outside of the fort, explore the canons, go underneath into the barracks. It is in these underground barracks where the beds of the soldiers. It was here in the under the barracks in the storage area that I saw a spirit of a soldier who appeared to be wandering around searching for his commanding officer. We then proceeded to head to the picnic area which is just before the campground. We had a wonderful lunch of takeout Thai food. The picnic area is right next to the Redbird Creek portion of the river. It was there when the second spirit was what appeared to be fishing. This spirit was so vibrant to me that I pointed out to my husband look I think that guy may have caught something, only to be told that he did not see him. This is quite common since I am an intuitive and my husband is not. We then headed to the campground. The campground has 7 cottages, 67 campsites to stay at. The campsites are shaded by beautiful giant live oaks, with a variety of palmettos all around. We set up our camp, which we now have down to a science. We then enjoyed our night by the campfire talking about the highlights of the day. Then I spotted spirit balls floating just past our campsite in the marshes. Spirit balls are balls of light that are usually about 6 feet above the ground and move around very fast. I have found that usually, these spirits don't have the desire to manifest in their last form of life. “The muses are ghosts, and sometimes they come uninvited.”
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