The Wandering Disciple

To help protect the US coast from attacks by sea, Congress appointed a group of engineers and military strategists to design a system of forts to defend the coast. This series of coastal forts stretches along the east coast from Maine to Louisiana and provided the mainland a line of defense against enemy attack. One of these forts was Fort Screven located on Tybee Island providing protection for the city of Savannah. (Photo: March 14, 2014)

The Tybee Island Light stands tall on Tybee Island, helping navigate boaters through the waters off Savannah. (Photo: March 14, 2014)

A welcome sign greets visitors to Tybee Island in coastal Georgia. The three mile island is a resort town for beach-goers and is home to the first hotel in what would become the Days Inn hotel chain. (Photo: March 13, 2014)

The seagrass of Lazaretto Marsh lines both sides of US-80 on the way out to Tybee Island making for a scenic drive to the beach. (Photo: March 14, 2014)

The Tybee Island Light Station sits at the mouth of the Savannah River to aid in guiding ships into port. It is one of only seven surviving colonial era lighthouses. Today the lighthouse still serves as a navigational aid as well as a history museum. (Photo: March 14, 2014)

Tybee Island, Georgia: Nestled between the historic city of Savannah and the Atlantic Ocean is the quiet seaside town of Tybee Island. It is here where residents and tourist flock to the coast to enjoy a day at the beach. The history of the island can be traced back to it’s earliest inhabitants, the Euchee tribe. They hunted and fished on the island and the rest of coastal Georgia prior to European settlement in 1520. The Spanish were the first to settle on Tybee Island and settled it as part of the Guale missionary of Spanish Florida. They and the Euchee tribe lived in harmony on the island until English invasion. Under Spanish rule, the island became a save haven for pirates. As the English settled in South Carolina, they aligned themselves with the pirates and together they invaded Tybee Island and Spanish Florida. After two separate invasions, the Spanish retreated to St Augustine, leaving Tybee Island under English rule and allowing them to settle the Georgia colony. ...