Oglethorpe Barracks
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Oglethorpe Barracks usually refers to a 19th-century United States Army post in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia. Some sources use the title to refer to Fort James Jackson (also known as Fort Oglethorpe) or Fort Wayne, both near Savannah. A hotel constructed in the 1880s now sits on the site of the old barracks.
In 1824, City of Savannah, Georgia, petitioned Secretary of War John C. Calhoun to build a military barracks within the city and agreed to purchase the necessary land. The War Department agreed to the endeavor and furnished the materials to build the barracks. The barracks took the name of James Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia colony and of the settlement of Savannah.
Weather observations from 1827-1835 cited in Grice's study were likely collected at Cantonment Oglethorpe, a separate artillery installation located outside the city that operated from 1826 to 1835.[1] Following years of high mortality from malaria at the cantonment, troops relocated to the newly constructed Oglethorpe Barracks on Liberty Street in May 1835.[2]
Construction of Oglethorpe Barracks finished circa 1834. The weather station began using a rain gauge in 1836. Meteorological observations continued through December 1850.
Civil War
Local Confederate volunteer companies occupied Oglethorpe Barracks throughout American Civil War until Union General William Tecumseh Sherman captured the city in 1864.