This past Sunday, the park hosted a special ceremony to relight the Cockspur Island Lighthouse. Several dignitaries where on hand, including Southeast Regional Director Pat Hooks and U.S. Coast Guard Admiral David Kunkel, commander of the 7th Coast Guard District. The ceremony included a special presentation by the U.S. Coast Guard precision drill team, cannon firings, and a Coast Guard flyover. The ceremony was held at Battery Park on Tybee Island, an area that overlooks the mouth of the Savannah River and the Cockspur Island light.
The local landmark, built in 1856, is prominently located on an islet within Fort Pulaski National Monument. During the Battle of Fort Pulaski on April 10-11, 1862, the light was located directly in the line of fire between Union batteries on Tybee Island and Confederate forces inside Fort Pulaski. Remarkably, the light emerged from the battle unscathed. Over time, changes in the Savannah River led to the closure of the light station. The Cockspur Light was extinguished in 1909.
Superintendent Charles E. Fenwick announced that the purpose of the new light is not for navigational purposes. Its purpose, rather, is to “focus needed attention on this threatened landmark” and to “allow the Park Service to further its mission by restoring this important historic scene.” Since its transfer from the U.S. Coast Guard to the National Park Service in 1958, the light has been part of an ongoing maintenance and stabilization program. In 1976, the light was included in the National Register of Historic Places, and it survives today as one of only five lighthouses in the state of Georgia.
