Fort Frederica National Monument (Additional Documentation)

Fort Frederica National Monument preserves the remains of a fortified British colonial town founded in 1736 on St. Simons Island, Georgia. Most surviving features are tabby or brick foundations of houses, storehouses, a barracks, the King's Magazine, a burial ground, and earthen works including the town moat. The district also includes the Bloody Marsh Battle Site, a wooded and marshy eight-acre tract where British defenders stopped a Spanish advance in July 1742. Frederica served as the headquarters of Oglethorpe's regiment and the center of the colony's defense against Spain during the War of Jenkins' Ear. At its peak the town held about 1,500 people, including skilled tradesmen, and John and Charles Wesley preached there. The town declined after the regiment disbanded in 1749, a fire in 1758 destroyed most buildings, and the last soldiers left in 1763. The National Park Service now maintains the site.