Fort Frederica National Monument

Fort Frederica National Monument, historic site on St. Simons Island (one of the Sea Islands), southeastern Georgia, U.S., near Brunswick. The monument (authorized 1936) covers 284 acres (115 hectares) and consists of the remains of a fort and surrounding town built by Georgia colony founder James Edward Oglethorpe in 1736 to defend Georgia from the Spanish in Florida. The English defeated the Spanish at the Battle of Bloody Marsh (1742), ending the Spanish threat to Georgia. Troops were withdrawn in 1748, and the town declined and was completely abandoned by 1758. The monument preserves colonial artifacts in addition to the battle site, the house foundations, and the ruins of the barracks and the King’s Magazine. An annual festival (March) commemorates the area’s history. The monument is accessible via a bridge from Brunswick.