[1] Historic buildings on the island include Fort Pulaski (built in 1847) and the Cockspur Island Lighthouse (built in 1837–39),[2] designed by John S. Norris, the New York City architect.

During the American Civil War, the Battle of Fort Pulaski was fought on the island, in which the United States Army captured the fort from the Confederate States Army on April 11, 1862.

1863, established that all enslaved people in Conferderate states in rebellion against the Union"shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free."

There is a photo of enslaved people outside their quarters on a plantation on Cockspur Island, Georgia, circa 1863.

This Chatham County, Georgia state location article is a stub.