After the War of 1812, US President James Madison ordered a new system of coastal fortifications to protect the United States from a foreign invasion.

Construction of a fort to protect the port of Savannah began in 1829 under the direction of Major General Babcock and later Second Lieutenant Robert E. Lee, a recent graduate of West Point.

Pulaski was a noted cavalryman, played a large role in training Revolutionary troops, and took part in sieges at Charleston and Savannah.

In reference to the fort's strength, United States Chief of Engineers, General Totten, remarked that "you might as well bombard the Rocky Mountains.

"[6] Though completed in 1847, Fort Pulaski was under the control of only two caretakers until 1860, when South Carolina seceded from the United States and set in motion the Civil War.

We were absolutely isolated beyond any possibility of help from the Confederate authorities, and I did not feel warranted in exposing the garrison to the hazard of the blowing up of our main magazine -- a danger which had just been proved well within the limits of probability....

There are times when a soldier must hold his position to the last extremity, which means extermination, but this was not one of them.... That the fort could and would be absolutely destroyed by the force of the enemy was a demonstrated fact,... while our own power to harm them had been reduced to a minimum,...

[7] Fort Pulaski was made a final destination on the Underground Railroad, as slaves throughout the area were freed upon their arrival to Cockspur Island.

The rations given to these men consisted of "moldy bread, soured pickles, and limited water," resulting in multiple cases of "starvation, dehydration, dysentery, and scurvy".

Fort Pulaski was opened to the public only for a short time before the beginning of World War II, which would see further use of Cockspur Island as a section base for the US Navy.

After the war, Fort Pulaski reverted to the control of the Park Service and was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

In November 2009, Fort Pulaski was used in the filming of Robert Redford's movie The Conspirator, based on the conspiracy involving the assassination of US President Abraham Lincoln, most notably as the site for the gallows used to hang Mary Surratt and others.