Lipman's Great German Bitters

We've all read and heard about the tonics and various cure all medicines sold years ago. Below is the logo of Lippman's Great German Bitters, the second image is the list of what it cures or strengthens in the individual taking the medication or in this instance the bitters. These images come from the Charleston daily newspaper.

Here is a link to a label a little older than the above ad that was produced in Savannah, Ga in 1874

There were a few bottle images that came up on an image search.

1871 Cruises to Florida

Charleston S.C. was a busy port and in 1871 there were many ships headed to Florida from Charleston. Below is an ad from The Charleston Daily News July 17, 1871. What I find interesting from this ad is it lists when you depart and when you would return give us a great example of the time involved in steam travel on the lower east coast.

Savannah River - Cotton

Below you'll find a list of shipments out of Savannah to various parts of the world. Cotton was the primary export in the 19th Century but it wasn't the only export. The Savannah River was of prime importance for the exporting business. Pole Boats were used to bring the goods from Augusta down to Savannah.

The exports from Savannah:
Sea Island cotton, . 10 722 bales.
Upland ditto, . . 62,698
Rice, . . 15.798 whole tierces.
2,336 half ditto.
Tobacco, . . 1,501 hogsheads.

The quantity of cotton exported from Savannah, from the 1st of October 1815 to the 10th of February 1816, was,
from the 1st of November 1815 to the 27th of April 1816, were as follows:
To England, . 14,552 bales Upland,
Ditto, . . 3,638 ditto Sea Island.
To France, . 4,346 ditto Upland.
Ditto. . . 97 ditto Sea Island.
To Europe, . . 874 ditto Upland.
Ditto, . . 40 ditto Sea Island.
Coastwise, . .10,123 ditto.

Total, 83,670 bales.

After the invention of the steamboats, pole boats were less and less used but they were still used at the time of the writing of
STATISTICAL, POLITICAL, AND HISTORICAL ACCOUNT of THE UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA; FROM THE PERIOD OF THEIR FIRST COLONIZATION TO THE PRESENT DAY. Printed by George Ramsay and Co. Edinburgh, 1819.

Steam-boats have been established on the Savannah river. One, called the Enterprise, made the passage from Savannah to Augusta, with two freight boats dragging, in eight days, and returned with the current in three and a half. The pole boats require fourteen days to ascend the same distance, and from five to seven to descend. Two other steam-boats are now building, by a company, for the purpose of dragging freighted boats to and from Augusta.

Savannah Gray Brick

ne of the items I came across while researching in Savannah, GA. was a rare brick called the "Savannah Gray Brick." Originally called McAlpin's Gray Brick because it was made from gray clay found on Henry McAlpin's Hermitage plantation located on the Savannah River. I'm not exactly sure when the bricks were first made but they played an important part in the rebuilding of Savannah after the fire of 1820. These bricks were made by the slaves who worked on the plantation. No one today, seems to be able to replicate these unusual bricks.

These bricks today are still found through out the city however they are extremely rare to find. I found a current auction online where someone was selling 400 bricks with a starting bid of $800.

One of the reasons these bricks stood out for me was that I grew up on Martha's Vineyard and we had a the remains of an old brickyard. We also had the Gay Head Cliffs that have been photographed over and over again. I'm fortunate to have some old photographs of myself and my family standing at the Gay Head Cliffs when there still was a giant red cliff that looked like the portrait of an Indian. Today that cliff is gone but it is firmly attached in my memory.

The other reason for us as historical fiction writers to consider bricks, brickyards and anything significant about them is that they played an important part in the lives of those living in the 19th century. Many homes were built with brick and if not the entire home, the foundations and the chimneys.

Here's another tidbit concerning bricks, long before our 19th century. In the building of the first Lutheran church built in Ebenezer, GA was built with bricks. The impressions of those early settler's fingers are still in some of the bricks.

Another time I'll go into the making of the bricks.

Fort Pulaski, Savannah, GA.

The reason for this tidbit has to do with Savannah, Gray Bricks. They were unique and are not able to be replicated today. Fort Pulaski was constructed with this very hard brick and it has a unique history during the American Revolution and Civil Wars.

Fort Pulaski.—This fort is erected on Cockspar Island, at the mouth of the Savannah River in Georgia. It was named in honor of Count Pulaski, the distinguished Polish general who espoused the cause of American freedom in the Revolution. It effectually guards the main entrance to the river. All vessels of any size have to pass under its guns. Cockspur Island B separated from Tybee Island by a narrow carve of the sea. It is an irregular pentagon, with the base line or curtain face inland, and the other faces casemated and bearing upon the approaches. The curtain, which is simply crenellated, is covered by a redan, surrounded by a deep ditch, inside the parapet of which are granite platforms ready for the reception of guns. The parapet is thick, and the counterscarp is faced with solid masonry. Sandbag traverses guard the magazine door, and every thing is in as good trim. The walls are exceedingly solid, and well-built of hard gray brick, upwards of six feet in thickness, the casemates and bombproofs being lofty and capacious. A full garrison of the fort is 650 men. The work is intended for 128 guns. They are long 82's, with a few 42's and colnmbiads. The 10-inch columbiads are en barhette. There are three furnaces for heating red-hot shot.
This fort was seized by order of Governor Brown on the 3d of January. At the time, this was stated to have been done to prevent its seizure by a spontaneous uprising of the people. Subsequently, however, the apprehensions which led to this seizure proved to be groundless. They were excited by fabulous telegraphic despatches sent from the city of Washington. At the time of its seizure there wero sixty guns moan ted. It cost the Government $988,859.
Previously it had been in the care of two men, who were employed in keeping the grassed surfaces free from weeds and in taking care of the property.
Source: Appleton's Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Information ©1867