Early baseball in Georgia/Game 7
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| Spread of baseball: Home -> Georgia -> Early baseball in Georgia/Game 7 |
| Location | Georgia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1862 |
| City | Fort Pulaski |
| State | GA |
| Country | |
| Was NY rules baseball | Likely |
| Played by | Non-locals |
| Team 1 | 48th NY Infantry |
| Found by | Bruce Allardice |
A famous photo shows Union soldiers of the 48th NY Infantry playing baseball in Fort Pulaski during the Civil War. The photo is usually dated 1862.
Text from Protoball entry 1862.45:
Ball Game Photographed at Fort Pulaski, Georgia
"A ball game appears in the background of photographs of the 48th New York at Fort Pulaski. The Fort, near the Georgia coast, had been taken by the North in July 1862. The National Park Services dates its image to 1862. One shot appears in Kirsch, Baseball in Blue and Gray, page 32, and another, apparently, at the NPS site http://www.nps.gov/fopu/historyculture/baseball.htm [accessed 6/6/09.] Note: we welcome your interpretation of these photos."
The NY Mercury, Jan. 11, 1863, reported that on Dec. 25, 1862 tow picked nines of the 48th NY Infantry played each other. Same, March 22, 1863 says on March 7 picked nines of the same regiment (a unit raised in NYC) played another match game, with the company F nine beating the drummer corps nine 18-14.
Fort Pulaski is between Savannah and Tybee Island. It was a Confederate and Union stronghold at different times during the Civil War.
Sources
Protoball website at http://protoball.org/Chronology:Civil_War. NY Mercury Jan. 11, March 22, 1863.
