There are organizations mounting campaigns to keep Fort Morris off the chopping block of state efforts to cut spending.
They probably won't be as vicious as the English when they burned parts of Sunbury to signal ships off the coast that they had taken the port city and its protecting Fort Morris during the American Revolution in what is now Liberty County. But members of the organization are determined.
Morris is designated a historic site by the Department of Natural Resources. And there are fears it will be targeted because by DNR in its efforts to comply with Gov. Sonny Perdue's orders to cut spending by as much as 10 percent. Perdue and legislative leaders are calling for the cuts because of dropping revenues.
Attendance at the historic site is consistently low compared to other sites and parks across the state. But it is the only state-controlled place associated with the Revolution and the Georgia Society Sons of American Revolution have taken up its cause.
“Because it is devoted to Revolutionary War history, we believe that it should be kept open to tell Georgia's part in the beginnings of our great country,” Bill Ramsaur with the Marshes of Glynn SAR Chapter in Glynn County said.
He said other organizations, including the Daughters of American Revolution and Children of American Revolution, are also taking up the cause. At this point, their campaign is just a letter writing campaign. They urge letters to Perdue, legislators and DNR officials.
A letter writing campaign two years ago, when budget constraints threatened the park and actually cut back operations, did get officials to restore the site to normal operations.
Liberty Countians should get behind the campaign. Fort Morris is important to state with its links to the past. And it is especially important to the county as the kingpin of tourism.