Heavy black cannons line the walls of the fort,
We move the great weapons only with the help of large pulleys and planks.
I wave colorful yellow and blue flags in specific patterns, up, right, left, down,
and hope my ‘comrades’ at the other side of the deck understand my message.
Classmates try on all types of suits, boots, and hats that
The past soldiers of this fort wore every day, and I realize that
I’m in their steps.

Once we came out of the bus the moonlight is the only source of light,
And inside of the fort, lights fill the space up with a yellow feel.
A brass military mortar reflects gold light, while,
The matte black cannon absorb all the light around it.
We watch the corporal as he loads his brown rifle, shoots it and as
The spark that fires the gunpowder produces a bright orange firework like explosion.
I’m seeing what they saw, I’m in their steps.

The corporals line us up and order us to respond to with “Yes Corporal!”
The response from everyone roars all around and fills the fort with an echo.
Flags whip around so quickly and violently
That I can hear them move the air around them,
The corporals count down the seconds for the shooting of the cannon,
and bang! The cannon went off with a deafening boom.
I’m hearing what they heard, I’m in their steps.

This place has me wondering a lot of things about its history.
How many battles have been fought here?
How many have lost their lives during a battle, how many have died for other reasons?
These questions fill up my head,
Whose footsteps am I following?
What am I experiencing right now that people before experienced every day?
What were their steps?

This fort is full of history and has a rich past.
It is built to withstand not only cannon blasts,
but also the passing of hundreds of years.
I can feel the past in every step I take, the hundreds of men that have experienced the
Same things I am experiencing, all that I’m experiencing right now.
The breeze almost gives you a ghostly feel.
I’m in their steps.

The past people of this fort had many unique experiences.
They endured many incommodities in order to fight for their country.
I can feel the past in each footstep I take.
At Fort Jackson, Savannah, Georgia, you can really experience what it was like,
For all the past people that lived there.
You know and you can feel that you are in their steps