07/15/2019
Born on Cockspur Island on August 7, 1868, Florence Martus remains one of Savannah’s most legendary citizens. Following the Civil War, her father John had served as Ordnance Sergeant at Fort Pulaski and then as caretaker of the Cockspur Island lighthouse. Florence grew up watching the ships pass by Cockspur Island and assisting her father and older brother, George, with the daily chores of the lighthouse. After her father’s death, George took over as lighthouse keeper and the family moved to Elba Island several miles upriver from Fort Pulaski.
It was here that Florence became known as “The Waving Girl.” Having grown up watching the ships pass by, Florence made the decision to greet each and every ship that sailed past her and her brother’s little cottage. By day, Florence would wave a white handkerchief and at night she would wave a lantern. For over forty years, Florence waved her greeting and never missed a single ship. Her brother George retired in 1931 and the two moved away from Elba Island, but Florence’s fame as “The Waving Girl” continued. She passed away on February 8, 1943, at the age of seventy-four.
Many legends surround Florence and the reason she waved at the ships passing by. The most popular legend says that she fell in love with a sailor who promised to return to her but never did, and so she greeted each ship in hopes that he might be returning to her. This is, however, just a legend. In a newspaper article from 1899, Florence gave her reasoning for waving her handkerchief at every ship that passed: “It is because they are my friends; they are almost my only friends. I love to see them come and go, and when they go I always hope and pray for their safe return….I try not to let one pass without waving my handkerchief or lantern. I always think of them and feel for them and I enjoy the salutes they sometimes give as I do a visit from a friend.”
Image: NPS (Historic photograph shows Florence Martus standing on the terreplain of Fort Pulaski waving her white handkerchief.)
