In June 1776, General Charles Lee strategically positioned troops and guns around the Charles Town region. Brigadier General John Armstrong commanded all American troops in Christ Church Parish. He…

Sometime in late 1777, the American army began construction on a barracks complex for soldiers at Haddrell’s Point. In 1780, the barracks were being used as a hospital when it was captured by the…

In early January 1776, the Charles Town Council of Safety decided to build a fascine battery on Sullivan’s Island until a more permanent fort could be constructed. Men from the 1st and 2nd Regiments…

Prior to the June 28, 1776 British attack on Fort Sullivan, American engineer Captain J. Ferdinand DeBraham served as the Chief Engineer for Colonel Moultrie and was tasked with building a useable…

The Haddrell’s Point Redoubt, located along the shoreline just north of the 1776 Fascine Battery, was positioned to defend the mouth of the Hog Island Channel. Anticipating the advance of Admiral…

In December 1775, the Council of Safety ordered Colonel William Moultrie to erect a “fascine battery for four cannon, 18-pounders, at Haddrell’s Point with all convenient dispatch.” He was directed…

A small temporary earthwork was constructed just south of Shem Creek behind the Jacob Motte house (now known as the Hibben House). This battery was constructed to defend the Hog Island Channel. …

Lempriere’s Point was located on the northwest shore of Mount Pleasant at the mouth of the Wando River. The property was part of a plantation owned by Captain Clement Lempriere and the location of…

In 1933 this land was the property of Clovis Goblet. Yonge Simmons purchased it by auction in 1934. Mr. Simmons’ descendant sold the property to the Town of Mount Pleasant and Mount Pleasant…

Beauregard returned to Charleston in September 1862 to, once again, assume command of the Department of South Carolina and Georgia for the Confederacy. Headquartered in Charleston, he quickly began…

Early in the war, torpedoes (mines) were placed in the Hog Island Channel to defend against Union ships that might slip past Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie. The Hog Island Battery, also known as the…

The Hibben Street Battery was located behind the Hibben House on a high bluff at the western terminus of Hibben Street in the Old Village of Mount Pleasant overlooking Charleston Harbor. The battery…

Venning’s Landing Battery was located at another ferry landing 1.37 miles northeast of Kinloch’s Landing Battery on the southeast shore of Mount Pleasant facing Sullivan’s Island. Like Kinloch’s…

A two-gun battery was constructed in 1863 at Kinloch’s Landing, a ferry landing facing Sullivan’s Island. The battery was 2.16 miles northeast of Battery Gary. It was originally constructed with a…

On August 18, 1863, as Beauregard and his staff sought to strengthen inner harbor defenses, Lieutenant Colonel D. B. Harris, Chief Engineer, was directed to construct a new battery for “heavy guns” at…

Fort Palmetto, a three-gun battery, was constructed at the eastern terminus of the Christ Church Lines. This strong fortification commanded both Hamlin Sound and Dewee’s Inlet. Dewee’s Inlet, located…

General Robert E. Lee was sent to Charleston in early November 1861 to oversee the design and construction of defenses for the South Carolina coast and the cities of Charleston and Savannah. Lee and…

The Mount Pleasant Battery was a two-gun battery built at the end of present-day Schweers Lane, adjacent to Pitt Street. It was armed with two 10-inch seacoast mortars. From this vantage point, the…

The Whilden House served as Union headquarters after the fall of Mount Pleasant in February 1865. Among the occupying troops was the first black volunteer 54th Mass. regiment. Under the command of…

The name of this deepwater tidal creek is derived from the Indian word “Shemee.” The creek has been an important site for shipbuilding, fishing, transportation, and milling industries since the early…