On February 17, 2022, at the request of the Scanlonville community, an archaeological excavation was performed by Cultural Heritage Management International. The excavation successfully relocated a historic monument. This monument, as seen on the original 1870 plat labeled “cornerstone,” was moved to the Charleston Museum. The monument is a hollow cuboid column with a marble plaque inscribed "SCANLONVILLE, FEBRUARY 14TH, 1870”. A replica was made by Roger Major, Jr., a local brick mason, and with the help of local land surveyors, to ensure the accurate placement of the replica in the correct location, preserving the historical significance. The excavation yielded 233 artifacts spanning different historic periods, revealing insights into Colonial British occupation, the Prince family farmstead, and 20th-century uses by the College of Charleston. Despite the absence of Native American artifacts, the site's historical context, dating back to Native American groups, highlights Scanlonville's rich evolution. Scanlonville was one of the first African American communities formed in the Charleston area after the Civil War, designed and platted into half-acre town lots and two-acre farm lots. Established in 1870 by John Louis Scanlan (Scanlon); a former enslaved person and later a Freedman carpenter, along with 62 other Freedmen formed with the Charleston Land Company, and purchased the 614-acre property, formerly known as Remley Plantation. Scanlonville thrived through the 20th century. Some well-known spots in the community included Riverside Beach, White’s Paradise, Hunk’s Store, Chitter Chatter, Ms. Gussy and Jim Plu’s Store, Pinckney Airfield, and the Historic Scanlonville Cemetery. The community has changed with the addition of new subdivisions but has maintained its historic character. The monument's relocation signifies the community's resilience and ongoing commitment to preserving Scanlonville's history for future generations.

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Following the British attack on St. Augustine in 1702, a combined French and Spanish fleet moved to Charles Town, weakened by a yellow fever epidemic. On August 21, a ship arrived at the port city, warning of the arrival of the attacking fleet. The invaders gathered at the outer bar on August 25 and three days later made a demand for the surrender of the city.

After the surrender demand was rejected, on August 29, the French and Spanish privateers sent a small landing party ashore at Barksdale Plantation (present-day Old Village Mount Pleasant). The main attack group made landfall at Col. Dearsley's Creek (Hobcaw Creek), where they burned a storehouse and two vessels at Dearsley's Shipyard.

The next day, Governor Johnson ordered militia led by Capt. Fenwick, Capt. Lynch, and Capt. Canty east of the Cooper River to meet the attack. As the invaders attacked their way across the Wando Neck, they were pursued by the local militias. Everyone faced off to battle in a 150-acre open field at Hatchman's Plantation.

After suffering casualties, the French and Spanish troops retreated to their ships. Their fleet retreated on August 31. The French ship, Le Brilliante, moved to Sewee Bay to continue the attack. The ship was captured and captain taken prisoner. The Charles Town Vice Admiral William Rhett sailed victoriously into Charles Town aboard his prize, the Le Brilliante, along with local sloops Seaflower and the Flying-horse. It was a crushing defeat for the French and Spanish, with 230 men taken prisoner. These men were sent to Virginia and ordered dispersed among the British fleet to be sent to Britain for judgment under Queen Anne.

The main component of the French and Spanish forces were privateers who had been assembled and recruited from various ports such as Havana, having been offered the opportunity for adventure and potential fortune. Thus, once ashore, the privateers, without clear leadership, were disorganized and lacked a common goal. On the opposite side, stood Governor Nathaniel Johnson and Vice Admiral William Rhett who struck with surgical precision and with organized men eager to defend their land.

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In late summer 1706, a combined force of French and Spanish troops attacked the South Carolina Lowcountry intent on vanquishing the fledgling English colony as Charles Town reeled from a plague of yellow fever. Intended to catch the colony off-guard and weakened by disease, the surprise was foiled when a privateer sloop ran into the fleet outside of St. Augustine and rushed back to Charles Town with a warning. When the enemy arrived, Charles Town was prepared, and the invading fleet was unable to force a surrender.

Near this site, a combined force of colonists and Native American allies under the commands of Captains Fenwick, Lynch, and Canty engaged the enemy in the open field. After exchanging volleys of fire, the enemy “quit the field and fled away in great disorder and confusion.” In this disoriented state, seven enemy combatants drowned in a creek while attempting to flee. Following a tumultuous beginning to the colony, this victory proved a moment of unity for the young colony of South Carolina as men from all around the surrounding countryside heeded the call to come in defense.

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In late summer 1706, a joint force of French and Spanish troops attacked the Lowcountry intent on driving English colonists from its shores in a quest for imperial dominance in North America. This attack led by Frenchman, Monsieur LeFebvre, was meant to be a surprise but was thwarted by a New York privateer, Peter Stool, who encountered the fleet in St. Augustine and raced to Charles Town with a warning. When the enemy fleet arrived, Charles Town stood ready in defense.

The main enemy force came ashore here at what was known then as “Dearsley’s Creek” named for Col. George Dearsley a prominent figure and shipbuilder. The French and Spanish privateers burned Dearsley’s storehouse along with two vessels as the site was home to what would become known as Hobcaw Shipyard. This proved to be the most damage inflicted by the enemy as men from all around the countryside, including French Huguenots from Santee, rallied to defend the Lowcountry in an early signal of unity arising from what was a difficult and discordant time.

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Jim Capers was born into slavery on September 23, 1742, on William Capers' Bull Bay plantation in Christ Church Parish, South Carolina. On June 15, 1775, William Capers allowed Jim to enlist as a drum major in the 4th Regiment of the South Carolina Militia, commanded by Francis Marion. Although the South Carolina General Assembly never passed a law to allow the use of African American troops, many militia officers in the South Carolina Lowcountry used both free and enslaved men.

Regimental drummers like Jim Capers played important roles on the battlefield and faced the same dangers as other soldiers. They went into battle without a musket or rifle, subjecting themselves to great peril.

Capers fought in the Siege of Savannah, the Siege of Charles Town, and the battles of St. Helena, Port Royal Island, Georgetown, Camden, Biggin Church, and Eutaw Springs. At the Battle of Eutaw Springs, he received four wounds: two on his face, one on his head by a sword, and one in his side by a musket ball. Although his wounds were severe, he traveled with his regiment a month later to Yorktown, Virginia, where he was present for the surrender of Lord Cornwallis.

Capers was discharged as a free man on October 1, 1782, having served for more than seven years. After the war, Capers moved to Alabama, seeking new opportunities in the west. He died in Pike County, Alabama on April 1, 1853, at the age of 110.

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In the 1950s, to avoid integration in South Carolina, a “Separate but Equal” plan was implemented. White and Black schools were improved thanks to the enactment of the state’s first sales tax. The East Cooper area, known as Christ Church, and separate from the Village of Mount Pleasant, was home to many independent Black communities with several rural Black schools. In 1953, five of these schools: Gregorie, Phillips, Long Point, Seven Mile and Four Mile, were replaced with a new $249,000 modern facility. The new school was located on Hamlin Road on ten-acres of the former Joseph Seabrook Estate in the Seven Mile community. The new school served 650 students, offering grades one through six. Mr. Calvin E. Thornton, former head of Four Mile school, was the first principal. The principals of the Black schools recommended naming the new structure in honor of Jennie Moore.

Mrs. William Moultrie Moore, secretary of the Moultrie School District No. 2 since 1935, had worked tirelessly for the old schools. “Miss Jennie” was known for her unselfish efforts to promote the educational, social, and cultural growth of the students in the Black schools. Mrs. Moore was born Jennie Verdie Edmondston in Mount Pleasant in 1882. She retired in 1956 and died in 1971.

South Carolina was the last state to desegregate public schools, and in 1970 Jennie Moore Elementary School was integrated. In 2013 the 1953 structure was demolished, and the Jennie Moore School for the Creative Arts opened in 2015.

The school site was annexed in two parcels to Mount Pleasant in 1998 and 2008. The historic and separate Seven Mile community remains in unincorporated Charleston County.

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Miriam Shivery Moore, the 14th child of Henry and Josephine Moore, was born at home, 588 Rutledge Avenue, Charleston, SC, on October 12, 1901. Henry was a pilot on the ferry, The Sappo, the only form of transportation connecting Charleston with the small town of Mount Pleasant. Miriam’s mother, Josephine Shivery Moore, was a midwife serving throughout Charleston.

Although Miriam's parents were only able to attend elementary school, they recognized the importance of education in overcoming the obstacles facing Blacks in the South during the early 20th century. Because of their commitment to education, Miriam attended Shaw Memorial School, one of the two overcrowded and underfunded Black schools in the Charleston area. Miriam knew from an early age that she wanted to be a teacher. She was accepted into the teacher education program at Avery Normal Institute, the private school for Blacks. In 1922 she graduated with a Licentiate of Instruction and accepted an offer to teach 6th grade and music at the Laing School in Mount Pleasant.

Miss Moore taught at Laing for 4 years. During that time, she continued to live at home with her parents and commute weekly to Mount Pleasant, housing with members of the community during the workweek. This practice forged a particularly close relationship between teachers, parents, and students that ensured educational success. In 1926, to be closer to her aging parents, Miss Moore resigned from the Laing School and accepted an offer from the Simonton Elementary School in Charleston, where she taught for 2 years. During her tenure at Simonton, she met her future husband, Arthur F. Brown. At that time, regulations prohibited teachers from marrying. Miss Moore made the difficult decision to sacrifice her career for marriage and, on September 12, 1928, she married Mr. Brown. During their marriage, they welcomed two children, Arthur F. Brown, Jr. and Jeanne Albertha Brown.

In 1934 the Browns moved to Mount Pleasant and in 1936 Mrs. Brown returned to teaching as the principal-teacher at the one-room schoolhouse in the Phillips community. Two years later, Mrs. Brown was named principal of the Gregory Elementary School where she served for 16 years. In 1952, Mrs. Moore was assigned to the Laing Elementary School as principal and music teacher where she remained for 17 years. When the school was closed in 1969, she was reassigned as the assistant principal at the desegregated Mamie P. Whitesides School. She helped with the transition of the Laing student body to this new school. After 44 years of educational excellence, Mrs. Moore retired in 1971.

Mrs. Moore received numerous awards for her innovation, advocacy, and dedication to the education of Black children in the Charleston area. In 1976 the Town of Mount Pleasant dedicated the Miriam Brown Recreation Center in her honor, and, in 1997 re-dedicated the Center to her. At age 100, Mrs. Moore passed away on August 30, 2002, a life well lived.

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The Forever Chimney

This steam boiler chimney is a reminder of the brickmaking industry of the 1800s. Purchased by the Horlbeck family, this land was originally part of Boone Hall Plantation located two miles south of this site. The land mass surrounding this chimney once included an overseer’s house/ commissary, several workshops, drying areas, and kilns. Sand and red clay excavated from nearby Butterfly Lake, provided the perfect combination of materials. The clay and sand were excavated and molded into brick by enslaved workers and stacked to dry.

The steam boiler powered the mills and to mix the clay, sand, and water, and brickmaking machines in the 1830s. The 1850 Industrial Census reported that 50 male and 35 female slaves worked at the brickyard, producing approximately 4,000,000 bricks at a profit of approximately $28,000 a year. The brickyard continued operation and supplied bricks to the Lowcountry through the end of the nineteenth century. It remained an important landmark to the Horlbeck family after operations ceased. This is the only boiler chimney of its kind still standing in Mount Pleasant.

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History of Brickmaking

Brickmaking dates back to 7,000 BC. In the Americas, bricks were used as early as 1611 in Virginia. In 1817, John and Henry Horlbeck purchased this land known as Wampancheone, now Brickyard and Boone Hall. As building contractors, they constructed many of the buildings throughout Charleston. State requirements for brick buildings following the 1838 Charleston fire, helped brickmaking become a bustling industry. By the mid-1800s, approximately 4,000,000 hand-made bricks were being made at Brickyard, becoming the largest brickmaking industry in the Lowcountry. These bricks were first used for the plantation settlement and then used on buildings throughout the Lowcountry and colonial Charleston. The Horlbeck family was responsible for building the new Charleston Exchange and Custom House (1770), German Friendly Society Hall (1801), St. John’s Lutheran Church (c. 1817), and St. Stephen’s Chapel (1836).

Butterfly Lake

Once solid ground, this lake held the exact combination of red clay and sand needed to create what is now referred to as “Charleston brick”. In the early 1800s, the process of excavating the clay and sand was achieved at the hands of enslaved workers who toiled daily to excavate the rich soil. Slaves then used animals from neighboring Boone Hall Plantation to constantly trod through the wet mud. That effort helped dry the clay and allowed enslaved workers to clear away the twigs and debris. From there, the bricks were then molded and completely dried, before sent to the kilns for firing. Butterfly Lake was so named because of the shape made from unearthing the tons of clay and sand. While workers knew that their hard labor helped to build Charleston and surrounding areas, they may not have known that the land they carved out was actually the shape of a butterfly.

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PRINCE’S FERRY In August of 1765, the state legislature granted Captain Clement Lempriere a petition to re-activate the old ferry, known as the Hobcaw Ferry, formerly occupied by William Watson. Captain Lempriere sporadically operated the ferry until his death in 1778. Following his death, the ferry remained dormant until Captain Lempriere’s grandson, Clement Lempriere Prince, assumed control in the early 1790s. The ferry became known as Prince’s Ferry and was located at Lempriere’s Point, just south of Molasses Creek and Hobcaw Point at the mouth of the Wando River. Prince’s Ferry remained a ferry service to Charleston until December 1821 when William Matthews obtained permission to operate what later became known as Mathis Ferry.

ONE HAND SANDERS Sometime between the 1790s and 1820s, a brownstone marker with an engraved hand was erected near the corner of McGrath Darby Boulevard and Johnnie Dodds Boulevard directing the way to Prince’s Ferry. The marker was originally located near the intersection of Mathis Ferry Road and Highway 17. A 1790s dispute between Hibben’s Ferry and Prince’s Ferry, settled by the state legislature, is possibly the reason the marker was moved to Remley’s Point, where it was used as a property corner marker for land owned by Roger Sanders. Referred to as the “One Hand Sanders” marker, it is engraved with the phrase, “Three & an half Miles to Prince’s Ferry.” A replica of the original marker is located at the park. The original marker is currently on display at The Charleston Museum.

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Located in the Mount Pleasant Waterfront Park, the Sweetgrass Basket Pavilion is a cultural arts exhibit on the history of sweetgrass basket making and serves as a venue in which local basket makers can demonstrate their craft. The open air pavilion features informative kiosks, basket display cases, and a screening area for documentaries. This pavilion is a tribute to the generations of men and women who have carried on the Lowcountry sweetgrass basket tradition for over 300 years. As a stop along the Gullah / Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, the pavilion gives the public an in-depth look at one of America’s oldest and most important African-inspired arts. Sweetgrass baskets are available for sale at Sweetgrass Basket Pavilion.

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The Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor is home to a remarkable American culture known today as Gullah/Geechee, which reaches back into the seventeenth century. This is a tradition that was first shaped by captive Africans brought to the southern United States from Central and West Africa who were forced to labor on plantations. They developed a new language with Caribbean, European, American, and African influences. Africans kept their traditions and over time reshaped those practices by incorporating elements of Southeastern culture. Geographic barriers along with a strong sense of family and community are factors that have helped to maintain Gulllah/Geechee culture. Mount Pleasant residents and visitors engage Gullah traditions on a daily basis through vivid cultural exchanges.

The Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor was created: To recognize the important contributions made to American culture and history by Africans and African Americans known as Gullah or Geechee who settled in the coastal counties of Florida (Duval and Nassau), Georgia (Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Liberty and McIntosh), North Carolina (Brunswick and New Hanover) and South Carolina (Beaufort, Charleston, Colleton, Georgetown, Horry, Jasper and parts of Berkeley and Dorchester); To assist Federal, State and local governments, grassroots organizations, and public and private entities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina in interpreting the story of the Gullah/Geechee culture and preserving Gullah/Geechee folklore, arts, crafts, and music; and To aide in identifying and preserving sites, historical data, artifacts, and objects associated with the Gullah/Geechee culture for the benefit and education of the public.

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In 2016, the Mount Pleasant Historical Commission established the Cresco Historical Stewardship Award ("Cresco Award"). The purpose of the Cresco Award is to recognize an individual, group, or organization for exceptional accomplishment in preserving the physical and/or cultural heritage of Mount Pleasant. The Cresco Award is presented annually by the Mayor of Mount Pleasant and consists of an official Mount Pleasant proclamation with the Town Seal and an inscription citing the name of the award recipient and reasons for the award. The proclamation is accompanied by a bronze medallion featuring the official Town Seal of Mount Pleasant, the name of the award recipient, and date of award presentation. Apply online today!

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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 spread 1,500 men, including troops from Virginia, North Carolina, the 5th & 6th South Carolina Infantry, and the militia artillery, from the Haddrell’s Point Fascine Battery along the shoreline facing Sullivan’s Island for the defense of the mainland.

There were several small redoubts constructed along the shoreline of the mainland including this square redoubt at a boat landing along the inland waterway. Lt. Colonel Thomas Sumter and the 6th South Carolina Regiment with the militia artillery were stationed here as reinforcements during the June 1776 attack on Fort Sullivan.

The earthen redoubt, just more than two miles northeast of Haddrell’s Point, was armed with two 12-pounders, capable of defending the Sullivan’s Island Narrows Creek. The redoubt did not see any action during the June 28 Attack on Fort Sullivan and it was later abandoned by the American army. The same site was later used as Kinloch’s Landing Battery during the Civil War.

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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 British on April 26. Uzal Johnson, a Loyalist surgeon with the British army, noted that they were “… very good Barracks if finished…”

On May 12, 1780, General Benjamin Lincoln surrendered the American army and Charles Town to British General Sir Henry Clinton. The American enlisted men totaling 2,861 were held as prisoners-of-war in barracks located on the Charleston Neck. The 274 American officers were all sent to be held as POWs, confined to the Haddrell’s Point barracks. As part of the surrender terms, officers were allowed to keep their swords, pistols, and baggage. One Hessian officer theorized that the officers were separated “to reduce the threat of a secret uprising.”

The brick barracks, located a mile from the harbor, were too small to accommodate the large number of officers. Some officers built small huts in the woods nearby for their quarters. Colonel William Moultrie and Colonel Charles Cotesworth Pinckney were allowed to confine themselves at Snee Farm, and Lt. Colonel Samuel Hopkins of Virginia was confined at Lempriere’s Point.

Officers were held on the honor system that they would not escape. However, after frequent escapes in May and June, Moultrie and other senior officers housed elsewhere were returned to Haddrell’s Point in hopes that they could maintain order per the conditions of surrender. Officers could move within the limits of Christ Church Parish, and some traveled to the harbor and other waterways to fish and collect shellfish.

Tensions did arise on July 4, 1780, when American officers gathered at the barracks “to celebrate the Anniversary of Independence.”

British Captain J. B. Roberts, commander of Fort Arbuthnot (formerly Fort Moultrie), complained “that the conduct of the rebels at the barracks at Haddrell’s-point, during the course of this night, has been very irregular and improper. Not contented to celebrate this day, of their supposed Independence, with music, illuminations, etc. they have presumed to discharge a number of small arms …”

Moultrie, writing British Brigadier General Pattison in Charles Town, offered, “I had the satisfaction of being there, and can assure you I saw no ‘indecent abuse, or gross outrage’ in any manner committed … some women danced for two or three hours. I am sorry to find that some pistols were fired, which, at the same time, I disapprove. I trust they will not take it in the light, they seem to have done; that they will not imagine any gross outrage was meant, where none was intended; but impute it to the warmth of a cause which the continental officers at Haddrell’s-point have embraced through principle; in which some of them bled; and for which all of them are now suffering.”

Even though conditions were already overcrowded, American officers captured at the Battle of Camden in August 1780 were also sent to the Haddrell’s Point barracks.

The three brick buildings of the barracks were arranged in a horseshoe at modern-day McCants, Pherigo, and Adulah streets.

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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 were transferred to Sullivan’s Island as a covering party for the laborers. When the battery was ready, Colonel William Moultrie was ordered “to fire upon any ships of war, boats, or other vessels belonging to the enemy attempting to approach, pass, or land troops upon the island …”

In the winter of 1776, Sullivan’s Island was a wilderness, with deep swamps, and covered with live oak, myrtle, and palmetto trees. Laborers and mechanics were assigned to make a clearing for the new fort. On March 2, intelligence reached Charles Town that the British at New York were preparing an expedition against the city. Moultrie was given command of the efforts on Sullivan’s Island to build “a large fort sufficient to contain 1,000 men.” Captain Peter Horry described the fort as an “immense pen, 500 feet long and 16 feet wide, filled with sand to stop the shot.”

On June 8, General Charles Lee arrived in Charles Town to assume command of all American forces. He was unimpressed with the Sullivan’s Island fort, feeling that any British ships that could reach the Cove would enfilade the fort’s front platform. To address this vulnerability, Moultrie ordered that an earthen traverse be thrown up to divide the fort and shield the gun crews on the front platforms. With no line of retreat for Moultrie and his men, Lee felt that the fort was nothing more than “a slaughter pen.” He proposed to withdraw Moultrie and abandon the fort. John Rutledge, president of the Republic of South Carolina, disagreed and ordered Moultrie to stay.

The fort was a square with a bastion at each angle. The walls, made of palmetto logs bolted together, were twenty feet high and sixteen feet wide. The vast interior of the walls was filled with sand and was ten feet above the platforms where planks, two inches thick, and fastened with wooden spikes served as the gun platforms. The platforms were supported by brick pillars.

Only the southeastern and southwestern walls of the fort were finished when the British fleet arrived in June 1776. The northern walls were unfinished with palmetto walls only installed to a height of seven feet. The fort was armed with an assortment of thirty-one guns ranging from 9-pounders to as large as French 26-pounders. Narrow banquettes were constructed along the walls for soldiers to stand on and fire muskets and rifles through the loop-holes installed.

While the unfinished fort was intended for a garrison of 1,000 men, Moultrie only had 344 officers and men from the 2nd South Carolina Regiment and twenty men from the 4th South Carolina Artillery. Colonel William Moultrie served as commander with Lt. Col. Isaac Motte commanding the right flank and Major Francis Marion commanding the left.

The attacking British fleet was composed of nine man-of-war ships with a total of nearly 300 guns. The British ships unleashed a fearsome barrage of shot, but they had little to no effect, either bouncing off the palmetto log walls or burying in the sand. With only a tenth as many guns and a shortage of gunpowder, Moultrie’s men fired in volleys of four guns at a time. One British engineer reported, “Their fire was surprisingly well served” and was “slow, but decisive indeed; they were very cool and took care not to fire except their guns were exceedingly well directed.” In the twelve hour battle, British casualties were more than 220, while American casualties were only 37.

The Battle of Fort Sullivan was the first significant American victory of the Revolutionary War. After the battle, the fort was renamed Fort Moultrie, in honor of its intrepid commander. Fort Sullivan was located on the beach just in front of present-day Fort Moultrie.

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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 bridge across the Sullivan’s Island Narrows Creek as an avenue of escape from Sullivan’s Island. It was considered at first to build a “bridge of boats,” but there were not enough boats to cover the distance of almost a mile. DeBraham then planned to build a “floating bridge” using empty hogsheads anchored by a series of hooks and clamps. After the hogsheads were in place, planks were installed across the floating hogsheads.

In order to test the floating bridge, Lt. Colonel Thomas Clark and 200 men marched from Haddrell’s Point to attempt to cross the bridge. The men were less than halfway across before the bridge started to sink. Fortunately, Clark and his men quickly withdrew before a catastrophe occurred. Frustrated, General Lee replaced DeBraham with Lt. Nicholas Massenburg in late June as a result of his failed bridge.

In September 1776, General Christopher Gadsden oversaw the construction of a new permanent bridge which took nine months to complete. The bridge had four arches built in the supports to allow for the free movement of the tides. It was said to be “3,517 feet long and wide enough for a dozen men to walk abreast.” One observer asserted there was “nothing like it on the continent.”

At the Haddrell’s Point side, a small redoubt was built on the causeway leading to the bridge. The number and size of guns is unknown. The causeway redoubt was approximately 150 yards from the mainland. After the fall of Lempriere’s Point Battery on April 28, the only fortifications controlled by Americans east of the Cooper River were the Gadsden Bridge Redoubt and Fort Moultrie. The redoubt was held by twenty men with the 1st South Carolina Regiment commanded by Captain John Williams.

On May 2, British Major Patrick Ferguson led sixty troops on an attack on the Gadsden Bridge Redoubt. Ferguson divided his men with one-half attacking from the right flank and the other attacking down the causeway at the center of the redoubt. The tide was so low that the troops approaching on the right flank were moving across dry land. The other British troops, led by Captain Abraham DePeyster, were approaching in knee-deep water. Williams’s men offered little resistance, but Ferguson’s men were under fire from guns at Fort Moultrie until dark. The capture of this redoubt now cut off all American communications with Fort Moultrie, leaving them isolated.

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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 Arbuthnot and his fleet, General Lincoln placed obstructions, including three large ships, two brigs, and a variety of smaller vessels, in the channel between Shute’s Folly and Charles Town. The American warships were moved to take position in the Cooper River. The only route for the British fleet to reach Charles Town or the Cooper River was via the Hog Island Channel, which was both narrower and shallower than the main channel.

On April 8, Admiral Arbuthnot and the British fleet dashed past Fort Moultrie to anchor in the harbor just off Fort Johnson, now controlled by the British army. The three gun redoubt, armed with formidable 18-pound guns, was an effective deterrent, giving Arbuthnot serious pause about attempting to send his ships through the Hog Island channel. With Fort Moultrie’s strategic role diminished after the British fleet sailed past it, Colonel Charles Cotesworth Pinckney moved from Fort Moultrie to the Haddrell’s Point Redoubt.

British General Sir Henry Clinton needed Arbuthnot’s ships in the Cooper River to compliment his ground troops’ attacks on the Charles Town neck, but Arbuthnot would not attempt the movement unless Clinton’s troops controlled Christ Church Parish and silenced the American fortifications there. On April 22, Arbuthnot communicated to Clinton that “Rebel” batteries at Haddrell’s Point “prevents me from sending armed vessels I intended through Hog Island Channel.”

On April 29, a British galley Comet ran aground at the entrance to the Hog Island Channel. Americans at Haddrell’s Point destroyed the ship as it sat helpless in the shallow water.

The Haddrell’s Point Redoubt was in the vicinity of modern-day Middle Street in Mount Pleasant.

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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 to use two hundred men commanded by a major to construct this battery. Captain Barnard Beekman would provide the artillery regiment to serve as the garrison. The battery was placed at a strategic location on the southern tip of Haddrell’s Point to defend the inner harbor and the Hog Island channel. Named for an early settler, Haddrell’s Point was along the shore facing Charles Town and extended from Shem Creek to Cove Inlet.

Major Charles Cotesworth Pinckney commanding four captains, eight junior officers, and two hundred privates joined by a number of mechanics and laborers crossed the harbor under the cover of darkness on December 19, 1775. John Drayton recorded that “on landing at Haddrell’s Point, they fell to work with such spirit, that by daylight they were covered from the shot of the ships,” meaning the walls of the battery were erected. On the following day, the embrasures were completed, gun platforms laid, and the four guns were mounted.

The battery was fifty-eight feet long and protected along the exposed front with 228 fascines. Fascines were long bundles of sticks bound together and used in the building or strengthening of military earthworks and batteries. They were used as early as the Roman Empire era and the technique continued through World War II. As instructed, the new battery was armed with four 18-pound guns on field carriages.

In late December, the new battery successfully chased off the HMS Tamar and HMS Cherokee, still anchored in Charleston Harbor. The British ships moved and set anchor off Sullivan’s Island until they left the region completely on January 6, 1776.

The battery was located at the end of present-day Schweers Lane, adjacent to Pitt Street. The site of the fascine battery was later the site of the Mount Pleasant Mortar Battery and Battery Gary during the Civil War.

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