The Battery (Charleston, South Carolina)

Charleston · South Carolina · American Civil War

History & Significance

In the 1720s the provincial government of South Carolina sought to establish a barricade on the southern end of the peninsula, beginning with wooden pilings flanked by ballast stones; by the next decade, Charles Town made its first expansion into the harbor with a new brick fortification known as Broughton's Battery, with double rows of wood pilings extending westward to Council Street. During the 1750s, a seawall was constructed using large boulders, stone, and masonry; Broughton's Battery was later decommissioned and demolished in 1789.

When the wall was refortified during the War of 1812, the area became generally known as 'the Battery'; the seawall promenade of today was started in the early 1850s. From the High Battery promenade, Charlestonians gathered on the morning of April 12, 1861, to watch the firing on Fort Sumter and the beginning of the American Civil War.

During the Civil War, the park became an armed fortification replaced by massive Confederate earthworks mounted with heavy guns and cannons, known first as White Point Battery and later named Battery Ramsay. Today the Battery remains a public park adjacent to Fort Sumter, which is visible from the Cooper River side.

Map

View larger map ↗ · © OpenStreetMap contributors

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battery_(Charleston)
• https://www.scpictureproject.org/charleston-county/charleston-battery.html
• https://charlestonlivingmag.com/the-wall-that-built-our-history
• https://www.charlestonlivability.com/homes-on-the-battery
• https://www.nps.gov/fosu

Other Forts in South Carolina

See all forts in South Carolina →

Explore Other States