Battery White
Encyclopedia
Battery White was an artillery battery
constructed by the Confederates
during the American Civil War
. Built in 1862–63 to defend Winyah Bay
on the South Carolina
coast, the battery was strongly situated and constructed; however, it was inadequately manned, and was captured without resistance during the final months of the war.
The battery is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
. It is located on private land, but is open to the public.
, an aide-de-camp to governor Francis Pickens urged Lowcountry
planters to "aid in the erection of Batteries to protect and defend the entrance of Winyah Bay and the Santee River
".
The area offered a tempting target to Union
forces. Winyah Bay would furnish a sheltered anchorage large enough for the entire United States Navy of 1861. The city of Georgetown
on the bay was the largest on the South Carolina coast north of Charleston
. Georgetown County produced nearly half of the rice grown in the United States, amounting to some 54 million pounds (54000000 pounds (24,494 t)) in 1860; Georgetown exported more rice than any other port in the world. This production and shipping could be disrupted by gunboats moving up the Black
, the Pee Dee
, the Waccamaw
, and the Sampit
rivers, which flow into the bay; and the two distributary channels
of the Santee River, whose mouths lie just below the bay. Curtailing rice production would not only damage the local economy, but would impair the Confederacy's ability to feed its armies.
In May 1861, General P. G. T. Beauregard
ordered the development of coastal defenses for South Carolina, including batteries situated on three islands flanking the mouth of Winyah Bay: North Island, South Island, and Cat Island. The Federal capture of Port Royal
in November 1861 lent urgency to the construction and improvement of these works, which was done under Robert E. Lee
, the newly-appointed commander of the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and East Florida, with Colonel Arthur Middleton Manigault
in charge of the district that included Georgetown and Horry
counties.
The island fortifications were never tested against a major Union attack. However, they served a useful purpose in dealing with grounded ships, both Confederate and Federal; in protecting the entrance to the bay; and in maintaining Confederate possession of the islands.
as military advisor to President Jefferson Davis
. He was replaced by General John C. Pemberton
, who ordered the withdrawal of troops and artillery from the positions around Georgetown, apparently in order to concentrate his limited manpower on shorter defensive lines.
Union naval forces were quick to take advantage of this new vulnerability. In May 1862, the USS Albatross and the USS Norwich
noted that the island forts were unoccupied. They landed troops to occupy North Island, which became the principal local Union base for much of the war; and they destroyed the fortifications on South and Cat Islands. They also sailed some 10 miles (16.1 km) up the Waccamaw River, where they raided a mill and carried off 80 slaves. Settled on North Island, these freed slaves formed the nucleus of a colony of "contrabands
" that grew to more than a thousand before being removed to Port Royal for fear of Confederate raids leading to their recapture or massacre.
The Federal forces made no attempt to seize territory up the rivers; and their expeditions were limited by the draft of their vessels. Nevertheless, they conducted a number of raids in which they damaged facilities, seized rice, and released slaves; and these raids severely disrupted the region's economy. Rice production in particular suffered, since it depended on a labor force of skilled slaves performing carefully timed tasks.
Pemberton still refused to move artillery and men to the Georgetown area, maintaining that all of his resources were necessary for the protection of Charleston. However, his superiors ordered him to construct new fortifications at Winyah Bay. Since the Union now controlled the islands, it was necessary to find sites further up the bay. On August 3, 1862, Pemberton visited the area and selected Mayrant's Bluff and Frazier's Point as the sites for the new batteries.
. He was replaced in the Department of South Carolina and Georgia by Beauregard, who assumed command on September 24, 1862. The new commander supported the fortification of Winyah Bay: on October 8, 1862, he assured Governor Pickens that he had ordered the construction of a battery of five or six pieces of artillery at Mayrant's Bluff; on November 10, he wrote Colonel James Chesnut, Jr.
that the battery was "armed and completed", and that he had sent a new regiment of the State Reserves to General James H. Trapier
, in command of the Georgetown District.
Trapier was less than pleased with the troops and artillery that he had been given. The new regiment, he noted, arrived at the battery without arms and ammunition; and as Reserves, would only be in service for 90 days, not enough time to make effective solidiers of them even had they been armed. He had also been given fairly light guns; what he wanted was Columbiad
s, suitable for defending the battery and the bay against incursions by ironclads.
Despite the paucity of men and weaponry, the new battery proved effective. On November 11, 1862, two Union gunboats entered Winyah Bay and began firing on the Mayrant's Bluff works. The Second South Carolina Artillery, which had set up nine guns in the fortification, responded; and within a few minutes, the Federal vessels were forced to retire.
In February 1863, Trapier reported that the Mayrant's Bluff fortification, now named Battery White, was occupied by only 53 men and nine guns. Even this small force sufficed to stop Federal incursions up the rivers of Winyah Bay. However, rice production in the Georgetown area did not recover: the raids had destroyed too much of the physical plant, carried off too many of the slaves, and created too much uncertainty for planters to return to anything near full production.
The battery continued to lose manpower, despite Trapier's ongoing calls for more troops and guns. In October 1864, a body of eleven deserters from the Confederate German Artillery reached the USS Potomska
; they reported that there was great discontent among the troops, and that many would desert were they not so strongly guarded. They also reported that there were ten guns at the battery; the captain of the Potomska concluded that the bay was too well defended for him to render aid to prospective deserters.
, just north of Charleston. Only a company of the German Artillery was left to defend the Georgetown district. By the end of January 1865, only a small crew commanded by a lieutenant remained at Battery White.
In January and early February 1865, Union forces under General William Tecumseh Sherman
moved northward from Georgia into South Carolina. On February 2 and 3, they defeated a Confederate force in the Battle of Rivers' Bridge
, clearing their pathway into the state. After a feint at Charleston, they marched to Columbia
, which they entered on February 17; on the same day, Charleston was evacuated, and on the 18th, it was surrendered.
From Charleston, the naval forces under Admiral John A. Dahlgren
moved up the coast to Georgetown, which Dahlgren thought might be a useful point of communication with Sherman's land forces. On February 23, deserters told the captain of the USS Mingoe
that Battery White had been or would soon be evacuated. The Mingoe fired four rounds into the battery. When no response was made, a party was sent ashore; they found the battery abandoned and its guns spiked. The USS Pawnee
and the USS Nipsic continued up the bay and landed a party of Marines to take possession of Georgetown; the intendant and wardens of the city formally surrendered it on February 25.
Soon thereafter, Dahlgren inspected the battery, and was impressed. The fortification, he wrote, was well situated and designed, laid out to defend against both shipborne bombardment and attack by landing parties. Eleven guns bore on the channel, including two 10 inches (25.4 cm) Columbiads. Additional guns in outlying works covered the approach up the beach. The rear was defended by a "formidable" rampart and ditch; in the fort were numerous traverses and magazines. "If the works had been sufficiently manned", wrote Dahlgren, "it would have required good troops to take the work."
, at the time known as "torpedoes", in the bay. Eighteen mines had been constructed in Georgetown by Captain Thomas West Daggett and Stephen A. Rouquie, and placed strategically in the bay.
As early as January 1865, Union sympathizers in Georgetown had warned Dahlgren's forces about the existence of mines in the channel. While approaching Battery White, the Mingoe had sent its boats out to sweep for such devices. However, their efforts may have been perfunctory: according to Dahlgren's report, "...so much has been said in ridicule of torpedoes that very little precautions are deemed necessary, and if resorted to are probably taken with less care than if due weight was attached to the existence of these mischievous things."
On the morning of March 1, 1865, Dahlgren's flagship USS Harvest Moon
sailed from Georgetown toward Battery White, which Dahlgren intended to inspect. En route, the vessel struck one of Daggett and Rouquie's mines, which blew a large hole in it, killing one sailor; the boat quickly sank in two and a half fathom
s of water.
erected a memorial stone on the site in 1929. In about 1946, the plantation gardens, including the battery, were opened to the public, and remained thus until 1974.
In the 1970s, the plantation was developed as a condominium complex. Portions of the 100 acres (40.5 ha) complex of fortifications were lost to construction. However, the owners elected to preserve Battery White itself. In 1977, a 3 acres (1.2 ha) area encompassing the battery was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places
. In 2008, the site was re-opened to the public.
The battery's earthworks are for the most part well preserved. The powder magazines have deteriorated, owing to collapse of the earth mounds following decay of their wooden interior shoring. The two Columbiads have been re-mounted and once again point out over Winyah Bay.
Three of the battery's guns have been placed in Georgetown. A 24-pound gun has been mounted in front of the National Guard Armory, and two cannon are displayed in Constitution Park on the Georgetown waterfront.
The Harvest Moon was never salvaged, and has gradually sunk deeper into the mud of the bay. In the mid-1960s, the top deck lay under an estimated six feet (6 feet (1.8 m)) of mud. A Georgetown group attempted to salvage and restore the vessel as a tourist attraction, and in 1964 the U.S. Navy formally abandoned it, rendering it eligible for private salvage; but the attempt failed for lack of funds. The ship's boiler stack is still visible at low tide.
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
constructed by the Confederates
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Built in 1862–63 to defend Winyah Bay
Winyah Bay
Winyah Bay is a coastal estuary that is the confluence of the Waccamaw River, the Pee Dee River, the Black River and the Sampit River in Georgetown County in eastern South Carolina...
on the South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
coast, the battery was strongly situated and constructed; however, it was inadequately manned, and was captured without resistance during the final months of the war.
The battery is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. It is located on private land, but is open to the public.
Island fortifications
Even before the outbreak of the Civil War, the secessionist government of South Carolina was concerned with the possibility of attack by sea in Georgetown County. Shortly after the December 20, 1860 passage of the Ordinance of SecessionOrdinance of Secession
The Ordinance of Secession was the document drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861 by the states officially seceding from the United States of America...
, an aide-de-camp to governor Francis Pickens urged Lowcountry
South Carolina Lowcountry
The Lowcountry is a geographic and cultural region located along South Carolina's coast. The region includes the South Carolina Sea Islands...
planters to "aid in the erection of Batteries to protect and defend the entrance of Winyah Bay and the Santee River
Santee River
The Santee River is a river in South Carolina in the United States, long. The Santee and its tributaries provide the principal drainage and navigation for the central coastal plain of South Carolina, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean approximately from its farthest headwater on the Catawba River...
".
The area offered a tempting target to Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
forces. Winyah Bay would furnish a sheltered anchorage large enough for the entire United States Navy of 1861. The city of Georgetown
Georgetown, South Carolina
Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, in the Low Country. Located on Winyah Bay at the confluence of the Great Pee Dee River, Waccamaw River, and Sampit River, Georgetown is the second largest seaport in South Carolina,...
on the bay was the largest on the South Carolina coast north of Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. Georgetown County produced nearly half of the rice grown in the United States, amounting to some 54 million pounds (54000000 pounds (24,494 t)) in 1860; Georgetown exported more rice than any other port in the world. This production and shipping could be disrupted by gunboats moving up the Black
Black River (South Carolina)
The Black River is a blackwater river in South Carolina in the United States....
, the Pee Dee
Pee Dee River
The Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a river in North Carolina and South Carolina. It originates in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, where its upper course above the mouth of the Uwharrie River is known as the Yadkin River. It is extensively dammed for flood...
, the Waccamaw
Waccamaw River
The Waccamaw River is a river, approximately 140 miles long, in southeastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina in the United States. It drains an area of approximately 1110 square miles in the coastal plain along the eastern border between the two states into the Atlantic Ocean...
, and the Sampit
Sampit River
The Sampit River begins in a swampy area of western Georgetown County, South Carolina, USA. It flows in an easterly direction to Winyah Bay at Georgetown. Only small crafts can navigate the upper parts of the river...
rivers, which flow into the bay; and the two distributary channels
Distributary
A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. They are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributary is a tributary...
of the Santee River, whose mouths lie just below the bay. Curtailing rice production would not only damage the local economy, but would impair the Confederacy's ability to feed its armies.
In May 1861, General P. G. T. Beauregard
P. G. T. Beauregard
Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard was a Louisiana-born American military officer, politician, inventor, writer, civil servant, and the first prominent general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Today he is commonly referred to as P. G. T. Beauregard, but he rarely used...
ordered the development of coastal defenses for South Carolina, including batteries situated on three islands flanking the mouth of Winyah Bay: North Island, South Island, and Cat Island. The Federal capture of Port Royal
Battle of Port Royal
The Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army expeditionary force captured Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, between Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, on November 7, 1861...
in November 1861 lent urgency to the construction and improvement of these works, which was done under Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
, the newly-appointed commander of the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and East Florida, with Colonel Arthur Middleton Manigault
Arthur Middleton Manigault
-External links:...
in charge of the district that included Georgetown and Horry
Horry County, South Carolina
Horry County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. This name honored Revolutionary War Hero, Peter Horry. Brigadier General Horry was born in South Carolina sometime around 1743 and started his distinguished military career in 1775 as one of 20 captains the Provincial Congress...
counties.
The island fortifications were never tested against a major Union attack. However, they served a useful purpose in dealing with grounded ships, both Confederate and Federal; in protecting the entrance to the bay; and in maintaining Confederate possession of the islands.
Withdrawal
Matters changed in early 1862. In March of that year, Lee was recalled to RichmondRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
as military advisor to President Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
. He was replaced by General John C. Pemberton
John C. Pemberton
John Clifford Pemberton , was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole Wars and with distinction during the Mexican–American War. He also served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, noted for his defeat and surrender in the critical Siege of Vicksburg in...
, who ordered the withdrawal of troops and artillery from the positions around Georgetown, apparently in order to concentrate his limited manpower on shorter defensive lines.
Union naval forces were quick to take advantage of this new vulnerability. In May 1862, the USS Albatross and the USS Norwich
USS Norwich (1861)
USS Norwich, a wooden, screw steamer built at Norwich, CT., in 1861, was purchased by the United States Navy at New York City 26 September 1861 from J. M. Huntington & Co.; and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard 28 December 1861, Lieutenant James M...
noted that the island forts were unoccupied. They landed troops to occupy North Island, which became the principal local Union base for much of the war; and they destroyed the fortifications on South and Cat Islands. They also sailed some 10 miles (16.1 km) up the Waccamaw River, where they raided a mill and carried off 80 slaves. Settled on North Island, these freed slaves formed the nucleus of a colony of "contrabands
Contraband (American Civil War)
Contraband was a term commonly used in the United States military during the American Civil War to describe a new status for certain escaped slaves or those who affiliated with Union forces after the military determined that the US would not return escaped slaves who went to Union lines to their...
" that grew to more than a thousand before being removed to Port Royal for fear of Confederate raids leading to their recapture or massacre.
The Federal forces made no attempt to seize territory up the rivers; and their expeditions were limited by the draft of their vessels. Nevertheless, they conducted a number of raids in which they damaged facilities, seized rice, and released slaves; and these raids severely disrupted the region's economy. Rice production in particular suffered, since it depended on a labor force of skilled slaves performing carefully timed tasks.
Pemberton still refused to move artillery and men to the Georgetown area, maintaining that all of his resources were necessary for the protection of Charleston. However, his superiors ordered him to construct new fortifications at Winyah Bay. Since the Union now controlled the islands, it was necessary to find sites further up the bay. On August 3, 1862, Pemberton visited the area and selected Mayrant's Bluff and Frazier's Point as the sites for the new batteries.
Battery White
Later in August 1862, Pemberton was promoted to lieutenant general and sent to the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana, where he would eventually surrender VicksburgVicksburg Campaign
The Vicksburg Campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi River. The Union Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen....
. He was replaced in the Department of South Carolina and Georgia by Beauregard, who assumed command on September 24, 1862. The new commander supported the fortification of Winyah Bay: on October 8, 1862, he assured Governor Pickens that he had ordered the construction of a battery of five or six pieces of artillery at Mayrant's Bluff; on November 10, he wrote Colonel James Chesnut, Jr.
James Chesnut, Jr.
James Chesnut, Jr. of Camden, South Carolina, was a planter, lawyer, United States Senator, a signatory of the Constitution of the Confederate States of America, and a Confederate States Army general...
that the battery was "armed and completed", and that he had sent a new regiment of the State Reserves to General James H. Trapier
James H. Trapier
James Heyward Trapier was a career United States Army officer who fought during the Mexican–American War...
, in command of the Georgetown District.
Columbiad
The Columbiad was a large caliber, smoothbore, muzzle loading cannon able to fire heavy projectiles at both high and low trajectories. This feature enabled the columbiad to fire solid shot or shell to long ranges, making it an excellent seacoast defense weapon for its day...
s, suitable for defending the battery and the bay against incursions by ironclads.
Despite the paucity of men and weaponry, the new battery proved effective. On November 11, 1862, two Union gunboats entered Winyah Bay and began firing on the Mayrant's Bluff works. The Second South Carolina Artillery, which had set up nine guns in the fortification, responded; and within a few minutes, the Federal vessels were forced to retire.
In February 1863, Trapier reported that the Mayrant's Bluff fortification, now named Battery White, was occupied by only 53 men and nine guns. Even this small force sufficed to stop Federal incursions up the rivers of Winyah Bay. However, rice production in the Georgetown area did not recover: the raids had destroyed too much of the physical plant, carried off too many of the slaves, and created too much uncertainty for planters to return to anything near full production.
The battery continued to lose manpower, despite Trapier's ongoing calls for more troops and guns. In October 1864, a body of eleven deserters from the Confederate German Artillery reached the USS Potomska
USS Potomska (1861)
USS Potomska was a wooden screw steamer rigged as a three masted schooner purchased at New York from H. Haldrege on 25 September 1861. She was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 20 December 1861.- Assigned blockading duties, 1861–1862 :...
; they reported that there was great discontent among the troops, and that many would desert were they not so strongly guarded. They also reported that there were ten guns at the battery; the captain of the Potomska concluded that the bay was too well defended for him to render aid to prospective deserters.
Capture
In November 1864, Trapier was ordered to bring most of his forces to Mount PleasantMount Pleasant, South Carolina
Mount Pleasant is a large affluent suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. It is a member of the Charleston–North Charleston–Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area, for statistical purpose only, as designated by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget....
, just north of Charleston. Only a company of the German Artillery was left to defend the Georgetown district. By the end of January 1865, only a small crew commanded by a lieutenant remained at Battery White.
In January and early February 1865, Union forces under General William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
moved northward from Georgia into South Carolina. On February 2 and 3, they defeated a Confederate force in the Battle of Rivers' Bridge
Battle of Rivers' Bridge
The Battle of Rivers' Bridge, also known as Salkehatchie River, Hickory Hill, Owen's Crossroads, Lawtonville, and Duck Creek, was a Union victory fought on February 3, 1865, during the Carolinas Campaign of the American Civil War....
, clearing their pathway into the state. After a feint at Charleston, they marched to Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
, which they entered on February 17; on the same day, Charleston was evacuated, and on the 18th, it was surrendered.
From Charleston, the naval forces under Admiral John A. Dahlgren
John A. Dahlgren
John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren was a United States Navy leader. He headed the Union Navy's ordnance department during the American Civil War and designed several different kinds of guns and cannons that were considered part of the reason the Union won the war...
moved up the coast to Georgetown, which Dahlgren thought might be a useful point of communication with Sherman's land forces. On February 23, deserters told the captain of the USS Mingoe
USS Mingoe (1863)
USS Mingoe was a large steamer purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. With her heavy guns, she was planned by the Union Navy for use as a bombardment gunboat, but also as an interceptor gunboat stationed off Confederate waterways to prevent their trading with foreign...
that Battery White had been or would soon be evacuated. The Mingoe fired four rounds into the battery. When no response was made, a party was sent ashore; they found the battery abandoned and its guns spiked. The USS Pawnee
USS Pawnee (1859)
The first USS Pawnee was a sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the Pawnee Indian tribe....
and the USS Nipsic continued up the bay and landed a party of Marines to take possession of Georgetown; the intendant and wardens of the city formally surrendered it on February 25.
Soon thereafter, Dahlgren inspected the battery, and was impressed. The fortification, he wrote, was well situated and designed, laid out to defend against both shipborne bombardment and attack by landing parties. Eleven guns bore on the channel, including two 10 inches (25.4 cm) Columbiads. Additional guns in outlying works covered the approach up the beach. The rear was defended by a "formidable" rampart and ditch; in the fort were numerous traverses and magazines. "If the works had been sufficiently manned", wrote Dahlgren, "it would have required good troops to take the work."
Sinking of the USS Harvest Moon
By the fall of 1864, the Union fleet had effectively closed Winyah Bay to blockade runners. Accordingly, the Confederate command had elected to lay minesNaval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
, at the time known as "torpedoes", in the bay. Eighteen mines had been constructed in Georgetown by Captain Thomas West Daggett and Stephen A. Rouquie, and placed strategically in the bay.
As early as January 1865, Union sympathizers in Georgetown had warned Dahlgren's forces about the existence of mines in the channel. While approaching Battery White, the Mingoe had sent its boats out to sweep for such devices. However, their efforts may have been perfunctory: according to Dahlgren's report, "...so much has been said in ridicule of torpedoes that very little precautions are deemed necessary, and if resorted to are probably taken with less care than if due weight was attached to the existence of these mischievous things."
On the morning of March 1, 1865, Dahlgren's flagship USS Harvest Moon
USS Harvest Moon (1863)
The USS Harvest Moon was a steam operated gunboat acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries....
sailed from Georgetown toward Battery White, which Dahlgren intended to inspect. En route, the vessel struck one of Daggett and Rouquie's mines, which blew a large hole in it, killing one sailor; the boat quickly sank in two and a half fathom
Fathom
A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water.There are 2 yards in an imperial or U.S. fathom...
s of water.
Battery White today
For over a century after the Civil War, the grounds on which Battery White stood were part of the Belle Isle Plantation. During the late 19th century, extensive landscaping was undertaken on the plantation. The United Daughters of the ConfederacyUnited Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy is a women's heritage association dedicated to honoring the memory of those who served in the military and died in service to the Confederate States of America . UDC began as the National Association of the Daughters of the Confederacy, organized in 1894 by...
erected a memorial stone on the site in 1929. In about 1946, the plantation gardens, including the battery, were opened to the public, and remained thus until 1974.
In the 1970s, the plantation was developed as a condominium complex. Portions of the 100 acres (40.5 ha) complex of fortifications were lost to construction. However, the owners elected to preserve Battery White itself. In 1977, a 3 acres (1.2 ha) area encompassing the battery was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. In 2008, the site was re-opened to the public.
The battery's earthworks are for the most part well preserved. The powder magazines have deteriorated, owing to collapse of the earth mounds following decay of their wooden interior shoring. The two Columbiads have been re-mounted and once again point out over Winyah Bay.
The Harvest Moon was never salvaged, and has gradually sunk deeper into the mud of the bay. In the mid-1960s, the top deck lay under an estimated six feet (6 feet (1.8 m)) of mud. A Georgetown group attempted to salvage and restore the vessel as a tourist attraction, and in 1964 the U.S. Navy formally abandoned it, rendering it eligible for private salvage; but the attempt failed for lack of funds. The ship's boiler stack is still visible at low tide.
External links
- Battery White website: includes visitor information
- Battery White at South Carolina Department of Archives and History: includes a number of photos