Battery White is a large earthwork battery built in 1862 on Mayrant’s bluff overlooking Winyah Bay that is now part of a gated community (Belle Isle Villas and Yacht Club- 1142 Belle Isle Road). For information about visiting Belle Isle please consult their website. There is also a small museum in the clubhouse. In 1862, Major General John C. Pemberton of the Confederate Army selected the Bluff as the site for the battery. Battery White was built sometime soon thereafter. It was well situated; the bluff was approximately 20 feet above the bay where the channel narrows to about 1400 yards. From the beginning, however, the battery was plagued by insufficient manpower and armaments. In February 1863, there were only 53 men and nine guns there, and it remained inadequately staffed throughout the duration of the war.
In October 1864, eleven Confederate soldiers deserted and gave information regarding the battery to R. P. Swann, commander of the U.S.S. Potomska. It was evacuated during Sherman’s march through South Carolina. On February 24, a party from the U.S.S. Mingo landed and found it deserted. Two days later, Rear-Admiral Dahlgren of the flagship Harvest Moon occupied the battery and Georgetown. He reported to his superiors:
“The battery was found to be a well-constructed and formidable work, mounting 15 guns. The previous accounts of the this battery had varied so much as to render our knowledge of it uncertain. Generally, it had been much underrated and supposed to be unable to resist the attack of a single vessel or a few men. But we can now understand that it was a well placed, well constructed and strongly armed, so that we should have had some trouble to reduce it if well manned.”
The Battery White walking tour brochure describes a fifteen stop tour. Below are pictures from each of these stops.
Stop #1 – Left Flank Battery- The left flank battery contained a 12-lb Napolean cannon to protect from a ground assault.
Stop #2- Cannon Decks and Traverse
Stop #3- Single Cannon Placement and Shelter
Stop #4- North Powder Magazine- The backside of the magazine is shown. It consisted of a wooden structure that was covered with tons of earth. It helped disguise where the powder and ammunition was stored and helped prevent damage to the battery in the event of an explosion.
Stop #5- Eagle’s Roost- Bald Eagles commonly roost in the trees of the battery and build their nests here due to the close proximity to the bay.
Stop #6- 10-inch Columbiad Cannon- The main battery had 12 mounted guns with three more in adjoining batteries. Two were 10-inch Columbiads among the last to be built at Richmond’s Tredegar Iron Works.
Stop #7- North Magazine Access Ditch and Earthworks- The access ditches and earthworks protected the gun crews as they went back and forth to obtain additional ammunition for their cannons.
Stop #8- South Powder Magazine- A second storage area for powder and shells.
Stop #9- Columbiad Cannon- The second 10-inch Columbiad at the fort. The barrel of the gun is rough and not smooth and polished. Toward the end of the war the polishing step was often skipped to get the cannon to its destination as soon as possible.
Stop #10- Walk the Rampart
Stop #11- Fraser’s Point- Fraser’s Point is directly across Winyah Bay from Battery White. At this point the channel narrows to 1400 yards, its narrowest point. A 2-gun battery was placed there, now on the property of Hobcaw Barony. This created a crossing field of fire in order to prevent Union ships from navigating upstream to the city of Georgetown and into the 5 rivers which empty into the bay and the rice plantations along their shores.
Stop #12- U.S.S. Harvest Moon– Admiral Dahlgren’s Flagship- With the occupation of Georgetown accomplished, Admiral Dahlgren headed for Charleston on March 1, 1865. As the Harvest Moon made its way down the bay, it struck a torpedo (mine) and sank. At low tide, its smokestack can still be seen. It is difficult to see the smokestack from Battery White but it can easily be viewed on commercial tours to North Island where it is on the left side of the boat.
Stop #13- Lest We Forget- Memorial to Confederate soldiers that served at Battery White.
Stop #14- Georgetown Lighthouse- the North Island Lighthouse is in the far distance and cannot be seen in this picture.
Stop #15- Beyond The Trail
This is the third post in the series- Coastal Defenses in SC- Winyah Bay- the next post will cover the Laurel Hill Plantation Battery at Brookgreen Gardens.
Sources-
Battery White and the Georgetown Defenses 1860-1865 by Rod Gragg and Randy I. Beaver
You must be logged in to post a comment.