Henry Benham had decided that he would attack the Confederate battery near the 75-foot tall reconnaissance tower near Secessionville that was dropping shells into his camps. He felt that Hunter’s orders gave him discretion to do so since they stated that he was to protect his camps. Benham ordered Brigadier General Isaac Stevens to rush the front of the battery in the pre-dawn darkness on June 16th with his two brigades at the point of the bayonet. Brigadier General Horatio Wright with 3200 men would support Stevens from the north and either aid Steven’s directly or prevent the Confederates from attacking his left flank. Stevens got his men underway at 4:00 AM. His first brigade was commanded by Colonel William Fenton and consisted of the 8th MI, 28th MA, and 7th CT. The second brigade was commanded by Colonel Daniel Leisure and included the 100th PA, the 46th and the 79th NY. They were supported by 4 guns (two 12-pounder field howitzers and two James rifles) from Captain Alfred Rockwell’s 1st CT Light Artillery.

Fenton’s brigade was to attack and get over the wall of the Tower Battery (Battery Lamar) as quickly as possible using the bayonet. Two companies of the 8th MI were to lead the assault. The rest of the men from the 8th MI were to follow as fast as possible. They would be led in battle by Lieutenant Colonel Frank Graves. As each regiment advanced they were to line up to the left of the preceding one. Leisure’s second brigade would follow using the same strategy. Benham hoped that a sudden assault by 3,562 men would quickly overrun what was likely a small force at the garrison before reinforcements could arrive. His attack depended on the quick movement of his men to maintain the element of surprise. Fenton’s brigade made it just west of the Rivers house about 1,000 yards from the Tower Battery without being detected. Shown below are the routes that Stevens’ and Wright’s men took to the Tower Battery. From the map the Tower Battery (Fort Lamar) was located at the narrowest point of the Secessionville peninsula on an area about 130 yards wide with impassable marshes on both sides. The Creek at the top is now called Seaside Creek but during the war was known as both Simpson’s Creek and Lighthouse Creek. The creek below the M-shaped fort is Secessionville Creek. On the day of the attack the cannons in the fort were an 8-inch Columbiad, two rifled 24-pounders, and two or three smoothbore 18-pounders. There may have been a 10-inch mortar there as well. Lamar estimated that he had no more than 500 men in the fort until the 4th LA arrived.

The area of the Rivers house is shown below- pictures taken from 1755 Old Battery Road. In the pre-dawn darkness shots were fired from Rebel pickets, probably from the 9th SC. Two of the pickets were quickly captured and two more were run down by Lieutenant Colonel Frank Graves. Five men from Company H of the 8th MI were wounded. One of the pickets escaped north on the Battery Island Road to the area of an Advanced Guard where Colonel C.H. Stevens and the 24th SC were located. He notified Colonel Haywood who ordered the 4th LA Battalion to cross to Secessionville on Hatch’s Bridge to reinforce the Tower Battery. Hagood also ordered parts of the 1st and 25th SC to move south on the Battery Island Road (Secessionville Road today) and attack the Union flank.

The Michigan men then made their way through an opening in a large hedge paralling a ditch and entered a cotton field. So far there was no response from the Rebel Battery. The area of the first hedge row is shown below. The picture was taken at 32.6981107, -79.9530143, facing west standing at the intersection of Battalion Drive and Old Military Road.

They moved across the cotton field, through and over a second hedge row also paralleling a ditch. There was still no response from the battery. The second hedge row location is shown below. I proceeded down Battalion Drive toward the location of the Tower Battery (Fort Lamar) and took the pictures at the intersection of Battalion Drive and Garrison Street (32.6999457, -79.9502882). The second hedge row would have been along Garrison Street proceeding off into the distance. At 4:30 AM at the break of dawn in a drizzling rain the first two companies of the 8th MI rushed forward ahead of the rest of the Michiganders with a loud cheer. The rest of the regiment was close behind. They were met by a blast of canister from an 8-inch Columbiad and a 24-pounder right into the center of their lines. An alert Confederate sentry had sounded the alarm of the Union advance just minutes before.

Maps of the attack on Fort Lamar (Tower Battery) are shown below.

A 100-man relief party from the 22nd SC arrived just as the battle started. Colonel Lamar sent a rider to order up the 1st and 9th SC from their camps in Secessionville. The rider continued on to cross Hatch’s bridge and notify Brigadier General Shanks Evans of the attack. The Federals were mounting the battery’s left flank and firing down into the fort and at the artillery crews. Cannoneers Baggott and Captain Samuel Reed were killed and Baggott’s crew was wiped out. Hand to hand fighting ensued. At this moment the 9th SC arrived and Lamar directed them to the area of heavy fighting on the left side of the fort closest to Secessionville Creek and they drove the Michiganders out of the fort where they hid along the wall. The 7th CT and 28th MA lagged behind the 8th MI. When the 7th CT organized they were told to move to the left to protect against a Confederate attack from the north. This showed a lack of understanding of the ground. An attack from the left was impossible because there was an impenetrable marsh there which the 7th CT wandered into. After extricating themselves from the mud the 28th MA ran into their rear and many of the 28th MA eventually broke for the rear. The 7th CT moved rightward across the front of the battery to the Secessionville Creek side. Federal fire from the Lighthouse Creek or north side by members of the 8th MI who had been forced toward Lighthouse Creek picked off the cannoneers of Lieutenant James Bellinger’s gun crews until only Bellinger, his brother and a private were left. Just then 100 men of the 1st SC arrived and were funneled to the right to stem the attack on Bellinger’s guns. Shortly thereafter Lamar was wounded and command passed to Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Wagner. As the Union’s 1st brigade field commanders were trying to reorganize their men their situation was worsened when Leisure’s 2nd brigade slammed into their rear. The 79th NY under Lieutenant Colonel David Morrison ran through the 7th CT heading to the fort throwing them into disarray. They made it to the top of the wall of the fort but no further. Stevens sent word back to Benham that he needed help from Brigadier General Horatio Wright’s division.

Wright’s division would come up the Grimball Road and cross Old Military Road and proceed straight ahead. The problem as seen on the map above was that Wright’s troops were north of Lighthouse Creek separated from Stevens by a swamp. They would be of little help to Stevens from there. The pictures below show the problem (taken from 32.7042691,-79.9519193). In the picture on the left you can see the marsh. Wright’s men would be in the trees on the left and Stevens and Fort Lamar in the trees on the right. The Federals lack of understanding of the ground proved their undoing in two ways. First, the fact that the Secessionville peninsula was bordered by two broad impassible marshes meant that it could not be supported from the sides. As a result one of the two Federal divisions (Wright’s division) would not play a major role in the fighting. Second, Fort Lamar (Tower Battery) was cleverly placed at the choke point in the peninsula only 130 yards wide. Any attack would be forced to funnel into a small area which could be swept by canister. Since flanking movements were not possible the only means of attack was a full on frontal assault. The small area of the peninsula resulted in the Union fighting in a piecemeal sequential fashion which nullified their numerical advantage.

At the front of Wright’s column was Colonel Robert Williams brigade led by 5 companies of the RI Heavies (B, E, F, H, and K- a total of 379 men). Colonel John Jackson’s 3rd NH (623 men) marched through Washington Hill’s Farm coming out on the other side of the marsh from the Tower Battery but only about 150 yards away. Although unable to cross the marsh his men still had a clean line of fire. There was no artillery on that side of the fort and the wall was relatively low and they began to pour a devastating fire into the fort. Things were going well for Jackson until suddenly his men were being fired on from their rear. The firing was coming from South Carolinians under Colonel Clement Stevens from about 200 yards away. The 3rd RI came to their aid. Battery E of the 3rd US Artillery also fired on the Confederates. Confederate Colonel Stevens wondered why a nearby Rebel Battery (Battery Reed) was not firing on the Federals and sent Lieutenant Colonel Capers to investigate. When Capers arrived at the 2-gun battery he learned that none of the men there knew how to fire the guns. He quickly trained Lieutenant Colonel John Bunyan Kitching’s men. The first gun recoiled off the platform after the first shot and would be of no further use. The second gun was manned effectively throughout the battle. While there Capers met with Generals Nathan “Shanks” Evans and William Duncan Smith at the Clark House.

The modern house on the site of the Clark House and the site of Battery Reed are shown below.

Around this time 250 men of Colonel McEnery’s 4th LA crossed Hatch’s Bridge, entered the Tower Battery and began firing into the 3rd NH. The Rhode Islanders were involved in a fierce fight, with the 24th SC and the Eutaw Battalion, which they had to break off when they noticed the 3rd NH was withdrawing from the field. Stevens was planning to launch another assault when Benham decided to call off the attack. The Union rearguard as they were leaving burned down the Rivers house. Union force suffered 683 total casualties (about 20% of the engaged troops). One hundred and seven men were killed, 487 were wounded and another 89 were either captured or missing. The Confederates suffered 204 casualties (about 16% of the engaged force). Fifty-two were killed, 144 were wounded, and 8 were missing. On June 19th General Hunter arrested Henry Benham for disobedience of orders and sent him north. Major General Hunter ordered James Island to be abandoned on June 27th. By July 7th all Union troops were off the island. On August 7th President Lincoln revoked Benham’s earlier promotion to Brigadier General. Although Judge Advocate General Holt would exonerate Benham after conducting a full investigation in January 1863, he would never command troops in the field again. To honor Colonel Thomas Lamar after the battle the name of the Tower Battery was changed to Fort Lamar. Four months after the battle Colonel Lamar died in Charleston of malaria on October 18, 1862.

A walking tour of Fort Lamar is shown below. The interpretation is taken from the brochure. A link to the brochure is below the map.

Stop 1- Interpretive Center-

A- Approximate Site of 75 Foot Lookout Tower-

Stop 2- Beginning of the Trail- You are now walking parallel to the New Magazine or Bombproof. Constructed in 1863, the Bombproof used earth and timber from the original magazine which was constructed in 1862. Both structures extended across what is now Fort Lamar Road. The original structure was approximately 175 feet long, 50 feet deep and stood 15 feet high.

Causeway and swamp

Stop 3- Between the Original and the New Magazine- Ahead of you are the remnants of the original 1862 magazine. This area also provides probably the best view of the mass of the 1863 bombproof- the new magazine. Unfortunately, the area also shows signs of looting. When this area was cleared in January 1997, the vegetation was left in place to help with erosion control. At the time of the magazine’s construction, there were few, if any significant trees in this area.

Stop 4- Area Near Shed- We are now in the general vicinity of the left leg of the M-shaped fort. In 1862 a causeway ran along this side of the
peninsula. It was this causeway that allowed the Federals their only relatively easy access to the fort. In the pre-dawn hours of June 16, 1862, the first shot of the battle was fired by Confederate Sergeant Baggott from a 24-pound gun located in this general area.

B- Sargeant Baggott killed- Sergeant Baggott was immediately killed. Captain Samuel Reed took over and within minutes he was dead also.
The 24-pound gun was temporarily silent. Captain Ryan and
his Irish Volunteers took over the firing of the gun for the
remainder of the battle. The second shot, fired by Colonel Lamar, split the 8th Michigan battalion. Advancing in the darkness, the troops had to negotiate two hedgerows and open cotton fields with two-foot-wide trenches and knee-high weeds. One segment of the 8th Michigan reached this section of the earthwork. Heavy hand-to-hand combat occurred. The Confederates were successful in making the Federals fall back. A few minutes later, the 79th New York Highlanders mounted the wall. There was again heavy resistance from the 9th South Carolina. With no reinforcements, the 79th New York also retreated. When these two regiments were forced to retreat, they left a significant percentage of their men who were killed, wounded or captured. Most of the Federal casualties occurred in this initial assault. As the first Federal wave collapsed and retreated, they hampered the second wave from attacking. While the main
assault was taking place, the 3rd New Hampshire was attempting a flanking maneuver but they could not make a full assault due to the impassable marsh and pluff mud.

Stop 5- Area Near the Dry Moat- In the area behind you, are the remains of the dry moat- the excavated area formed when the earthworks.
were built. The 8-inch columbiad, which Colonel Lamar used to fire the second shot, was also in this area.

C- Dry Moat Remains

D- Mass Federal Grave- Ahead is the probable location of a mass Federal grave.

6- Area West of Parking Lot- This section of the battery held Lieutenant Bellinger’s and an unmanned 18-pound gun.

The impenetrable marsh west of the fort

I could not locate marker E. Other relevant information from the brochure- “Among the troops in the battle were two brothers James and Alexander Campbell. Born in Scotland, the two had emigrated to America in the 1850’s and had settled in Charleston and New York City respectively. After the war began, each had enlisted to serve his adopted homeland and in June 1862, they found themselves in opposing armies on James Island. James Campbell was 2nd Lieutenant of Company F, 1st South Carolina Battalion, the Charleston Battalion. His older brother Alexander was Sergeant and color bearer of the 79th New York. Each brother fought on the Secessionville earthwork without meeting the other. An unarmed James Campbell jumped to the parapet on this side of the fort and rolled a log down onto a group of charging Federals. He then captured an enemy rifle and continued fighting. Alexander Campbell planted the colors on the earthwork and kept them there until his regiment was forced to withdraw. It was only after the battle that the Campbell brothers learned how close they had been to each other at Secessionville. Both brothers survived the war. The Confederates had one African American noncombatant killed in the battle, Daniel Bellinger. When he discovered that his master, Lt. John Bellinger, had forgotten his pistol, he rushed forward with it. He fell shot and died about one week later.”

Secessionville Manor 1687 Fort Lamar Road- owned by the William Seabrook family. One of only two surviving structures from the original Secessionville settlement. It served as a hospital after the battle.

Sources

The Battle of Secessionville, Yankee Debacle at Charleston, South Carolina Blue and Gray Magazine Winter 1999.

Six Miles from Charleston Five Minutes to Hell Emerging Civil War Series by James A. Morgan.

Secessionville, Assault on Charleston by Patrick Brennan.