On September 3, 1862 Major General Ormsby Mitchel was appointed to head the Department of the South. On October 14th General P.G.T. Beauregard who now commanded the Department of South Carolina, Georgia and East Florida received intelligence of an upcoming attack on the Charleston and Savannah Railroad. He ordered General Johnson Hagood at Adam’s Run to have 1,000 troops ready to move at a moments notice. He also made the same request of General Mercer in Savannah for 2,000 men and for an additional 2,000 men from Charleston. After scouting the Broad River tributaries Mitchel decided to target the railroad bridges over the Pocotaligo and Coosawhatchie rivers in a two-pronged attack. He would send the 47th, 55th, and 76th PA, the 3rd and 4th NH, the 6th and 7th CT, the 48th NY, the 1st MA Cavalry, the 3rd RI Artillery and the 1st U.S. Artillery. A total of about 4,000 men would be transported to Mackay’s Point for an approximately 9-mile march to the Pocotaligo bridge. A smaller force would continue on up the Coosawhatchie River to the bridge there. The troops carried 100 rounds of ammunition and 3 days rations. The men of the 3rd NH carried supplies to burn the railroad bridges and trestles. The navy would provide nine gunboats and three armed launches from the Wabash. Commander Charles Steedman would command the naval squadron.

General Mitchel was going to command the expedition himself but contracted yellow fever. In less than two weeks he would be dead. General John Brannon was informed he would command only a few hours before the expedition was to set sail. On October 20th troops from Brannan’s brigade boarded ships from Beaufort and sailed for Hilton Head, there they joined elements of Brigadier General Alfred Terry’s brigade. At sunset they sailed to the mouth of the Broad River where they anchored. In order to maintain the element of surprise Brannan planned to send 107 men from Terry’s brigade to capture Confederate picket posts at Mackay’s and Cuthbert’s Landings. The navy would transport them on three armed launches up the Broad River ahead of the rest of the flotilla. The expedition got underway at 12:30 AM on the 22nd.

Things did not go well. They forgot the cavalry (108 men from the 1st MA Cavalry) who were left behind in Beaufort. The third ship in line, the Conemaugh, grounded throwing the ships behind it off schedule. The Marblehead and Water Witch collided with each other. Unaware of the problems behind them Brannan on the Ben De Ford and Steedman on the Paul Jones arrived off Mackay’s Point, the southern tip of Mackay’s Neck at the mouth of the Pocotaligo River where the Pocotaligo and Tullifinny Rivers merged, at 4:30 AM. Here they would wait about three hours for the rest of their force. The delay would prove critical allowing local Confederates time to send telegrams to Charleston and Savannah for reinforcements. However, the Federals problems weren’t over yet. The two launches commanded by Lieutenant Samuel M. Smith of the 3rd NH came ashore at Cuthbert’s Landing on Bray’s Island and were able to capture seven Confederate pickets. The two launches led by Lieutenant Lloyd Phoenix and Ensign Frederick Pearson with men from the 7th CT and 3rd NH rowed past Mackey’s Landing, approximately two miles down the neck from the expedition’s debarkation point, the sailors, transporting soldiers from the 7th CT and the 3rd NH under Captain Sylvester Gray, rowed past the landing. By the time they corrected their error the sun had risen and there was no chance of them taking the pickets by surprise. It was 8-9 miles to the railroad bridge from there, see the map below.

When the main Union force arrived Brannan directed Colonel William B. Barton to take the 48th NY, and elements of the 3rd RI Artillery and the 1st NY Engineers along with a boat howitzer from the Paul Jones further up the Coosawhatchie River aboard the Planter. The gunboats Vixen and Patroon accompanied the Planter up the Coosawhatchie River. At 6:00 AM a detachment of the 6th CT were the first to come ashore at Abigail Jenkins Mackay’s Plantation, located on an island connected by causeways to the mainland. They were followed by the 47th PA commanded by Colonel Tilghman Good. The Union troops marched over the causeways to the George Chisholm Mackay Plantation on the mainland where Brannan would organize his command. Brannan had to send transports back to Port Royal Island to pick up the 1st MA Cavalry, land his late arriving men, and reorganize them. This took him until 11:00 AM when Colonel Chatfield’s 1st Brigade were ready to move out. Colonel Good headed inland with his skirmishers in the lead (4 companies of the 47th PA, one company from the 55th PA, and 2 companies from the 6th CT). He was followed by the 47th and 55th PA, the 6th CT the 4th NH, and a section of the 3rd U.S. Artillery (Company E- two 10-pound Parrotts). Chatfield’s men were followed by General Alfred Terry’s 2nd Brigade which included the 3rd RI, 76th PA, 7th CT, 3rd NH, the 1st New York Engineers, a section of the 1st U.S. Artillery (Company E- two 10-pound Parrotts), and sailors led by Lieutenant Phoenix pulling three howitzers from the Wabash’s launches.

Between 8:30-9:00 AM Colonel William S. Walker received notification at his McPhersonville headquarters that the Federals had landed at Mackay’s Point. He was also notified that four transports were headed up the Coosawhatchie River to Coosawhatchie. Nearby he would only have about 450 men available and he moved quickly to concentrate them. He sent the LaFayette Artillery commanded by Lieutenant Louis F. LeBenx and section of the Beaufort Volunteer Artillery under Lieutenant Henry Stuart to Coosawhatchie to protect the railroad trestle and support Captain B. F. Wyman’s Company F, 11th SC. Walker sent a company of the 11th SC commanded by Captain B.F. Wyman to support the artillery he was sending to Coosawhatchie. Five other companies of the 11th SC would be sent from Hardeeville (C, D, and K) and Bluffton (E and G) to Coosawhatchie. Colonel Charles Colcock, with five cavalry companies and two companies of sharpshooters, was ordered to proceed to Bee’s Hill and guard the approaches to Coosawhatchie. Three companies of the 17th SC Cavalry Battalion under Major Robert Jeffords were dispatched to the railroad bridge at Salkehatchie. Walker ordered Captain Benjamin H. Rutledge’s Charleston Light Dragoons, Captain William L. Trenholm’s Rutledge Mounted Rifles, and Captain M. J. Kirk’s company of Partisan Rangers to join him. He then sent telegrams requesting support. General Johnson Hagood at Adams Run loaded the 7th SC Battalion on a train to Pocotaligo Station and ordered several companies of the 26th SC to march from their location at Church Flats to Rantowles Station to board a later train. Troops were also on their way from Savannah and Charleston.

Walker left to command at Pocotaligo Station. He deployed most of his force behind a strong position behind Frampton Creek at Frampton’s Plantation six miles from Mackay’s Landing. Covering the bridge here was Daniel B. Heyward’s company from the 2nd SC Cavalry Battalion, Lieutenant W. L. Campbell’s Company I of the 11th SC, two companies of the 1st SC Cavalry Battalion and artillery (section of the Beaufort Volunteer Artillery, and the Nelson Light Artillery). Walker then sent a small force forward to delay the Federals that included Captain Stephen Elliott Jr. and 2 guns of the Beaufort Volunteer Artillery, Company B of the 1st Battalion of SC Sharpshooters under Captain Joseph Allston, and 2 companies of the 2nd SC Cavalry Battalion commanded by Major Joseph Morgan. Morgan’s Cavalry were the first on the scene encountering Federal skirmishers near Mackay’s Plantation. They would quickly fall back to join Stephen Elliott at his uncle George Elliott’s Plantation. Elliott placed two 12-pounder Napoleons in the road where around noon they fired on advanced elements of the 47th PA. Colonel Tilghman Good ordered the 47th PA to charge. Elliott fell back to Caston’s Plantation destroying a bridge on the way. After a brief fight there they would fall back again to join Walker on the north side of Frampton Creek around 1:00 PM (see maps below).

They fell back to the Frampton line originally constructed by Robert E. Lee and Roswell Ripley. The Confederates would be in the woods with a deep swamp in front, impassable except by a narrow causeway on which the bridge had been destroyed. Walker placed the Beaufort Volunteer Artillery’s four guns at the northern end of the bridge and the four guns of the Nelson Artillery in an open field to the right and rear of the Beaufort guns. Along the creek’s northern bank was the remainder of his force. Good and his men advanced into the dense impenetrable woods. Behind Good’s troops were the 6th CT, 55th PA, and the 4th NH. Initially, Confederate artillery fire and  their sharpshooters were very effective. Colonel Chatfield and Lieutenant Colonel John Speidel were badly wounded while advancing with the 6th CT. With Chatfield’s wounding Brannan took command of the 1st Brigade. He ordered Lieutenant Henry to move his guns to the head of the causeway while the brigade advanced to the creek. Henry’s cannons were less than a hundred yards from the Confederate guns and poured a devastating fire into the Confederate line. Major Morgan suffered a severe wound. Captain Elliott was hit in the leg by a shell fragment. The Nelson Artillery had 4 men killed and 14 wounded and one of their caissons was disabled. As his artillerymen continued to fall Elliott warned Walker that unless they withdrew he would lose his guns. Walker facing a force eight times his size and fearing he would be flanked fell back two and one-half miles to his rear near Old Pocotaligo. He had accomplished his task of slowing the Federals advance. Engineers repaired the bridge so that infantry could cross and General Terry’s 2nd Brigade pursued the Confederates skirmishing with their rear guard back to Old Pocotaglio. 

Part of the Frampton’s lines are located in back of the Lowcountry Visitors Center and Museum.

Earthworks behind the Visitors Center.

The Frampton House and Museum

Izard’s company of the 11th SC covered the retreat over the Pocotaligo Bridge. Walker moved his troops to a position behind the river. Here he was reinforced by the cavalry companies of Captains Trenholm and Kirk. Trenholm was placed in overall command of the cavalry in place of the wounded Major Morgan. After crossing the river, Walker positioned the guns of the Beaufort and Nelson Artillery in order to command the bridge and causeway leading across the Pocotaligo. His dismounted cavalry and infantry took position behind earthworks. In reserve near the town were the Charleston Light Dragoons. As the Federals neared the river, Captain John Screven led a party of men who tore up the bridge. They did so, however, while Captain Allston and his sharpshooters were still on the other side stranding them between the lines for the rest of the fight. With the 4th NH in the lead General Terry’s brigade pressed forward followed by the 1st Brigade now commanded by Colonel Good. When they reached the Charleston-Savannah Turnpike Terry left the 3rd NH and a boat howitzer there as a rearguard while the rest of his men marched northeast toward the Pocotaligo River. In their front would be a 15-foot wide river with steep banks.

As they approached the Pocotaglio the 4th NH ran out of ammunition and was moved to the rear. The 76th PA, followed by the 55th PA and the 6th CT deployed on the left side of the road, while the 7th CT, and the 47th PA were to the right. The men waited in the woods while engineers cut timbers to repair the bridge. When his artillery came up (Gettings’s and Henry’s batteries and two boat howitzers) General Terry placed it in the road and a spirited artillery duel ensued. When Lieutenant Gettings was wounded, Lieutenant Henry took over both batteries. Sensing the Federals were running low on ammunition the Confederates increase their rate of fire. To counter the Rebel gunners Terry ordered his sharpshooters from the 55th PA on the left of the road and the 7th CT on the right to move to the edge of the marsh and pick off the enemy artillerists. The fire was especially effective from Companies A and B of the 7th CT who were armed with rapid fire Sharps rifles. Before long the Confederates could only operate three guns. Terry moved two companies from the 76th PA to protect his own guns and pushed the 7th CT forward to the edge of the marsh. Walker moved one gun from the Beaufort Volunteer Artillery, under the command of Sergeant Major Robert Fuller, to a new position three hundred yards to the right to try and make it appear like he was being reinforced. He also called up his reserves, the Charleston Light Dragoons, ordering them to cheer in an attempt to try and trick the Federals that reinforcements had arrived.

Running low on ammunition Lieutenant Henry withdrew his guns and they were replaced by Lieutenant Phoenix’s two boat howitzers who were using captured Confederate shells. Phoenix’s men came under heavy fire. Among the sailors working the howitzers was Seaman Oscar Farenholt, who was wounded three times. He would go on to become the first naval enlisted man to be promoted to rear admiral. After sending scouts out to reconnoiter the river in front of him Terry concluded it could not be forded. His only hope was to repair the bridge. Even if he did he would have to cross the bridge and still march a mile and a half up the McPhersonville Road to the railroad. In the meantime Confederate reinforcements were arriving. Two hundred men from the 7th SC Battalion, commanded by Captain William Sligh, from Adams Run reached the front. General Brannan witnessed the arrival of the reinforcements. With his men running out of ammunition and the sun setting he knew he could not reach the railroad before darkness and ordered a withdrawal. The Federals destroyed bridges as they fell back reaching Frampton’s Creek by 8:00 PM. They reached Mackey’s Point without much interference. The entire next day was spent boarding transports and gunboats for the return trip to Beaufort and Hilton Head.

The second goal of the mission was to destroy the railroad bridge over the Coosawhatchie River. The Planter carried Colonel Barton and three hundred men from the 48th NY, fifty men from Company G of the 3rd RI, commanded by Captain John Gould, and a Dahlgren boat howitzer up the river. It also towed a lighter that carried a detachment of the 1st NY Engineers led by Captain Samuel E. Eaton. The engineers carried equipment to destroy the railroad and burn the trestles and bridges. Two gunboats, the Patroon and the Vixen, sent to protect the Planter grounded. Another ship, the armed transport George Washington, entered Bee’s Creek by mistake. Colonel Walker ordered Colonel Charles Colcock at Grahamville to intercept any Union attack on Coosawhatchie. Colcock, however, was ill and delegated the task to Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Johnson who left Grahamville with five companies of the 3rd SC and Captain Henry Buist’s company of sharpshooters for the junction of the Grahamville and Coosawhatchie Roads at Bee’s Hill. The Planter continued upstream alone but grounded just before the steamboat landing. Barton’s men were forced to come ashore in a marsh 100 yards from solid ground. The engineers cut a path to the main road to bring ashore the 750-pound boat howitzer.

From there they marched to the railroad tracks about a quarter of a mile south of Coosawhatchie. As they arrived they could hear a train heading north toward them. Barton quickly hid his men and the boat howitzer in the woods and prepared to ambush the train. The train, containing two passenger cars and six platform cars, was coming from Hardeeville. It was transporting three companies of the 11th SC (C, D, and K), two guns commanded by Major John Harrison, and Chisolm’s company of sharpshooters. When the train came within close range the Federals opened fire. The train’s engineer and Major Grafton Geddes Ruth who were in the cab were killed. The conductor, J. H. Buckhalter, took over running the train. Major Harrison and several of his men were killed. The flag bearer of Company D of the 11th SC lost his company’s colors which fell off the train into Union hands. Some Confederates jumped off the train and escaped but most remained on board and made it to Coosawhatchie.

After the train passed, Barton’s engineers began ripping up track and cutting telegraph poles. His infantry quickly headed toward the railroad bridge where they found the Confederates drawn up on the north bank of the river. Four guns of the Lafayette Artillery guarded the footbridge while two guns from the Beaufort Volunteer Artillery covered the railroad bridge. Wyman’s company and the train’s survivors supported the guns. After a short firefight, Barton seeing that he could not destroy the bridge made the decision to return to the Planter. In the interim Captain Eaton’s engineers tore up a short section of track, cut down two telegraph poles, and severed the telegraph in several places. They cut short their work when the infantry withdrew and destroyed four bridges on the way back to the Planter. The Federals suffered only one casualty (Lieutenant Jabez Blanding of the 3rd RI) who was severely wounded. The expedition failed to break the railroad, which was quickly repaired the same day.

Of his 4,448 men, Brannan lost 340 with 43 killed, 294 wounded, and 3 missing. Three sailors were wounded. Estimates of Confederate casualties were 21 killed, 124 wounded and 18 missing.

The marker above is very close to the railroad.

Sources

Vital Rails The Charleston and Savannah Railroad and the Civil War in Coastal South Carolina by H. David Stone Jr.

The Civil War in the South Carolina Lowcountry How a Confederate Artillery Battery and a Black Union Regiment Defined the War by Ron Roth

The Civil War in South Carolina Selections from the South Carolina Historical Society Edited by Lawrence S. Rowland and Stephen G. Hoffius

Rebellion, Reconstruction, and Redemption, 1861-1893, The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina, Volume 2 by Stephen R. Wise and Lawrence S. Rowland

The Civil War in My South Carolina Lowcountry by James L. Harvey Jr.