The Civil War in Beaufort District (SC) History, 1861 - 1865

Latest update: 31 December 2025 - gmc

The history of the Civil War in Beaufort District South Carolina is far different than the history of the Civil War elsewhere in the nation. Secession was nursed to maturity in Beaufort District. Port Royal Sound was among the first Southern harbors to fall into Union hands. The "Port Royal Experiment" was fashioned here during the long Federal occupation.

(Courtesy of the Civil War Trust)

Serious talk of separating the Southern states from the Federal government began under the boughs of the Secession Oak in Bluffton in 1844. Robert Barnwell Rhett, the United States Congressman fro this area known for his extreme views, was invited to a homecoming dinner in Bluffton on July 31, 1844. It is said that 500 people showed up to hear his speech: "If you value your rights you must resist."

The Federal forces saw their first significant victory of the Civil War at the Battle of Port Royal Sound on November 7, 1861, "when gun shoot." Because the white residents had evacuated Beaufort and the Union needed buildings for headquarters and hospitals, the town was spared the torch. The Union held Port Royal Island, St. Helena Island, Lady's Island, and Hilton Head Island for the rest of the Civil War period.

(Beaufort District Collection)

The Beaufort District Courthouse (located in Gillisonville since 1848) operated until the final days of the war in South Carolina. The courthouse burned down in early 1865, destroying most of Beaufort District's early records. The mainland of Beaufort District remained primarily under Confederate control from 1861 to 1865 though several military engagements occurred in the area: Battle of Port Royal Sound, November 7, 1861; Battle of Port Royal Ferry, December 31, 1861 - January 1, 1862; Battle of Pocotaligo, October 22, 1862; Combahee River Raid, June 2, 1863 during which Harriet Tubman, "the Moses of her people" and local native son hero Robert Smalls played major roles; the burning of Bluffton on June 4, 1863, and the Battle of Honey Hill, November 30, 1864.

Approximately 200,000 men of color would serve in the Union Army or Union Navy during the Civil War. Some of the men were free black men from Northern states; some were former enslaved men from the states which seceded from the United States of America. Because the area around Port Royal and St. Helena Sounds was occupied by the Federal government so early in the Civil War, three of the four regiments of United States Colored Troops (USCT) soldiers raised in South Carolina were organized here in Beaufort District.

The abandonment of the enslaved and the arrival of Union troops followed shortly thereafter by abolitionist missionaries, doctors, nurses and teachers had a profound effect on the subsequent course of American history as Beaufort District became the testing ground for educating the freedmen at Penn School and plantation schools, extending civil rights to African-Americans, leading to the establishment of one of the first villages under black leadership at Mitchelville on Hilton Head Island.

(Beaufort District Collection)

Here are some reading suggestions and links to get you started exploring the unique Civil War era history of Beaufort District:

Suggested Books

• Rebellion, Reconstruction, and Redemption, 1861 - 1893 by Stephen R. Wise and Lawrence S. Rowland with Gerhard Spieler; foreword by Alexander Moore, 2015. This title is volume 2 of the History of Beaufort County South Carolina, 1996 - 2015.
• Rehearsal for Reconstruction: The Port Royal Experiment by Willie Lee Rose, 1964.
• The Bluffton Expedition: The Burning of Bluffton, South Carolina during the Civil War by Jeff Fulgham, 2012.
• The Battle of Port Royal by Michael Coker, 2009.
• Department of the South: Hilton Head Island in the Civil War by Robert Carse, 1961.

Suggested Materials about Important People in Beaufort District's Civil War History

• Clara Barton
• Black Soldiers and Sailors during the Civil War
• Stephen Elliott (Brigadier General, Confederate States of America)
• Charlotte Forten
• Rachel C. Mather
• Missionary Teachers to the Freedmen
• Robert Barnwell Rhett
• Robert Smalls
• Laura Towne
• Harriet Tubman

Suggested Materials about Important Places in Beaufort District's Civil War History

• Mitchelville
• Penn School

Suggested Materials about Important Events in Beaufort District's Civil War History

• Battle of Port Royal Sound 1861
• Battle of Port Royal Ferry 1862
• Watching for Jubilee: Emancipation Day January 1, 1863
• Harriet Tubman and the Combahee River Raid 1863
• Burning of Bluffton 1863
• Battle of Honey Hill 1864

Beaufort's Own Signer

Latest update: 14 July 2023 - Grace Cordial, Manager

Beaufort District's "most ardent revolutionary" was Thomas Heyward, Jr., a slave-owning planter, Patriot soldier, politician, judge, and Signer of the Declaration of Independence for South Carolina. Read more http://bit.ly/1Cpl6st 

For the all you history nerds, check out our List of Links & Materials about him.

Note: Contact the Beaufort District Collection at 843-255-6468 or email bdc@bcgov.net for additional information about local history and archives relating to the people, places, and themes of the history, Gullah culture, and  natural environment of Beaufort County, Jasper County and Hampton County in lowcountry South Carolina. Please check the Beaufort County Library (SC) system's homepage for  current hours of operation and access. 

Civil War Era Living History Encampment, March 11 - March 13

The 50th Pennsylvania (USA) is occupying Beaufort and the Arsenal - again - next weekend.

Beaufort History Museum will be hosting 30 re-enactors from all over the Eastern Seaboard, March 11 - March 13th.  You'll be able to see aspects of daily life during the Civil War occupation: the Brigade Headquarters; business conducted by Army quartermasters and merchants (called "sutlers"); examples of the daily routine of a soldier; and the interaction of the missionaries and teachers with the former enslaved. Activities will include rustling up a meal cooked over a campfire, an infantry drill, a Freedmen's school lesson, a march along Bay Street, and a wreath laying ceremony in the Beaufort National Cemetery. The official Schedule of Events and details are found at https://beauforthistorymuseum.wildapricot.org/event-2128759.
  
Beaufort County Library and Penn Center are partnering with the Beaufort History Museum to bring this free event to the community.


Ashley and I will be on hand on Saturday, March 12th to show off some of our Civil War related treasures and to facilitate the book signings by Beaufort's own well beloved and highly regarded favorite historians, Dr. Larry Rowland and Dr. Steve Wise. The book signing will be held in the Beaufort Branch's Children's Programming Room from 9 am to 11 am.

Penn Center will have representatives on site Saturday to share information about its historic campus and history as one of the first schools for the freedmen as well. 

Nerds and students of local history may appreciate our recently compiled "Civil War in Beaufort District (SC), 1861 - 1865" webpage. A companion site is the "Reconstruction Period in Beaufort, South Carolina, 1862 - 1893." Why the overlap? Here in Beaufort District at least, Reconstruction began shortly after the Union took control of Port Royal Island, Hilton Head Island, and St. Helena Island in November 1861.

If you'd like to bone up about the military actions of the 50th Pennsylvania, the Beaufort District Collection has three books about the 50th Pennsylvania in our holdings: A history of Company C, 50th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry Regiment: From the camp, the battlefield and the prison pen, 1861 - 1865 edited by J. Stuart Richards, 2006; The 50th Pennsylvania's Civil War Odyssey: The Exciting life and hard times of a Union volunteer infantry regiment, 1861 to 1865 by Harold B. Birch, 2003; and A Scratch with the Rebels: A Pennsylvania Roundhead and a South Carolina Cavalier by Carolyn Poling Schriber, 2007.

Since the 1st South Carolina (USCT) was critical to the success of the Union Army, you may enjoy our "Black Soldiers and Sailors during the Civil War" list http://bit.ly/1WMVOzG. The Civil War Trust has a great complete collection of resources for maps, historical articles, battlefields and more relating to the USCT. Take their quiz to test how much you really know about the role of black soldiers in the war. (I only got Captain's rank - mostly on account of my lack of knowledge about the course of the war in the Western theater. Perhaps you'll do better.) 

While you're visiting the Encampment, you may want to mosey down to the Historic Beaufort Foundation's John Mark Verdier House, 801 Bay Street, to see  their latest exhibit "They Came to Beaufort ... Three Women of the Civil War." HBF says "The stories of Clara Barton, Frances Dana Barker Gage and Susie King Taylor all merge here in Beaufort during the occupation by the Union troops from 1861 until the end of the Civil War.

This exhibit examines how their paths crossed during this crucial period of American history and their contributions. Many women of courage and commitment came to the Lowcountry …. this is the story of three of those brave women."

Can't get enough of the Civil War? On Tuesday, March 15th Dr. Eric Poplin will discuss the Battle of Congaree Creek during the Hilton Head Chapter, ASSC meeting at Coastal Discovery Museum at 7:00 pm.

"Bound for Canaan" at Bluffton Branch

Some of you may remember Ron Roth from the "Civil War 150" exhibit and associated programming last Fall.  He delivers fine presentations on historical topics including one about the Underground Railroad being hosted at Bluffton Branch later this month. Although the BDC limits its programming efforts to local history topics, the Underground Railroad is a fascinating topic that many of our historically minded readers would enjoy.

Event Name:  Bound for Canaan:  The Underground Railroad and the African American Quest for Freedom

Short Description of Event:  Ron Roth presents the heroic efforts of African Americans and whites to hide and guide runaway slaves in their desperate journeys to freedom in the north and in Canada. This program is sponsored by The Humanities Council^SC, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities; inspiring, engaging and enriching South Carolinians with programs on literature, history, culture and heritage.

Time and Date of Event:  Tuesday, September 23 at 6:00 pm

Location of Event:  Bluffton Library, 120 Palmetto Way, Bluffton SC 29910

Price of Event: Free

Contact info: 843-255-6512, areasoner@bcgov.net

Website:    www.beaufortcountylibrary.org

I wrote a blog post about the Underground Railroad and some of its local connections back in February 2013. There are more than 50 library materials about the Underground materials in the Library system's holdings. Click here for a bookbag full of non-fiction titles, for all ages, about the Underground Railroad from our system catalog. 

Digital Copies Protect Fragile Original Documents

The Port Royal Experiment, defined as "an early humanitarian effort to prepare the former slaves of the South Carolina Sea Islands for inclusion as free citizens in American public life" by the South Carolina Encyclopedia, was a unique feature of our local past. Because we have a fragile printed copy of the First Annual Report of the Port Royal Relief Committee presented at a public meeting in Concert Hall, Chestnut St., Philadelphia, March 26th, 1863 in our holdings, we refer researchers to the digital copy on the Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/firstannualrepor00port. Why? To preserve the original for use in the future. It's a quite simple equation: Less physical handling = less potential damage to fragile documents. 

The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like many paper-based libraries, the Internet Archive provides free access to researchers, historians, scholars, the print disabled, and the general public.  It has been doing digital preservation since 1996 by offering permanent access to historical collections that exist in digital format. Now the Internet Archive includes texts, audio, moving images, and software as well as archived web pages and provides specialized services for adaptive reading and information access for the blind and other persons with disabilities. 

HathiTrust Digital Library is a digital preservation repository and highly functional access platform that started in California in 2008.  It provides long-term preservation and access services for public domain and in copyright content from a variety of sources, including Google, the Internet Archive, Microsoft, and in-house partner institution initiatives. The primary community that HathiTrust serves are the members (faculty, students, and users) of its partners libraries, but the materials in HathiTrust are available to all to the extent permitted by law and contracts, providing the published record as a public good to users around the world.

We often check the Internet Archive and the HathiTrust Digital Library for digital versions of the fragile and historic items we hold in trust for the community.  Together these two resources provide access to billions of items. When we find a digital copy, we add the link to the appropriate topic in our Lists of Materials in the BDC's Wordpress Blog or share the link with the cataloging librarian to add to the SCLENDS record.

Heads up: The BDC Research Room will be closed at lunchtime, Noon to 1 pm, beginning August 19th and continuing through August 25th.  Regular hours, that is 10 am - 5 pm, resume on Tuesday, August 26th. 

Experiment in Freedom Video

Mary Long's Yesteryear: Penn School: Experiment In Freedom traces the history of the Port Royal Experiment and the establishment of Penn School, one of the first schools in the South for freed slaves. For more than 100 years, the school has played a historic and vital role in the lives of the South Carolina sea Island people. The program follows the history of the center, from its founding to its role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Copies of the video are available through the Local History sections at our branch libraries. Some branches have VHS and DVD versions; some branches have only VHS; some branches have only DVD. Call numbers: 975.799 PEN or 370.9757 MAR

Notable Women of 20th Century Beaufort County: Part 4

One component of the "Virtual BDC" is our Wordpress Blog, simply entitled "bdcbcl." We post lists of materials about the people, places, and themes of our long and storied history on that blog. Continuing our observance of National Women History Month we draw your attention to two notable women of 20th century Beaufort County among the "Local Notables" personages: Harriet Keyserling and Chlotilde Martin.

Harriet Hirschfeld Keyserling was born in New York City on April 4, 1922.  She married a Navy doctor, Herbert Keyserling in 1944.  At the conclusion of World War II, they moved to his hometown, Beaufort, SC. Here they reared 4 children, one of whom is the current Mayor.  The story of her transition from a liberal-minded Jewish housewife to an eight term South Carolina legislator (beginning at the age of 54), is told in her memoir Against the Tide.  (Against the Tide is available in the BDC and Local History sections under call # B Keyserling).  Her particular interests were funding for the arts and environmental issues. She died on December 10, 2010, aged 88.  To learn more, consult the resources we compiled about her for the Harriet Keyserling list.

Chlotilde Rowell Martin was a newspaper writer, deeply interested in history and historic preservation.  Born in Bamberg in 1895, she moved to Beaufort in 1911 and considered it her hometown.  She was likely the first woman reporter at The State newspaper (1919). She married Thomas S. Martin of Anderson County in 1923.  Four short years later he died and widow Martin had two children to support on whatever income she could cobble together to keep the wolf from the door.  The children and she returned to Beaufort to be nearer to her parents (Melvin L. and Eva Randall Rowell)  in 1930 and soon started her most famous work, "Lowcountry Gossip," for The News and Courier newspaper of Charleston.  Some of those columns have been reprinted and annotated in Northern Money, Southern Land: The Lowcountry Plantation Sketches of Chlotilde R. Martin, edited by Robert B. Cuthbert and Stephen G. Hoffius, University of South Carolina Press, 2009. (The volume is available in the BDC and Local History sections under call # 728.8579 MAR).

She was a charter member of the Beaufort County Historical Society and the "Committee for the Preservation of the Lafayette Building." She was an active member of the Historic Beaufort Foundation, the Beaufort Museum, and the St. Helena's Episcopal Church.  She died on November 17, 1991, aged 96.  To learn more about her, consult the resources we compiled about her for the Chlotilde Martin list.


Of course, if you read through the list of posts on bdcbcl, you'll find other women significant to the history of Beaufort District: Charlotte Forten; Harriet Tubman; Clara Barton; and, Rachel Mather.  

National Wildlife Week, Mar. 18 - 24

The mission of the Beaufort District Collection is to acquire, preserve, maintain and make accessible a research collection of permanent value which records the heritage and history of the people, places, culture, and natural environment of Beaufort County, Jasper County and Hampton County in lowcountry South Carolina. To accomplish our mission, we highlight certain of our resources during proclaimed national weeks of celebration.  This year we've adding "National Wildlife Week" to our roster of themes.

 

National Wildlife Week is National Wildlife Federation's longest-running education program designed around teaching and connecting kids to the awesome wonders of wildlife. Each year, the organization picks a theme and provides fun and informative educational materials, curriculum and activities for educators and caregivers to use with kids. The 2013 National Wildlife Week theme is "Branching Out for Wildlife"—celebrating trees and their importance to wildlife and people.  Check out all the options available for our youngsters on their National Wildlife Week website.

But as the BDC's customers are older than age 12, here are a few things from the "Virtual BDC" that highlight the themes of trees and wildlife which may appeal to teens and adults: 

"Oak Trees and Shrubs of the Lowcountry," an article by Dennis Adams on our Local History & Nature pages  

"Spanish Moss" [the article] by Dennis Adams and "Spanish Moss [the video]" from Beaufort County History Moment vignettes with Natalie Hefter  

Sand Flies breed in the salt marshes and inland species love water in tree pockets. 

For folks who prefer books, the BDC and the Local History sections have Woodland Walks by Todd Ballantine and South Carolina's Lowcountry Naturally by Marvin Bouknight. (Did you know that Spanish moss actually blooms?  Neither did I, until Marvin Bouknight showed me a photograph he took!) You can hear a podcast of Bouknight describing his book courtesy of CityTrex.  The sounds of nature in the background of his talk are so soothing.  Bouknight has a website, Nature Nook, too.  

Heads up: Bouknight will be sharing his deep knowledge (and beautiful photographs) in a natural history presentation at Beaufort Branch Library on May 21st. 

For people who prefer visual presentations of information on their own schedule, we recommend the Coastal Kingdom DVDs (call # 508.7579 COA, BDC and local history sections) or you can get the video on demand through the Coastal Kingdom TV website at http://www.coastalkingdom.com/.  Test your knowledge and sight recognition of local fauna with the "Creature Quiz" feature on the site.  Test your Coastal Kingdom is a collaboration of Tony Mills, naturalist of The Lowcountry Institute and Beaufort County government's County Channel.  

Expeditions with Patrick McMillan (call # 508.7579 MCM) is another fine series exploring the depth and scope of South Carolina's diverse ecosystems.  In the BDC, we even have some old segments of SCETV's NatureScene with Rudy Mancke on VHS!

As you can tell, we take our stewardship of materials about local natural history seriously.