Sullivan's Island in Charleston County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Breach Inlet
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Military History
Photographed by Dave W, May 20, 2023
1. Breach Inlet side of marker
Breach Inlet
This beautiful Atlantic Ocean Inlet has separated Sullivan's Island from Isle of Palms for centuries. The shore and sandbars change constantly, as strong and dangerous tidal currents flow into and out of the salt marsh between the islands and the mainland.
Sewee Indians hunted on these barrier islands before English settlement of Charles Town in 1670, and generations of settlers used this remote area for fishing and oystering.
The first Breach Inlet bridge was an electric trolley trestle that took tourists to a new resort on Isle of Palms in 1898. Residential and recreational communities grew around the inlet after automobile bridges connected the islands and the mainland.
Military History
Breach Inlet was the scene of military activities in times of conflict from the American Revolution through World War II.
The inlet was far wider in 1776, when patriots led by Colonel William "Danger" Thomson repelled a British army attempting to cross it and storm Fort Moultrie during the Battle of Sullivan's Island-one of America's first great victories of the Revolutionary War.
Confederate Battery Marshall fortified this site during the Civil War. In 1864, the Confederates' H.L. Hunley departed Breach Inlet and became the first submarine to sink an
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Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Railroads & Streetcars • War, US Civil • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1670.
Location. 32° 46.491′ N, 79° 48.863′ W. Marker is on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, in Charleston County. It is on Middle Street south of Jasper Boulevard (South Carolina Route 703), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3217 Middle St, Sullivans Island SC 29482, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Historic Charleston and in the Lowcountry. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Victory at Breach Inlet (a few steps from this marker); Battle of Sullivans Island (a few steps from this marker); Charles Town in the American Revolution (a few steps from this marker); Liberty or Death (a few steps from this marker); Thomson Park (a few steps from this marker); British Attack at Breach Inlet / Battery Marshall (a few steps from this marker); Lord Cornwallis (approx. 0.4 miles away); African American Cemetery (approx. 1½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sullivan's Island.
Photographed by Dave W, May 20, 2023
2. Military History side of marker
Photographed by Dave W, May 20, 2023
3. Breach Inlet / Military History Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on October 1, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 22, 2023, by Dave W of Co, Colorado. This page has been viewed 1,335 times since then and 96 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 22, 2023, by Dave W of Co, Colorado. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
