The Horn Work on Marion Square

The Horn Work on Marion Square. The Liberty Trail. Marion Square was once home to an extensive fortress that covered these public grounds and the surrounding area. Called the Horn Work, the name of the structure derived from its shape. Flanking the gateway on King Street were two half-bastions, or angled projections, which resembled the horns of a bull. It was a crucial component of the city's defenses in wartime. , , Built to defend the port city during the French and Indian War, the Horn Work was left unfinished after threats from that conflict passed. More than 10 years later, when the Revolutionary War came to Charleston in 1775, construction on the Horn Work resumed and the fortification served as the tactical center of the Patriot defenses. , , From April 1 through early May 1780, British troops - 12,500 men commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton , laid siege to the port city. Under the direction of French engineers, Charleston laborers, including many enslaved people, hurriedly erected earthworks to enclose the exposed south side of the Horn Work. Eighteen large cannons were positioned on elevated platforms in the Horn Work's northern wall. , , After the war, in 1784, the City of Charleston began demolition of the Horn Work to allow for the development of the growing city. Nearly 100 years later, in 1882, the city named this park for Revolutionary War hero Brigadier General Francis Marion. Bronze markers in the square now indicate the location of the long-buried Horn Work's tabby walls and commemorate its important role in Charleston’s history. , , (captions) , Defending Charleston , By May 11, 1780, Major General Benjamin Lincoln knew surrender of his American forces was inevitable. Brigadier General William Moultrie recalled the Patriots' last efforts to defend the city: "We fired the first gun, and immediately followed a tremendous cannonade... it was a glorious sight, to see them like meteors crossing each other, and bursting in the air." - Illustration by Dale Watson , , History Underground , In 2020, researchers conducted an archaeological survey in front of the Old Citadel on Marion Square. Their efforts located the buried footprint of the Horn Work, the heart of Charleston's defenses during the Revolutionary War. - Photo by Sarah Hall Blackwell