Reuniting with family was one of the first concerns of African slaves who escaped to Hilton Head Island. Slavery split up families. Owners could sell family members for profit or punishment. On Hilton Head Island, and places where freedom seekers . . . — — Map (db m105209) HM
Religion in Mitchelville
Before Mitchelville was established, African slaves on the island congregated at impromptu religious services under trees. The churches built in Mitchelville were the center of religious, social, political, and . . . — — Map (db m105172) HM
Working for Wages
African slaves who escaped their plantations and worked for the Union military earned between six and eighteen dollars a month as carpenters, blacksmiths, drivers, boatmen, and laborers. Others worked as cooks and servants . . . — — Map (db m105254) HM
Interest in the freedom seekers of Mitchelville and the surrounding areas led to an outpouring of assistance from Northern missionaries and abolitionists. They organized and sent aid and teachers. Newspaper reporters came to document conditions . . . — — Map (db m105263) HM
The Maps and Pictures below identify the approximate locations of roads and buildings that were in Mitchelville circa 1862-1868.The Town of Mitchelville had praise houses, stores, schools and numerous homes. Unfortunately no physical remains of . . . — — Map (db m105156) HM
The first black troops in the Union Army enlisted on Hilton Head Island in May 1862. Initially, men who escaped plantations and slavery were reluctant to join the army. They did not want to leave their families and new financial opportunities and . . . — — Map (db m105295) HM
The Battle of Port Royal
On November 7, 1861, at the Battle of Port Royal Union forces attacked Confederates at Fort Walker on Hilton Head island and Fort Beauregard at Bay Point.The Union deployed the largest amphibious fleet ever assembled . . . — — Map (db m105290) HM
During the civil War, Union forces defeated the Confederates on Hilton Head Island at the Battle of
Port Royal on November 7, 1861. Cannon fire from that battle heralded a dawn of freedom for millions of African slaves throughout the South. . . . — — Map (db m105121) HM