After the occupation of Hilton Head,
a civilian town grew up to serve the
needs of the large Union base and
its garrison here. The town boasted
a hotel, a theater, 2 newspapers, and
numerous stores, centering along a
street, officially . . . — — Map (db m16550) HM
Early A.M.E. Missionaries to South Carolina, Rev. James H.A. Johnson and Rev. James A. Handy, arrived at Hilton Head on the Steamship Arago at 3:18 p.m. Friday, May 12, 1865.
Rev. James Lynch, also an A.M.E. Missionary, shared entertainment . . . — — Map (db m104498) HM
A decisive battle in the Civil War took
place here on Nov. 7, 1861, when 18
Union warships with about 55 supporting
craft led by Adm. S.E. DuPont bombarded
for 4½ hours the Confederate forces
in Fort Walker on this shore and . . . — — Map (db m16504) 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
This statue is based on the
photograph of Charles E. Fraser
as it appeared in a 1962 edition
of the Saturday Evening Post
on “People on the Way Up”.
This celebrated image
caused a media sensation that
awarded the Sea Pines . . . — — Map (db m212437) HM
Before the Island's first bridge, Charlie Simmons, Sr., became known as "Mr. Transportation" amoung the local community, which was made up of descendants of freed slaves following the Civil War.
Until the late 1920's sailboats were the primary . . . — — Map (db m41054) HM
(Front)
This one-room frame school, built ca. 1937, was the first separate school building constructed for African-American students on Hilton Head Island. It replaced an earlier Cherry Hill School, which had held its classes in personage of St. . . . — — Map (db m104496) HM
Oldest Baptist church on Hilton Head Island
Organized August 17, 1862
in the town of Mitchelville
with 120 members
Building was moved to present location
later and rebuilt in 1966
Rededicated October 30, 1988
Rev. C.W. Aiken, Pastor . . . — — Map (db m104497) HM
This church, organized in 1862, was first located in the town of Mitchelville, a freedman’s village established on Hilton Head by the United States Army. Rev. Abraham Murchinson, its first pastor, was a former slave. The congregation numbered . . . — — Map (db m104580) HM
This plantation was part of a 1717 Proprietary landgrant of 500 acres to Col. John Barnwell. Later owners included members of the Green, Ellis, and Pope families. Nearby tabby ruins are remains of fire places of slave cabins. Graves of blacks, who . . . — — Map (db m6625) HM
(Front ) This Civil War fort, named for Gen. Joshua Blackwood Howell (1806-1864), was built by the U.S.
Army to defend Hilton Head Island and the nearby freedmen’s village of Mitchelville from potential Confederate
raids or . . . — — Map (db m49841) HM
An excellent example of the defensive earthworks common to the civil War era, Fort Howell was constructed by Union Forces occupying Hilton Head Island and was one of the final fortifications to be built during the war.
The men of the 32nd U.S. . . . — — Map (db m6801) HM
Completed in 1862, this large earth fort
was designed to defend the great Union
blockade base on Hilton Head against
Confederate land attack. Named after
the first Union commander here, Gen.
Thomas W. Sherman, the fort consists
of two miles of . . . — — Map (db m15949) HM
Hastily built in 1861 to protect the S.C. coast
against Union attack, Fort Walker, commanded
by Col. William C. Heyward, bore the brunt
of the Union attack on November 7, 1861,
when after 4½ hours, with only 3 guns left
serviceable and . . . — — Map (db m16519) HM
Fort Howell is typical of the earthen forts constructed during the Civil War by both Confederates and Union Armies. The change from earlier brick and stone masonry forts was the result of advances in weaponry that occurred as the Civil War . . . — — Map (db m131833) HM
General Joshua Blackwood Howell 1806-1864
Fort Howell is named for General Joshua Blackwood Howell of Pennsylvania, who commanded the Hilton Head District, Department of the South, United States Army, from February through April, 1864. . . . — — Map (db m131835) HM
A prominent landmark for mariners
since the voyages of the early
Spanish explorers, this headland
was known to the English as
Hilton Head after the voyage
in 1663 of Captain William Hilton
which led to their first
permanent settlement in . . . — — Map (db m16231) HM
This marker has been erected as a lasting tribute to the following men who envisioned Hilton Head Island as a place where man could commune with Nature and the Forest and all things that dwell therein.
These men determined that no . . . — — Map (db m104507)
Dedicated to all veterans who have served their country honorably,
and have helped preserve the freedoms that we enjoy in this great country.
From A Grateful Nation — — Map (db m7015) HM
(Left column)
¤ 15,000 to 4,000 Years Ago: The
rising sea level flooded the deep basin
now known as Port Royal Sound.
¤ 1531: Spanish explorers Francisco
Gordillo and Pedro de Quexos sailed
into Port Royal . . . — — Map (db m63445) HM
native of Ireland, soldier in the Revolution, planter
on this island, a founder of the Episcopal Church on Hilton Head, the ancestor of the Stoneys of South Carolina. Also of his grandson, John Safford Stoney, eldest son of John and Elizabeth . . . — — Map (db m119649) 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
In 1862, after Hilton Head's fall to Union
forces in 1861, this town, planned for the
area's former slaves and named for General
Ormsby M. Mitchel, began. — — Map (db m6783) HM
(front)
The congregation of Queen Chapel can trace its roots to May 1865 when A.M.E. missionaries Rev. R.H. Cain, Rev. James H.A. Johnson and James A. Handy arrived on Hilton Head Island. They visited the Freedman’s town of Mitchelville . . . — — Map (db m104583) HM
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
In December 1781, returning from a patrol with the Patriot Militia, Charles Devant was mortally wounded from ambush near here by Captain Martinangel's Royal Militia from Daufuskie Island. He managed to ride
his horse to his nearby plantation, Two . . . — — Map (db m33789) HM
This church, founded in 1886 by former members of First African Baptist Church, is one of the oldest surviving institutions remaining from the town of Mitchelville, a freedmen’s village established here by the United States Army in 1862. The present . . . — — Map (db m44098) HM
Hilton Head Steamgun was the last of 13
produced - 8 land based and 5 ship borne. The 50 foot long, 15-inch diameter barrel propelled a 7 foot long, dynamite loaded projectile up to 3 .25 miles. Two steam engines powered an electric generator . . . — — Map (db m16604) 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
In the spring and summer of 1864, Union officers of the Department of the South on Hilton Head Island became concerned about retaining sufficient troops and equipment to defend Hilton Head, as units were being transferred to participate in campaigns . . . — — Map (db m131823) HM WM
The Troops that Built Fort Howell
Construction of Fort Howell was begun by the 32nd U.S. Colored Infantry and completed by the 144th New York Infantry. The 500-man 32nd Colored Infantry was organized at Camp William Penn, Philadelphia, . . . — — Map (db m131839) HM
Confederate Brig. Gen. Thomas F. Drayton was
in command of this area at the time of nearby battle
of Port Royal, November 7, 1861. A brother, Capt.
Percival Drayton, commanded the Union warship
Pocahontas at the same battle. . . . — — Map (db m9966) HM
To honor the memory of two gallant gentleman
of South Carolina. Thomas Fenwick Drayton;
Brigadier-General, C.S.A. and his brother
Commodore Percival Drayton, U.S.N., Captain
of U.S.S. Hartford, and later the first Chief
of Naval Operations. . . . — — Map (db m16499) HM
(Front text) This house, built in 1930, is typical in materials and methods of construction of those built on the S.C. Sea Islands from the end of the Civil War to the mid-20th century. It was built on land bought after 1865 by William . . . — — Map (db m56892) 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
(plaque 1)
Welcome to
The Shelter Cove Harbor Community
Home Of The World’s Largest Figurative Sundial
Dedicated August 18, 1983
The sculpture weighs more than a ton, is a twice life sized statue
of Neptune, cast in bronze at . . . — — Map (db m104698)
A Chapel of St. Luke's Parish,
established May 23, 1767, built of
wood shortly after 1786 under the
direction of Captain John Stoney
and Isaac Fripp, was consecrated
in 1833. Members of the Barksdale,
Baynard, Chaplin, Davant, Fripp,
Kirk, . . . — — Map (db m119648) HM
