During the next three years, considerable building activity turned Fort Johnson into an entrenched camp mounting 26 guns and mortars. A historical marker on the Fort Sumter side of the point designates the approximate site of the battery.

The signal shot which opened the bombardment of Fort Sumter and marked the beginning of the American Civil War was fired from the east mortar battery on April 12, 1861. The magazine is still intact and in excellent condition.ĭuring early 1861, South Carolina state troops erected two 10-inch mortar batteries of two mortars each and an earthwork of three guns. By 1864, all except the tower foundation had been destroyed. The wooden interior of this tower was burned in 1859.

By 1827, scarcely a vestige remained.Ībout this time the fort was dropped from reports of United States fortifications, although between 18 a free-standing brick magazine was constructed on the eastern side of the reservation as was an armed martello tower on the western side. Some work apparently was done during the War of 1812, but another storm in 1813 almost destroyed the fort. A third fort, built in 1793, was abandoned temporarily in 1800 after a storm breached its sea wall. A siege map of the period shows it as destroyed, but whether by enemy action or by storm has not been determined. During the American Revolution, the fort remained in colonial hands until 1780 when British forces advancing on Charleston found it abandoned. In 1775, this fort was occupied by three companies of South Carolina troops under Lt. A second fort was built in 1759 and portions of its 'tabby' walls, made from sea shells, are still visible today. This fort was constructed about 1708 and was named after the Proprietary Governor of the Carolinas, Sir Nathaniel Johnson. No traces now exist of the original Fort Johnson which stood at Windmill Point on James Island. Marine Resources Center The History of Fort Johnson

Us navy mortar vessel civil war