BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER AT THE BATTLE OF PORT ROYAL

The first major naval battle of the Civil War happened in local waters, just months after the first shots of the war had been fired on Uniion-held Ft. Sumter, in Charleston harbor. The secretary of the navy had decided that the first major act of naval aggression against Confederate-held shipping lanes would occur in the strategic deep-water sound of Port Royal, between Hilton Head and present-day Hunting Island. Confederate forces held the defensive ramparts at Ft. Walker on Hilton Head, where General Thomas Drayton commanded about 1,000 troops, and occupied the fort's earthen works and mounted guns. Three miles across the sound, Ft. Beauregard's mounted guns presented a secondary target for the fleet that day, though none of Beauregard's defenses played a significant role in the battle. 

Confederate General Thomas Drayton was a planter and statesman, who owned a large home in Bluffton, overlooking the May River from its position on the high bluff. Drayton married well, and his wife, Catherine Pope, brought Hilton Head Island's Fish Haul Plantation to his holidings, where he managed a large contingent of over one-hundred enslaved field workers and house servants. Thomas had trained at the United State Military College, where he was a classmate and friend of Jefferson Davis. Davis would later become the President of the Confederacy when war broke out in 1860. When the battle lines were drawn, Thomas chose to fight with his native state of South Carolina, while his brother Percival, who had moved north years before, chose the Union side, and became an officer in the US Navy. Fate would bring the Drayton brothers together on November 7, 1861, when the US Navy fleet sailed into Port Royal Sound with guns loaded, and with orders to take the rebel defense by force. 

The flotilla of 77 US Navy ships that left for the planned trip south was the largest fleet of vessels to have ever sailed together under the US flag. Most of the ships had arrived in SC waters on November 3rd, 1861, after making their way through the storms and treacherous waters of NC's outer banks. Planned as a combined assault of naval bombardment with an infantry landing, the battle eventually became a purely naval artillery victory for the US forces. At the helm of the Union gunboat USS Pocahontas, Captain Percival Drayton was well aware that his brother, Thomas had been placed in command of the Confederate adversary at Fort Walker. The Union Navy's strategy was to enterthe Sound and form a "ring of fire," with the land-side ships firing broadside salvos into Fort Walker as they passed by. This newly-wrought battle tactic resulted in an almost non-stop deluge of exploding shells, which proved indefensible, decimating Fort Walker after a mere four hours of shelling. General Drayton and his men mostly escaped by retreating across the Calibougue Sound and tidal creeks to the mailand at Buckingham, with the aid of several large barges and under the cover of darkness. Loss of life had been suprisingly light, with only 250 rebel deaths throughout the battle, and only a few Union casualties. The quick retreat had saved many lives, though in their haste they left behind most of their belongings. Both Drayton brothers would eventually survive the battle, and the rest of the war as well. General Thomas Drayton later lost his home on Bluffton's May River when Union forces from Fort Pulaski burned most of Bluffton in June of 1863. 

Newspapers of the day sent artists on location to battlefields, where they endeavored to create incredible etchings that captured the details of battle. Artists of the time made sketches and notes on the scene, transferring their visions onto steel plates when they returned to their studios in the city. These artworks would be printed, published and would become the main source for information and depection of the day's events.The newspapers made great fanfare of the large illustrations and maps that adorned their pages, bringing the details of war to the northern citizenry and the stories of battle to a shocked public. The Bluffton Historical Preservation Society, are proud owners, custodians and archivists for the Caldwell Archives, which house many of the photos, documents, maps and manuscripts for historic Bluffton. Today, these examples are rare indeed, and the images from the Caldwell Archives are testament to the trying timesthat made America what it is today; a country forged by valiant heroes, and tragic losses. One such amazing example is an article from the New York Herald, which is on loan to the archives, from the estate of a generous BHPS member and donor. In 1861, the Herald circulated 84,000 copies and called itself "the most largely circulated journal in the world." The newspapers's publisher stated that the function of the newspaper "is not to instruct but to startle and amuse." This rare article depicts the details of the actual battle of Port Royal, as represented to the nation in 1861. We are scanning and protecting the original document to ensure its safety and long life, but we also want to share these dramatic and rare portrayals of the tactics and the finer points of the battles that won our freedom. 

Kelly Logan Graham is Executive Director of the Bluffton Historical Preservation Society, which owns and operates the Heyward House Museum, the official Welcome Center for the Town of Bluffton. Call 843-757-6293 or visit HeywardHouse.org