From the June 14th Charleston (SC) Post and Courier by Brian Hicks.
It's not a famous battle, but had the Union won, it might have been huge as Charleston might have fallen.
June 16th is the 150th anniversary of it.
In the spring of 1862, the Union was on the move to take James Island after receiving information froom Robert Smalls that Confederate troops were not properly guarding the mouth of the Stono River. In early June, 6,000 Union troops landed with little reconnaissance. For two weeks, small confrontations took place across the island.
On June 16th, two divisions of U.S. troops charged Tower Battery, later renamed Fort Lamar in Secessionville, a James Island area named for an earlier dispute (not South Carolina's secession).
Confederates at the Tower Battery had worked late into the night shoring up defenses and were aided by reinforcements from Fort Johnson.
Although outnumbered three -to-one, they fought off the attacks. In five hours time, there were three attacks and by 9 AM, the Federals were retreating.
It would be another year before the Union mounted another serious threat to James Island.
I remember driving out to Folly Beach a few years back and seeing a sign for Secessionville, but didn't know anything about it. Now, I do.
So, That Secessionville. --Old B-Runner
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