By 1829, the Fort Johnson property had become a depot for the construction of Fort Sumter. In 1860, engineers were scrambling to finish Fort Sumter as war clouds gathered. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union.
On December 26, 1861, Major Robert Anderson of the U.S. First Artillery ordered the families and troops at Fort Moultrie to shift from Sullivan's Island to Fort Johnson, but the schooner carrying them stopped just short of the point, anchoring in the harbor.
When S.C. Governor Francis W. Pickens, learned that the forts, except Sumter, were essentially unoccupied, he ordered them seized. General Pierre G.T. Beauregard decided a mortar to be fired from Fort Johnson would serve as a signal for all batteries tom open fire on Sumter.
At the time, there were two batteries at Fort Johnson, one on the beach and one on the hill.
During the war, Fort Johnson and at Union-held Battery Gregg on Morris Island often exchanged artillery fire. On July 3, 1864, Union troops attempted an amphibious landing at Fort Johnson, but failed.
In early 1865, with General Sherman's Army marching through the state, Confederates evacuated Fort Johnson and the rest of the massive Charleston defenses on February 17.
Troops with the 54th Massachusetts, a black regiment famous for he attack on Fort Wagner in Charleston Harbor and the 52nd Pennsylvania, a white regiment, rowed form Morris Island to Fort Johnson, taking control of 26 abandoned cannons.
--Old B-Runner
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