At the onset of the war, recognizing the importance of defending the inlet and the village of Little River, Confederates ordered the construction of an earthen fort on Thomas Randall's land overlooking the inlet.
The fort, actually more of a battery, consisted of a moat aprroximately ten feet wide and five feet deep. It had a parapet and a blockhouse from which defenders could fire with protection.
Captain Thomas Dagget, commander of the Waccamaw Light Artillery onstalled two six-inch cannons at Fort Randall. (He also commanded Fort Ward, believed to have been at nearby Murrells Inlet.
According to Union naval records, there was considerable blockade running done at the Little River Inlet. The blockade runners brought in valuable war supplies and left with locally-produced cargo such as resin, turpentine, cotton and lumber.
In January, 1863, Union naval officer Lt. William Barker Cushing made a daring raid on Fort Randall.
Well, that answers that question.
William Barker Cushing it was. Of course, in 1864, he achieved even bigger acclaim for sinking the Confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle.
--Old B-Runner
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