Save Morris Island!

[SCSecesh]

A grass roots organization has been formed to save this Civil War historic battle site from development.
A website can be found at

www.morrisisland.org

Morris Island is certainly one of the most endangered CW battlegrounds today. With the support of concerned Americans we can stop it's development and preserve this island for generations to come as well as preserve the view from another piece of historic property - Ft. Sumter!

While most know of Morris Island from the movie "Glory" and the 54th's assault on Fort Wagner. MI was the location of the "Star of the West Battery" manned by Citadel Cadets that turned back the reinforcements headed to Sumter. It was the key in the protection of Charleston from the Federal troops moving up from Port Royal; it was key to the Federal armies reduction of Ft. Sumter in the efforts to capture Charleston and etc. This ground was almost certainly contested over longer than any other piece of ground during the CW. Now we have a chance to preserve it!

[DougCooper]

Man this ought to be a no-brainer - the country and especially the citizens of Charleston vs a greedy SOB and 20 potential million dollar home owners. Sounds like a history spoiling, habitat killing, erosion inducing Hurricane Magnet. :mad:

[K Bartsch]

We're all aware of the losses sustained by the various federal units assaulting Battery Wagner on Morris Island. There are quite literally hundreds of American soldiers from both sides of the conflict lying buried under the sand of Morris Island, which appears today very much as it did at the time of the Civil War. Please help us save it from the dozen or so multi-million dolar McMansions now being planned. Incidentally, if these things are built, they will undoubtedly be carried away from their perch on the unprotected barrier island by the next good sized hurricane. Of course, the owners losses will be offset by the American taxpayer in the form of federal disaster relief funds.

Here's an account from one of the SC units which helped garrison Battery/Fort Wagner:

"On the first day of September 1863, a battalion of the 25th regiment [SCVI], the 'Edisto Rifles' being one of the companies, composed a part of the garrison of Fort Wagner, the last five days it was held by Confederate forces, and was among the last troops to leave when it was evacuated at 11 o-clock on the night of the sixth of September. The federal flag was flying over one angle of the fort while the Edisto Rifles marched quietly out of the sally-port on their way to Cummings Point [at the northern tip of Morris Island] to make their escape in small boats to Fort's Johnson and Sumter.

The duty in Wagner was so arduous and exhausting that the garrison had to be relieved every few days. The detachment from the 25th, under command of Lt Col Pressley, went into Wagner on the night of the first of September, being about the last troops ever sent there.

I consider the the duty in Wagner the most fearful experience of the four years of the war; especially the last three days and nights. No water, no sleep, little to eat and all the while the fifteen-inch shells were being hurled in broadsides against the garrison [by the] powerful armament of the enemy's fleet.

At the same time, from quite a number of Coehorn mortars which the Federal engineers had succeeded in placing very near the fort on the land side, an incessant shower of mortar shells were being thrown over the parapet falling...all over the interior of the fort. On one of the vessels in the harbor, the enemy had placed a revolving calcium light, which when turned on the fort, made it as light as day, thus [making it impossible to repair at night] the damage sustained by the fort in the day's bombardment. Sentinels posted on the fort's parapet behind large stacks of sandbags for protection were frequently blown fifty feet by the projectiles thrown by 'USS New Ironsides' which had taken up station about five hundred yards from the fort and was firing fifteen inch broadsides every few minutes.

The mangled dead lay thick on every side and their fast decaying remains under the hot September sun impregnated the atmosphere with a sickening odor. All of this, added to the groans of the dying and shrieks of the wounded, was enough to cause the stoutest heart to shudder...

...when the 'Ironsides' would fire a broadside of shells from her fifteen-inch guns, the impact against the bombproof [garrison shelter] would cause the whole structure to quiver to its foundation, and the sand fall in showers through the interstices of timbers onto the miserable and sweltering soldiers below. It was horrifying to think that at any moment the [structure] might give way and everyone be buried in the wreck.

The charge of the Light Brigade was a holiday parade in comparison to the experience in Wagner. After Hagood's brigade went to Virginia, it went into a charge with about 700 men and retired with about 200 [Weldon's Railroad, 21 Aug 1864]. Though the carnage was fearful it lasted but a short time and was therefore preferable to the long spunout suffering and nervous strain in Wagner."

- "A Sketch of the War Record of the Edisto Rifles, 1861 - 1865" by Wm. Valmore Izlar, August Kohn publisher, 1908.


Cordially,
K. Bartsch

[SCSecesh]

Folks, we certainly need your assistance in stopping the destruction of Morris Island!!

[K Bartsch]

All,

I spoke to good ol' SC Senator Arthur Ravenel today. He's opposed to Morris's development and referred me to the SC Coastal Conservation League to check on the latest to stop it from the very folks who share a great deal of the credit for stopping it last time. You can check them out at www.scccl.org

Mr Dana Beach (what an appropriate name!), who is director of the SCCCL, shared with me that the league officially opposes this development of Morris Island big time and is fighting hard to defeat it. Mr Beach is very optimistic that this plan to develop Morris, within the siightline of Ft Sumter, on some of SC's most sacred ground will fail, particularly since it would require drastic re-zoning to permit it and it doesn't appear there is sufficient political will for that to happen. The SCCCR helped lead the charge the last time somebody tried to pull off a crazy scheme like this and whipped 'em then.

Certainly very encouraging news, but let's not stop raising a ruckus by any means. In the meantime, I'm joining the SCCCR 'cause they seem like good folks who want what I want. I repectfully invite you to do the same. For the record, they are not "enviro-wacko's," they believe in fair use of land and have joined w/orgs like Duck's Unlimited to get things done for the land and people of SC. The names on their board of directors are very encouraging and confidence inspiring as well.

With luck and the help of lots of good folks, the ultimate solution will be purchase of this island and placement in public trust. Until that happens, we must remain vigilant.
Cordially,
K. Bartsch

[DougCooper]

SC boys - sent an e-mail and letter off today. Anybody else key to e-mail besides those already mentioned?

Keith - vigilant for sure. Thanks for staying on this one. Greed makes some folks really stupid - guess nobody ever heard of Hugo...let alone all the important reasons to leave it alone.

[save morris island]

Watch www.morrisisland.org (http://www.morrisisland.org/) for updates, and be sure to sign up at the website for the Morris Island Coalition mailing list. The development of this treasure is NOT inevitable!

Nora Kravec
Morris Island Coalition

[SCSecesh]

In October of 1874, Abraham J. Palmer, formerly Private A. J. Palmer, Co. D, 48th New York Volunteer Infantry, revisited Morris Island and the site of Wagner. His words follow:

"Upon that arid, sterile, sandy island, where nothing ever grew before, over the whole area of that bastion which had been so heaped with dead, and there only, there grew a blue flower--a wild species of forget-me-not that blooms perennially. He made inquiries as to how the flowers came there, but no one could explain it. Somebody may have sown the seed; but those flowers doubtless sprang from the rich dust of the heroes who were so rudely sepulchred upon that spot--as if the great God, to rebuke the neglect of the Republic, had placed them there a monument. And what could be a nobler one? Marble shaft will crumble, bronze will tarnish with time, granite will wear away with years, but flowers will bloom in their seasons forever.
And yet the day may come when opposing sections of a restored Union will unite to erect upon that mound of sand a monument to the heroes who fell there on either side. Let it be a noble shaft, typical of the brave spirits who loved their lives less than they loved their honor, and who died upon those sands, lifting them forever into undying renown. The hearts of the sailors as they enter and leave the port will swell within them at the sight, and it will mean forever that upon this spot died heroic men, who believed that they were fighting for the right. For the grim courage that rushed forward against those fatal parapets was met by a courage not inferior that defended them. To appropriate the words of Thomas Starr King in describing the charge by Ney's cavalry at Waterloo, the assault and defence of Fort Wagner was "the beat of a fiery sensibility against a stormy patience;" it was "the old hypothesis in a dramatic play of an irresistible in contact with an immovable. The irresistible was spent--the immovable stood fast."
The chapter about Fort Wagner in Gen. Beauregard's recently published work closes with this sentence: "It is a matter of history to-day, that the defence of Battery Wagner is looked upon as the most skilful, desperate, and glorious achievement of the war; it stands unsurpassed in ancient and modern times."

Regimental History of the 48th New York State Volunteers. Abraham J. Palmer. 1885 pp.125-127.

While that spot may now rest just under the waves, the remainder of Morris Island should stand as an unspoiled monument to the heroism Palmer spoke of!!

[SCSecesh]

"We have captured one fort--Gregg--and one charnel house--Wagner--and we have built one cemetery, Morris Island. The thousand little sand-hills that in the pale moonlight are a thousand headstones, and the restless ocean waves that roll and breaking on the whitened beach sing an eternal requiem to the toll-worn gallant dead who sleep beside."

Clara Barton
October 11, 1863

[BHoover]

For those who don't realize how close Morris Island is to Ft. Sumter (and the general layout of Charleston Harbour) the Fort Sumter web site (http://www.nps.gov/fosu/2_History/learn_history_photos.htm) has some great aerial photos.

In particular this one (http://www.nps.gov/fosu/Images/fosu-suis-mois-1960.jpg) shows Morris island (bottom of image), Fort Sumter (island in the middle, fort is at the top right) and part of Sullivan's Island (location of Fort Moultrie) at the top.

[dusty27]

Anyone reading this would be insane to buy property on Morris Island


http://www.cla.sc.edu/poli/courses/scgov/Articles/Sand.htm

[dusty27]

Developer, preservationists skirmish over Morris Island
DHEC studying permit application for 20 wells, septic tanks

BY ROBERT BEHRE, Post and Courier Staff Charleston Post and Courier
02/16/2004

A Greenville developer is moving ahead with plans to sell 20 residential lots on Morris Island, the deserted barrier island just south of the entrance to Charleston Harbor. But other people have launched a new effort to stop him.

Harry Huffman recently applied for a state permit to allow 20 wells and septic tanks on 62 acres of high land known as Cummings Point, the northern tip of Morris Island and the part most visible from Fort Sumter, where the Civil War began.

"We're just studying the feasibility of doing something out there,"

Huffman said. "It's all a very, very fluid process. ... There's nothing concrete."

Some aren't willing to wait until the concrete hardens. A new coalition of several historical and environmental groups has formed to block any attempts to rezone Morris Island and to work to get either a state, federal or nonprofit agency to buy the island and prevent any further attempts at private development there.

"It's one of the few remaining barrier islands that's undeveloped," said Blake Hallman of the S.C. Battleground Preservation Trust and one of the coalition's organizers.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control will accept comments on the septic tank application for about two weeks and then could hold a public hearing on the issue, said Stuart Crosby, environmental health director for the Trident Health District "We primarily are interested in environmental impact concerns," Crosby said, adding that the agency has taken a rudimentary look at the island's soils.

"My understanding is that there are some soil conditions out there that would support septic systemsin scope. A more detailed analysis of the island will take place."

Crosby said it usually takes the agency about six to eight weeks to rule on a request for subdivisions and septic tanks, but he added, "I've got a feeling this one may take a little longer than some. ... The process can last several months."

Getting permission for septic tanks is only one obstacle Huffman must clear.

Charleston County's zoning allows only two homes to be built there, 10 times fewer than what Huffman is proposing. To build more than two homes, Huffman would need County Council to approve a zoning change, and such a request could be his biggest battle.

"We will fight it," said Megan Terebus of the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League. "It's an inappropriate density on an island with the sensitivity of Morris Island. The island is very prone to erosion."

Another concern is how any development would impact the view from the national historic landmark, Fort Sumter.

Huffman said his development could be based in part on a drawing of Morris Island in 1863, which shows several structures on the island, including houses.

"I think I can re-establish what might be the only correct view of the time of the Civil War from Fort Sumter," he said, noting that Sullivan's Island, Mount Pleasant and downtown Charleston look very different today than they did in the 19th century.

Hallman said that while Huffman's ability to recreate the historical appearance of the island is a valid point, "it's one that I don't agree with. I don't think the concentration of golf carts would work into a historically sensitive view from Fort Sumter."

Because there is no bridge to Morris Island, residents would use golf carts to go from community docks to the homes, whose lot sizes would range from 0.6 to 0.7 acres.

This is hilarious. How can anyone take this guy seriously!!!!:tounge_sm

Huffman said he wasn't sure when he would seek a zoning change, but he noted that his contract to buy the island has a long enough term that he feels no rush.

"We've got a lot of work to do, a lot of public input and a lot of exploring to do before we come up with any concrete plan," he said. "Any plan I have now is subject to change six times."

Also, Huffman would have to get separate permission from the S.C. Office of Coastal Resource Management for his docks and possibly for any home that he proposes building within 400 feet of the shore, depending on the erosion rate.

According to a 1990 survey, Morris Island loses up to 19 feet to the ocean every year, according to OCRM oceanographer Bill Eiser. The owner has contended that Cummings Point actually has accreted in recent years.

The island is owned by Yaschik Development Co. of Charleston, which paid about $3 million during a foreclosure proceeding in the mid-1980s.

There has been a public attempt to buy the island before. A few years ago, U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings was able to secure $4 million in federal dollars to buy the island, but the timing was slightly off:

An option held by the Trust for Public Land already had expired. If Charleston County voters approve a half-cent sales tax later this year, part of that money, from the sum set aside to preserve open space, also could be put toward buying the island.

The island has two parts: a southern 713-acre dredge disposal site that is closest to Folly Beach and the Morris Island Lighthouse offshore. The northern end, known as Cummings Point, has about 125 acres, including about 62 acres of high land.

Currently under water is the site where Union forces attacked the Confederate-held Battery Wagner on July 18, 1863. Led by Col. Robert Shaw and the all-black 54th Massachusetts infantry regiment, the attack was the inspiration for the climactic battle of the 1989 movie "Glory."

Hallman, who got engaged on the island, said the best situation would be to buy the island and conserve it.

He called that outcome a win-win situation for everyone but the developer. "But we're not hurting the developer," Hallman said. "He can go develop other places."

WHERE TO TURN

Anyone wishing to comment on Cummings Point LLC's application to develop 62 acres on Morris Island into 20 lots with private wells and septic tanks may send comments to:

Subdivision Supervisor, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, 4045 Bridgeview Dr., Suite 154, North Charleston, S.C. 29405.

For more information on the coalition to protect Morris Island, visit the Web site, www.morrisisland.org (http://www.morrisisland.org) or send an e-mail to info@morrisisland.org

[save morris island]

The Morris Island Coalition website url was listed incorrectly in the Post and Courier article. The correct url is www.morrisisland.org.

Nora Kravec
Morris Island Coalition

[SCSecesh]

Anyone that has undertaken any serious study of the Siege of Charleston and specifically Morris Island would note that during the 4 years of war many, many different structures (Batteries/emplacements/buildings/campsites) existed on this island. The stories are there! While we may have lost Wagner, it is not "inevitable" that we lose the remaining history!
These images may show a different story of what remains on MI!!

[K Bartsch]

All,

Just in case you feel you might like to let the developer know how you feel about stopping the development and preserving Morris in its current state, per today's Charleston daily newspaper, his name is Harry Huffman. Here's his contact info:

Harry Huffman Real Estate
200 South Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville, SC 29607
(864) 242-2200

Keith et al, I would advise writing Mr. Huffman before calling him - Mike Chapman


Cordially,

[save morris island]

To send an email letter to the editor of the Post and Courier:

http://archives.charleston.net/Feedback/

or to contact the editor by mail:

Editor
Post and Courier
134 Columbus Street
Charleston, SC 29403-4800


Nora Kravec
Morris Island Coalition
www.morrisisland.org

[K Bartsch]

All,

Here's a different kind of preservation donation request in that all we're asking for is a postage stamp and your time to write a letter.

The developer is moving ahead with his plans to develop Morris Island. Recently he applied for a state permit to allow 20 wells and septic tanks on 62 acres on Cummings Point. We need your help to let the state DHEC know that we oppose this inappropriate permit request. Please send DHEC a letter opposing the permit application and requesting that a public hearing be held on the matter. Please send your comments now --- letters must be received by March 8, 2004. Folks, its only 37 cents to mail your letter and it could make a great deal of difference in this fight. Finally, non South Carolinians are encouraged to send letters as well. Morris Island in its current state belongs to all Americans!

Together we can save Morris Island!

Here's a sample letter requesting a public hearing.You may use it, or compose your own letter.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
February 20, 2004

S.C. Dept. of Health & Environmental Control
Attn: Subdivision Supervisor
4045 Bridgeview Drive, Suite 154
North Charleston, SC 29405

Reference: # 450-00-00-013

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to inform you of my opposition to the Cummings Point, LLC permit application for 20 wells and septic tanks on Morris Island. There is insufficient high ground to accommodate the proposed development, and if this permit is granted, our coast will be subjected to fecal coli form contamination. In addition, the tract is unsuitable for any development that would require 20 houses being built and served by a common tank. This is evidenced by the Charleston County Comprehensive Plan that calls for only 2 units to be built on the proposed property. Just as importantly, Morris Island is essentially a vast military cemetery as well as an archeological treasure. Morris Island bears countless graves of soldiers who were killed in battle or died of disease from both sides of the Civil War. Further, the island holds an incredible variety of valuable relics and artifacts just below its surface as well as examples of priceless surviving military field fortifications.

I ask that a public hearing be held on this request before any action is taken by your department. I would appreciate hearing from you as soon as possible regarding my request, especially in the event there is an opportunity to appeal or intervene to prevent this inappropriate development.

Sincerely,


/////////////////

Thanks in advance,
on behalf of the Morris Island Coalition,

[SCSecesh]

A new article in SC's State Newspaper - Is there more revisionism to this idealized "history" going on??

"Let's build 20 houses on MI since there were two there prewar.Hey, I'll even throw you a five acre bone!!" :tounge_sm

YOU DECIDE!! :sarcastic

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/8012266.htm

"No septic tanks on the graves of heroes."

[save morris island]

From The State article:

But Huffman thinks history isn’t the true reason people are fighting his plan. His opponents simply don’t want any more development on sea islands, he said.

Yeah, right...... :rolleyes:

Nora Kravec
Morris Island Coalition

No septic tanks on the graves of heroes!

[save morris island]

Morris Island is featured today in Parade Magazine's Intelligence Report, too!

An excerpt from Parade's "Intelligence Report":
"America has lost more than 20% of its Civil War sites due to development and sprawl. On Tuesday, the Civil War Preservation Trust will unveil a report on the most endangered battlefields...... Topping the list are two famous sites: Morris Island, in South Carolina, best known as the place where the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, comprised of African-Americans, made its valiant charge against Fort Wagner, immortalized in the 1989 film Glory. A planned housing development could destroy what remains of Fort Wagner, and affect Fort Sumter, too".


For more details on Tuesday's news conference to announce the Ten Most Endangered Battlefields in the U.S., visit www.civilwar.org


Nora Kravec
Morris Island Coalition

No septic tanks on the graves of heroes!

[SCSecesh]

For those interested/concerned there is a petition that can be located from the site www.morrisisland.org . While the force of a petition isn't huge, it certainly can't hurt!
Being one of the top of the country's Most Endangered Battlefields is not an enviable spot but if it stops development it's a good thing!!

[SCSecesh]

For authenticities sake, here are a couple of period images of "structures" from Morris Island. Maybe this is what the developer wants to build? Ya think?!? :wink_smil

[SCSecesh]

The following images have never been published. They are sketches from a NY Engineer Unit stationed on Morris Island. The first view looks south towards Lighthouse Inlet and Folly Island. The second north towards the Harbor/Sumter/Moultrie. Special thanks to the folks on Sullivans Island for the images - you know who you are!!

[cwarren64]

I recommend members of the Morris Island Coalition contact The Cidadel and The Citadel Alumni Association to see if they would like to add their voice to help save the island. I graduated from there and I know that the Star of the West is a major source of pride for The Cidadel. It's on our class rings.

Warren Clark
Class of 86

[K Bartsch]

Way ahead of you Warren. I tried that over a month ago to no avail -- yet. Just my opinion mind you, and not to put too fine a point on things, but our alumni association has a professionally diverse membership and while many of us feel passionately that this development of Morris Island must be stopped, there are likely folks among the membership who would take a different view. Put another way, one man's "preservation fight" is often viewed by another as bothersome "meddling" in the way of progress. At any rate, it is politically difficult for a group like an alumni association to come out and publicly state a position on an issue other than those directly affecting the college.

Cordially,

[SCSecesh]

We would love to have a member of the Citadel Alumni Association working with us. If you Citadel men keep calling and urging maybe it will help.
The broadest possible coalition will sweep with the broadest brush and I think we're gonna need a big one!!

Here's something especially for you (from an original image):

[K Bartsch]

Friends,

I don't normally repeat an appeal like this, but we're getting traction on this issue with the SC State Department of Health and Environmental Control. Suffice to say, the sheer volume of mail requesting a hearing, and the fact the mail is coming from all over the country is having a profound effect. Bottomline: We need to keep up the fire. If you haven't written, please do so now. If you have, you have our profound thanks. Please remember, this is not only a fight to preserve a piece of SC's history and heritage. If you happen to from NY, Maine, Connecticutt or Massachusetts or your family was there during the war, you have a special stake in this fight. The simple fact is, of the over 1000 KIA's whose mortal remains still rest on Morris Island, the vast majority are Federals who enlisted and served in regiments from these four states. In a special sense, Morris Island is really another American tomb of the unknown soldier.

Here's the address and sample letter again.

Together we can stop the rape of Morris Island!

Here's a sample letter requesting a public hearing.You may use it, or compose your own letter.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
February 20, 2004

S.C. Dept. of Health & Environmental Control
Attn: Subdivision Supervisor
4045 Bridgeview Drive, Suite 154
North Charleston, SC 29405

Reference: # 450-00-00-013

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to inform you of my opposition to the Cummings Point, LLC permit application for 20 wells and septic tanks on Morris Island. There is insufficient high ground to accommodate the proposed development, and if this permit is granted, our coast will be subjected to fecal coli form contamination. In addition, the tract is unsuitable for any development that would require 20 houses being built and served by a common tank. This is evidenced by the Charleston County Comprehensive Plan that calls for only 2 units to be built on the proposed property. Just as importantly, Morris Island is essentially a vast military cemetery as well as an archeological treasure. Morris Island bears countless graves of soldiers who were killed in battle or died of disease from both sides of the Civil War. Further, the island holds an incredible variety of valuable relics and artifacts just below its surface as well as examples of priceless surviving military field fortifications.

I ask that a public hearing be held on this request before any action is taken by your department. I would appreciate hearing from you as soon as possible regarding my request, especially in the event there is an opportunity to appeal or intervene to prevent this inappropriate development.

Sincerely,


/////////////////

Cordially,

[K Bartsch]

- BUMP -

Still time to write a letter and gave it reach DHEC by the 8th of March, but you'll need to act quickly. See previous post. We appreciate your help!

Cordially,

[K Bartsch]

Voices from Morris Island....


Major Peter. F. Stevens was Superintendent of the Citadel who on January 9th 1861 ordered Cadets from the Citadel manning a battery of guns on Morris Island to open fire on the "Star of the West" as the ship was attempting to re-supply Fort Sumter’s garrison. He was in charge of the Point and Iron batteries on Morris Island during the siege of Fort Sumter that began the Civil War and included the following observation in his April 18, 1863 report of that action:

“There is one somewhat remarkable incident which I beg to leave here to record. On Thursday evening our camp was thrown into considerable excitement by the report that the demand was to be made for the surrender of the fort, and when it was reported that a white flag had been sent to Sumter our batteries were all manned, and the men in eager expectations were watching the fort. I was standing on the traverse closing the flank of the Iron battery. A number of men were around me. Suddenly the United States flag on Fort Sumter was seen to split in two distinct parts, dividing from the front edge to the back along the lower extremity of the “Union.” I remarked to the men around me, “I wonder if that is emblematical?” Several remarked that it appeared ominous. For several minutes it flew in this condition, when it was hauled down and another flag raised in its stead.”

The War of the Rebellion A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Series I – Volume I. Government Printing Office. Washington D.C. p. 49.

Note; Both of the flags that Major Stevens viewed from his post on Morris Island are in the possession of the National Park Service and are on display in Charleston. The torn garrison flag is located at the Fort Sumter Visitors Center in Liberty Square. The replacement flag is located at Fort Sumter.


Harriet Tubman, according to legend, is said to have served Major Robert Gould Shaw his last meal before the July 18, 1863 attack on Battery Wagner. Tubman escaped from slavery and led many others to freedom, earning the nickname “Moses.” She worked as a spy and scout for Union forces in the southeast.

“I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person now I was free. There was such a glory over everything….I felt like I was in heaven.”

Bradford, Sarah H. Harriet Tubman, the Moses of Her People. Carol Publishing Company. Secaucus, NJ. 1997 reprint of 1886 publication, 149pp, illus.


Sergeant William H. Carney was born into slavery in Virginia. His father escaped to freedom and later purchased his family out of slavery. It was on the parapet of Battery Wagner that Sergeant Carney risked his life in an action for which he received the Medal of Honor. A member of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers, in 1900 Carney became the first African American to receive this award. His citation reads in part: “When the color sergeant was shot down, this soldier grasped the flag, led the way to the parapet, and planted the colors thereon. When the troops fell back he brought off the flag, under a fierce fire in which he was twice severely wounded.” Before collapsing from his wounds, he told his comrades:

“Boys, I only did my duty. The flag never touched the ground.”

Congressional Medal of Honor Society
http://www.cmohs.org/recipients/carney_history.htm


Clara Barton is remembered as America’s first battlefield nurse. She witnessed the July 18, 1863 assault on Battery Wagner and gave first aid to the wounded of the 54th Massachusetts. She wrote of her experiences that night:

“I can never forget the patient bravery with which they endured their wounds received in the cruel assault upon Wagner, as hour after hour they lay in the wet sand, just back of the growling guns waiting their turn for the knife or the splint and bandage…and when ever I met one who was giving his life out with his blood, I could not forbear hastening to tell him…that he was the soldier of Freedom…”

Oates, Steven B. A Woman of Valor Clara Barton and the Civil War. The Free Press. New York, N.Y. 1994. p.176.

W. Gordon McCabe, 1st Lieutenant, Artillery, C.S.A. was serving on General Roswell Ripley’s staff during the evacuation of Morris Island. He wrote of his experiences surrounding that event:

Sept. 6th, 1863. The Gen’l and I went down last night and saw the fun…We first went to Battery Bee & Fort Moultrie, which the enemy were to attack with monitors…It was a beautiful night overhead but the roar of artillery was terrific. Two monitors were sweeping the water approaches to Gregg & the land batteries & mortars were playing on Wagner. The mortar practice is “beautiful exceedingly” – at a distance….

…we saw the brilliant flash & heard the deafening thunder of a 15 in. Dahlgren from a monitor, who had steamed in close to Sumpter, but was opening on our Sullivan’s Island Batteries. In a moment more, we were flying over the waves back to Sullivan’s Island, our oarsmen straining every nerve. The whole of the lower end of Morris Island in the direction of Wagner was lighted up by a brilliant calcium light, & the mortar hulks & land mortar batteries were busy at work, the 15 in. literally raining upon Wagner…

…the enemy have come through Vincent’s Creek in their barges, oars muffled, & boat howitzers mounted forward. Lesesne has seen them, but he just steps down from the parapet & awakens his cannoneers, who are sleeping at the guns….

Sept 7th. Stopped at Ft. Sumpter but a moment – the poor old place is knocked all to pieces – Major Elliott was sitting in his quarters with as severe a face as if he [wished he were] far away from wars and rumours of wars. I deliver my dispatches, & pull away for battery Gregg… As I drew near Battery Wagner the fire was terrific…It was now quite dark & the stars were shining down tranquilly from the beautiful summer sky, but Death was holding high carnival here amid the baleful glare of bursting shell, & the incessant roar of artillery….

Late at night…I pulled away for the city…The evacuation was skillfully performed…

Sept 8th. The Yankees seem greatly elated & are rushing all over Wagner & Gregg, peering into every hole and corner. I have been watching them a long time through the large telescope we have at Head Quarters. Well, they ought to be glad, the stout little earthwork has held out fifty seven days against the most terrible artillery fire to which any fort in the annals of war has ever been subjected. An English officer, who was in the fort, & who had been all throu’ the Crimean campaign told me that Sevastapol was child’s play to it. It has demonstrated that sand forts are the most invulnerable to such enormous ordnance as is now in use.

From an unpublished diary dated 17 August–23 October 1863, kept by William Gordon McCabe (1841–1920) in the possession of the Virginia Historical Society, Richmond Virginia.while serving on the staff of Roswell Sabine Ripley at Charleston, S.C., concerning military operations at batteries Gregg and Wagner, Fort Sumter, and Morris Island (section 1),

Brig. General Quincy A. Gillmore was in charge of the operations against Morris Island in 1863. On the occasion of the evacuation of the island he wrote the following to the troops under his command:

Hdqrs. Dept. of the South

In the Field, Morris Island, S. C. Sept. 15, 1863

It is with no ordinary feelings of gratification and pride that the brigadier-general commanding is enabled to congratulate this army upon the signal success which has crowned the enterprise in which it has been engaged. Fort Sumter is destroyed. The scene where our country’s flag suffered its first dishonor you made the theater of one of its proudest triumphs. ….

Forts Wagner and Gregg, works rendered memorable by their protracted resistance and the sacrifice of life they have cost, have also been wrested from the enemy by your persevering courage and skill, and the graves of your comrades rescued from desecration and contumely.

You now hold in undisputed possession the whole of Morris Island, and the city and harbor of Charleston lie at the mercy of your artillery from the very spot where the first shot was fired at your country’s flag and the rebellion itself inaugurated.

To you, the officers and soldiers of this command and to the gallant navy which has co-operated with you, are due the thanks of your commander and your country. You were called upon to encounter untold privations and dangers, to undergo unremitting and exhausting labors, to sustain severe and disheartening reverses. How nobly your patriotism and zeal have responded to the call, the result of the campaign will show and your commanding general gratefully bears witness.

Q. A. Gillmore
Brigadier-General, Commanding

The War of the Rebellion A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Series I – Volume XXVII. Government Printing Office. Washington D.C. p.94

Esther Hill Hawks was one of the first women to earn a degree in medicine. She was in Beaufort teaching newly freed slaves when the wounded of the 54th Mass were brought to a makeshift hospital. She gave medical aid and comfort to the soldiers. She wrote of her visit to Battery Wagner on Morris Island in July 1864 during the bombardment of Charleston:

“My mind went back through the short year that has passed, to the eventful 18th of July/63, when the whole country was thrilled with the daring charge on this most formidable Fort: and I remembered how the torn-and mangled bodies were brought into hospital to us; - how brave and patient the men who had dared and lost so much – and it was hard to realize that my feet stood on the soil soaked through and through with our Countries’ richest blood! I should have taken off the shoes from my feet and with head uncover’d, trod with silent reverence over such hallowed earth! – but all the excitement of actual war is about us.”

Schwartz ,Gerald, ed. A Woman Doctor’s Civil War- Esther Hill Hawks Diary. University of South Carolina Press. 1984. p.88.

Colonel Charles W. Trowbridge delivered a speech during the mustering out ceremony of the 33rd US Colored Troops (formerly the First South Carolina Volunteers) on Morris Island, February 9, 1866:

“It seems fitting to me, that the last hours of our existence as a regiment should pass amidst the unmarked graves of your comrades, at Fort Wagner. Near you rest the bones of Colonel Shaw, buried by an enemy’s hand, in the same grave with his black soldiers, who fell at his side: where in the future your children’s children will come on pilgrimages to do homage to the ashes of those who fell in this glorious struggle.”

Higginson, T. W. Army life in a Black Regiment. W. W. Norton. New York, New York. 1984. Appendix E.

Private Abraham J. Palmer of the 48th New York Volunteers wrote in the regiment’s history of his return to the site of Battery Wagner on Morris Island in 1874 that:

“ …the day may come when opposing sections of a restored Union will unite to erect upon that mound (Wagner) a monument to the heroes who fell there on either side. Let this be a noble shaft, typical of the brave spirits who loved their lives less than they loved their honor, and who died upon those sands, lifting them forever into undying renown.”

Bradshaw, Timothy, Jr. Battery Wagner. Palmetto Historical Works. Columbia 1993. p. 116.

There is no ground more hallowed or worthy of preservation. Please help us save Morris Island. Please join the CWPT and donate generously. www.civilwar.org.

Cordially,