During a recent visit to the Charleston, South Carolina, area, my father and I kayaked to Morris Island, an uninhabited and completely undeveloped island on the south side of Charleston Harbor. I thought I would share a few photos (taken with my rather antiquated phone camera) from the excursion.
And for those unfamiliar with Morris Island’s Civil War roots, here’s a brief summary: A triangular–shaped island formed by Vincent’s Creek to the north, Folly Creek to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Morris Island was the south entrance to the strategically and symbolically vital Charleston Harbor. It was the site of some of the first shots of the war in April 1861 and became part of a thorough network of Confederate defenses that ringed Charleston that included Fort Moultrie, Castle Pinckney, Fort Johnson, and, most notably, Fort Sumter. Fort Wagner was the dominant Confederate defensive feature on Morris Island, and a series of failed Union army attacks against the fort in the summer of 1863 immortalized the 54thMassachusetts Volunteer Infantry, a regiment of all black soldiers, and its commander, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. Confederate forces abandoned Wagner in September 1863, although Charleston itself did not fall to the Union army until 1865.
Atlantic side of Morris Island, approaching the former site of Fort Wagner.
