A little-known fort in Charleston Harbor, vastly overshadowed by Forts Moultrie, Sumter and Wagner.
From October 13th National Parks Traveler.
The NPS acquired Castle Pinckney in 1933, but were glad to turn it back over to South Carolina in the 1950s. It has no glorious past and is very expensive to maintain.
In 1791, George Washington visited Charleston and saw the little Shutes Folly island strategically located and ordered a fort built there. It was named Fort Pinckney after Charles tesworth Pinckney, a local planter, Revolutionary War general and signer of the US Constitution.
A log fort was built on Shutes Folly in 1804, but was immediately destroyed by a hurricane. A brick masonry fort was completed in 1810 featuring multiple tiers of enclosed and casemated gun positions.
It became known as Castle Pinckney for its resemblance to a castle.
It played no role in the War of 1812 and was demoted to "secondary line of defense" in 1826. The next year, construction on Fort Sumter began and Castle Pinckneys importance essentially ceased. It was lightly garrisoned until 1836 and then not at all until 1860.
When is a Castle Not a Fort? --B-R'er
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
