The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The Grand Strand's Ties to the Civil War-- Part 4

Most of this information is coming from an excellent source, Ben Burroughs on his website as well as articles in the Myrtle Beach Sun-News.

Now that we have determined what a swash was, time to continue. These are definitely places I'll check out in between the ocean, pool, bars and Beach Music the next time we're at the Grand Strand.

Present day Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was largely an indigo plantation owned by the Wither family, hence the name Withers Swash as mentioned yesterday.

Surfside Beach was largely another indigo plantation owned by the Tillman family.

I guess the next question should be what exactly was indigo? I'm guessing some sort of a dye as I have come across the word before.

From the Aug. 16, 2007 Sun-News.

There were three major Confederate defensive works along the what is today called the Grand Strand. To the north was Fort Randall at the Little River Inlet, in the middle was a blockhouse at Singleton Swash, and at the southern end another fortification at Murrells Inlet.

The fort at Singleton Swash is generally overlooked and is described as a fort similar to Fort Randall. Protection of the area was a concern to Singleton Swash owner Peter Vaught, Sr., who had written the governor of South Carolina requesting additional troops to defend the area. The saltworks as his place were definitely turning out a lot of salt.

It doesn't appear that many additional troops were sent.

Still Not Finished. --Old B-Runner

No comments: