The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Two Brothers, Two Flags, One Battle-- Part 1

From the Nov. 7, 2010, Washington Times "Two brothers, two flags and one battle in Port Royal" by Martha Blotz.

There are not a lot of Americans who know about the Battle of Port Royal in South Carolina, but this had a huge impact on the wealthy Drayton family from the state who had sons fighting on both the Confederate and Union sides.

One brother was in the Confederate Army and the other in the Union Navy. They were separated in war and even so in death on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line.

The Confederates had forts on either side of the entrance to the bay. Fort Walker was on the south side near Hilton Head and mounted 23 guns and had 255 men. Fort Beauregard guarded the north with 19 guns and 150 soldiers.

On November 7, 1861, the forts were attacked by a Union fleet of 75 ships under the command of Admiral Samuel DuPont. Several thousand Marines and 12,000 soldiers also accompanied the expedition.

A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight. --Old B-Runner

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