Jesse Merrill-- Part 7: Further Administrative Duty and Major General

In the fall of 1864,he went east on a sick leave, and was soon afterwards assigned  to duties in the Army of the Potomac and Army of the James, and later in the Department of the South, where he had his headquarters at Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Here he remained until mustered out of the service in October 1865.

It was at this time that he was brevetted to major  by President Johnson for long , faithful and meritorious service.

He returned to Lock Haven in November 1865, and resumed the practice of law.  An April 1871, he was appointed major-general of the Pennsylvania National Guard by Governor Geary.  It was during this term that the Eleventh Division was called out to quell the riot at Williamsport.

In 1880, General Merrill received the Republican nomination for assembly, but was defeated by S. Woods Caldwell, the democratic nominee.

--Old Secesh

Battle of Tuliffiny-- Part 7: Union Ships

Union Naval vessels that participated in the amphibious landing at Tuliffiny

Note, I am of the belief these were ships of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron probably based at the Union base at Hilton Head, S.C.. (Port Royal)

USS St, Louis  (The only Civil War ship by this name I could find was one of the Mississippi River ironclads.)

USS Pawnee
USS Canandaigua

USS Flag
USS New Hampshire  (this was a former ship-of-the-line and storehouse based at Port Royal).

USS Sonoma  This one was definitely at the battle.
USS Mingoe

USS Pontiac
USS Saratoga

USS James Adger
USS Camarron

USS Donegal

These ships were under command of Rear Admiral James Dahlgren (Dahlgren guns) of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

The Naval Support Brigade ashore was commanded by Commander George Henry Preble.

--Old Secesh

General Drayton's Fish Haul Plantation at Hilton Head Island

From Heritage Library Foundation Hilton Head Island.

It was also called Fish Hall and Drayton's House.

In 1861, Confederate General Drayton used it as his headquarters (along with the Pope House). In 1770, the plantation consisted of 700 acres, mostly growing Sea Island cotton.

Some sources call it Fish Haul Creek Plantation, named after Fish Haul Creek that ran through it.

In 1989, the Chicora Foundation did archaeological documentation of the slave quarters on the plantation. An 1862 census showed 52 slaves at the place along with 250 improved acres, 450 unimproved and worth $10,000. An absence of farm animals in the census would indicate it as a cotton plantation.

In 1863, it was sold to the US government for $3,000 in back taxes. A year earlier, 200 acres were used for the freedman's Mitchelville and part of the mansion used for a school. As late as 1867, there will still 120 blacks living at the place.

By 1920, the main house had disappeared. In 1965 the land was sold to the Hilton Head Company and they sold it to the Port Royal Plantation Group and lastly to Palmetto Dunes.

The Story of a Plantation. --Old B-R'er

The Pope House at Coggins Point, SC-- Part 2

The Confederates evacuated the house so fast after the battle that General Drayton's fine horse was captured.

After the war, the house was unclaimed and eventually reportedly dismantled and sold for scrap limber in Beaufort. The plantation land remained under military control until 1927.

During World War I, the barracks were rebuilt and big guns brought in along the shore. A submarine watch was kept there during World War II.

As of 1977, an exact replica of the Pope House was being built.

Next Time You're in Hilton Head. --Old B-Runner

The Pope House and Plantation at Coggins Point, Port Royal-- Part 1

I earlier mentioned that Confederate General Drayton had his headquarters at both the Pope House and his own Fish Haul Plantation on Hilton Head Island before the Union attack earlier this month, 150 years ago.

So, I looked up the Pope House.

From the Heritage Library Foundation Hilton Head Island.

The Pope House was on the northeast corner of Hilton Head Island. It was also known as the Coggins Point Plantation. It was owned by Squire William Pope (1778-1862). It was a two-story frame residence. Squire Pope was involved in the South Carolina legislature in the years before the war.

A wealthy man, he also owned the Skull Creek and Point Comfort plantations on Hilton Head and the Crescent Plantation in Bluffton. The 1860 census showed the Squire owning 200 slaves.

It was used as headquarters for the Union department of the South during the war. In 1864, a signal tower was built on its roof.

Both Fort Walker (Welles) and Fort Sherman were located on the Coggins Point Plantation.

A Rich man Then. Imagine How Rich His Heirs Would Be If They Still Owned This Land. --Old B-R'er

Port Royal's Fort Walker Receives a Dynamite Gun

Well, I had never heard of a dynamite gun, so, of course, had to do some research. I'll write a little bit of what I found here, but will go into more detail on my history blog since this was post-Civil War.

A site called battery Dynamite was nearby to the old Confederate fort and in service from 1897 to 1902. In 1897, Congress appropriated money to purchase four experimental compressed air dynamite guns to be emplaced at four coastal installations. One was at Hilton Head.

A concrete battery was built outside of Fort Walker and from 1901 to 1902, the gun was inspected and tested before the whole program was discontinued.

I was unable to find out if any part of the battery remains.

Hurling Dynamite. Now, That's Nasty. --Old B-Runner

Port Royal's Fort Walker

Surprisingly, there is not a lot of information on one of the two Confederate forts to surrender to Union forces 150 years ago yesterday, Fort Walker.

The site of the fort is still there by Port Royal Sound at the end Hilton Head Island on the shore of Port Royal Sound. It is off Fort Walker Road near the Hilton Head Airport. Now, whether you can get to the actual site is questionable since so much of Hilton Head Island is privately owned by rich folks who don't want regular folks traipsing over their property.

After a four and a half hour bombardment, about out of ammunition and with all but three cannons our of service, General Thomas F. Drayton gave his men the order to withdraw. His brother, Percival Drayton was on the USS Pocahontas standing offshore and bombarding Fort Walker.

In addition, some 13,000 Union troops under the command of General Thomas W. Sherman had been landed and were approaching the fort, vastly outnumbering the fort's defenders.

After the battle, the fort was rebuilt and named Fort Welles, after Lincoln's Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles.


ROBBERS ROW

Fort Welles defending a large Union base used throughout the war. A civilian town, named Robbers Row (very likely by troops stationed there for its penchant to take their money) grew up to serve the needs of the garrison. At its peak, it had a hotel, theater, 2 newspapers mostly located along a street called Suttlers Row. I do not believe any part remains today, but there is a marker for it at the site.

From the Historical Data Markers organization.

Sure Wish There Was Some More on Fort Walker. --Old B-R'er

Fort Mitchel, Hilton Head Island, SC-- Part 2

I have seen it named with a double "l" at the end of Mitchell and a single "l." Most likely it is a single "l" because that is how the Union commander's name for whom it was named in 1863 spelled it.

An estimated 50,000 people go to the site each year. To get there, you have to obtain a pass at the gate of Hilton Head Plantation which is a private community. The pass is only good to visit the fort and the Old Port Pub. There are two cannons on site, one a 24-pdr. howitzer.

The Plantation is asking for a grant of $55,000, about $20,000 of which will go to improve walkways and signage.

Hilton Head Island was the headquarters of the Department of the South, and important because of its proximity to Port Royal. Soldiers from Rhode Island and New Hampshire, mostly gunners, manned the fort which was named for General Ormsby Mitchel, who died of yellow fever in 1862.

A settlement named Mitchelville was nearby and was the first planned community for freed slaves.

Still Never Heard of It. --Old B-Runner

Fort Mitchell, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina-- Part 1

From the February 8th Hilton Head Island Packet "As 150th anniversary of the CivilWar approaches, area history buffs hope Fort Mitchell gets its due" by Laura Nahimias.

Fort Mitchell was a Union battery located at the northwest end of Hilton Head Island. The island was captured by Union forces the after the 1861 largest amphibious assault by American forces until World War II. (I'm not sure, but I thought Fort Fisher was in 1864 and 1865.)

The remains of it are inside the present day Hilton Head Plantation and is a series of 15 foot high mounds shored up by palmetto logs. Its cannons are pointed across Skull Creek toward what today is Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge. Around 1,000 freed slaves built it. One of the cannons was discovered in 1973 during preparations to build the Old Fort Pub restaurant.

Another fort, Fort Howell, is near Beach City Road.

Never Heard of It. --B-R'er