“S” is for Secessionville, Battle of (June 16, 1862). In preparation for an assault on Charleston, United States troops occupied Battery Island and Johns Island in the early weeks of June 1862. On the morning of June 16th, Federal forces, commanded by General Henry Benham, launched an attack on the Confederate Tower Battery, near the town of Secessionville. In hand-to-hand fighting the Confederates repelled two successive assaults. Confederate artillery turned the expanse west of the battery into a killing field. Confederate Colonel Johnson Hagood directed a counterattack and after three frustrating hours, General Benham withdrew his forces. The Confederate victory blunted what proved to be the North’s best chance to capture Charleston. The Civil War may have produced larger engagements with heavier casualties, but the Battle of Secessionville remains one of South Carolina’s most important.
"S" is for Secessionville, Battle of
