Park BrochureThe main park brochure is available in a variety of formats:
Audio DescriptionYou can download the files for the audio described version of two brochures: The audio description is also available in a text only format; see below. BrailleYou can download the braille ready file for the Fort Moultrie park brochure to print at home or pick up a copy of the braille brochure from the information desk. The Fort Sumter park brochure is not currently available in braille. Text OnlyText only versions of the Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie park brochures are available below.Fort Sumter Welcome to the audio-described version of Fort Sumter's official print brochure. Through text and audio descriptions of photos, illustrations, and maps, this version interprets the two-sided color brochure that Fort Sumter visitors receive. The brochure explores the history of the park, some of its highlights, and information for planning your visit. This audio version lasts about 51 minutes.
The horizontal page has a black title band on the left edge. Text inside the title band reads Fort Sumter National Monument, South Carolina, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Also in the black band is a logo, a brown textured arrowhead, pointing down. Inside the arrowhead, at the upper right, white words, National Park Service. A white bison stands in the foreground at the bottom. Behind it, a green field leads to a tree line, a white lake on the right and a towering sequoia tree to the left. A snow-capped mountain looms in the background.
The page is broken into three different sections. The first section is filled with a painting of Fort Sumter as it looked prior to the Civil War. Below that image are portrait paintings of Union Major Robert Anderson on the left and Confederate Brigadier General Pierre G. T. Beauregard on the right. Behind Anderson's image is a 33 star American flag. Behind Beauregard is a Palmetto Guard flag. The second section contains a detailed chronology that begins on December 20, 1860 to the departure of federal troops from Fort Sumter on April 14, 1861. The third section starting from left to right contains a map of Charleston Harbor entitled Confederate Stronghold, 1863-1865. This is followed by portraits of Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren, Major General Quincy A. Gillmore, and Major John A. Johnson. Below Johnson's portrait is a painting of battered Fort Sumter. Image 1 of 2: Union FlagA battered and war torn 33-star American flag. The edges are not even and there are rips and holes in various spots. Three of the holes are in the field of blue and from what is seen there are three in the red and white stripes. The field of blue containing the 33 stars to represent the 33 states that were in the United States is in the top left corner and the 13 stripes that represent the 13 original colonies cover the rest of the flag. The stripes alternate in a red then white pattern with a white stripe just below the field of blue. There are 7 columns of stars and from top to bottom, left to right, the star pattern in the field of blue is in the first column two stars next to one another, a space, a single star, a space and another two stars on the bottom. Second column there is a larger space then 3 stars with a larger space on the bottom. Third column there is a small space on the top followed by 5 stars and a small space on the bottom. Fourth column has 7 stars that leaves no extra space . Fifth column there is a small space on the top followed by 5 stars and a small space on the bottom. Sixth column there is a larger space then 3 stars with a larger space on the bottom. and seventh column two stars next to one another, a space, a single star, a space and another two stars on the bottom.This flag is partially covered by Union Major Robert Anderson's body so the end of the fly (the part of the flag that flies out and does not contain any blue) cannot be seen. Credit: NPS Image 2 of 2: Major Robert Anderson PortraitA portrait painting of US Major Robert Anderson. This painting shows Anderson from mid-thigh up with the core of his body facing forward and his head and eyes turned to his left. He has dark hair that is brushed in a swoop over his forehead, dark, thick, furrowed eyebrows that showcase his intense gaze off in the distance which can also be seen on the rest of his face. He is wearing a dark navy blue, almost black, long coat, which is called a frock coat, that is made of wool. This coat has a stand up collar that goes to mid-neck with his white shirt just visible above. on each of his shoulders there is a rectangular shoulder strap. Down the front of the coat is a double row of brass buttons, 12 in total. Along his waist is a sword belt and on the buckle is an eagle surrounded by wreath with a red sash beneath the belt. The sash is most visibly seen on Anderson's left hip where it flows down beside his sword. The handle and guard of his sword are just visible. His left hand is partially extended a short distance away from his body. In his right hand is a spyglass that is partially visible. The photograph is cropped from a painting and is overlaying the previous picture and the American flag.Credit: Art commission of the city of New York Related TextHere, at the fort named for South Carolina Revolutionary War patriot Thomas Sumter, the opening shots of the Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861. The fort, shown here as it appeared on the eve of the war, was begun in 1829, one of a series of coastal fortifications built by the United States after the War of 1812. As with many Federal projects, enslaved laborers and craftsmen were among those who worked on this structure. The fort was still unfinished when Major Robert Anderson moved his 85-man garrison into it the day after Christmas 1860, setting in motion events that would tear the nation asunder four months later. The flag is the one that flew over the fort during the 1861 bombardment.
Description
This historic painting is light in color with browns and whites being primarily used. The central focus of this painting is the three story Fort Sumter. This is from the back left angle with the two walls visible, including the back wall. In the center of this wall is an arched doorway that had pillars on wither side and a triangle above. There is a long pathway that extends the right of the frame that has two people walking on it that ends at that doorway. Along the walls are numerous small and narrow windows. They are organized in two rows of 8 windows. On the angle where the two walls meet is an angle wall that has 2 rows of 2 windows. On the back wall there are 2 rows of 48 long narrow windows. On the interior of the back wall there are 4 chimneys with only a small portion visible over the top of the walls. In the center top of the back wall is a lump of brick just above the arched doorway. Central there is an American flag that is poking out over the top and is partially cut off by the black banner that runs the length of the top of the brochure. Along the top of the fort is arched cutouts of brick lining it. The fort itself is situated on top of broken rocks that barely extend beyond the fort's walls. There are waves lapping against the rocky edges. To the left of the fort is a sailing ship that is sailing beside the fort. In the foreground there is a small sailing boat (scooner) that has two masts that are not up. The boat has a rope attached and on the dirt trodden land to the right is a man sitting on a barrel. Credit: Seth Eastman painting courtesy architect of the U.S. Capitol Image 1 of 2: Palmetto FlagThe flag appears battered and war torn, the right hand side of the flag appears to be missing or cut off. The flag is cream in color with a red, five pointed star in the upper left hand corner and a dark green Palmetto tree is centered but appears to be on the right hand side. In the upper portion the leaves are indicated with 4 points on the left, 3 on the top and at minimum 1 point on the right, but it is impossible to tell if there are more due to the fact that the right side of the flag is gone. Throughout the leaves are six blank spaces in the midst of the green, three on each side. There are six spikes on the trunk of the tree, three on each side and a base on the bottom.Credit: NPS Image 2 of 2: Brigadier General Pierre G. T. Beauregard PortraitA portrait painting of Brigadier General Pierre G. T. Beauregard. This painting shows Beauregard from mid-thigh up with the core of his body facing toward his right and his head and eyes facing the center. He has dark hair that is brushed and is pushed off of his forehead, dark eyebrows that are above eyes that are staring forward. He has a dark mustache that extends beyond the edges of his mouth and a goatee below his lower lip. He is wearing a dark navy blue, almost black, long coat, which is called a frock coat, that is made of wool. This coat has a stand up collar that goes to mid-neck with his white shirt barely visible above. On each of his shoulders there are shoulder boards, or epaulette, that indicates his rank. These shoulder boards have tassels that hang off. Down the front of the coat is a double row of brass buttons, 8 can be seen. These buttons differ from Anderson's uniform. The buttons are in sets of two with a space and then another set. Beauregard's arms are crossed with his right arm over his left along his midsection. Along his waist is a sword belt and buckle situated in the middle with a yellow sash beneath the belt. The sash is most visibly seen on Beauregard's left hip where it flows down beside his sword which is along his left thigh. The photograph is cropped from a painting and is overlaying the previous picture and the Palmetto flag.Credit: Collection of City Hall, Charleston SC Related TextBrigadier General Pierre G. T. Beauregard commanded Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina, in March and April 1861 and again from August 1862 to May 1864. He had been one of Anderson’s artillery students at West Point in 1837 and, while determined to evict the Federal troops from Fort Sumter, did not welcome the prospect of firing on his old friend and former instructor. After Anderson surrendered on April 14, 1861, Private John S. Bird Jr. of the Palmetto Guards raised the unit’s six- by nine-foot flag over the captured fort.
On December 20, 1860, South Carolina delegates to a special secession convention voted unanimously to secede from the Federal Union. In November, Abraham Lincoln had been elected President of the United States with no support from southern states. The critical significance of this election was expressed in South Carolina’s Declaration of the Immediate Causes [of] Secession: “A geographical line has been drawn across the Union, and all the States north of that line have united in the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States, whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery.” The Declaration claimed that secession was justified because the Federal Government had violated the Constitutional compact by encroaching upon the rights of the sovereign states. As the primary violation, the Declaration listed the failure of 14 northern states to enforce the Federal Fugitive Slave Act or to restrict the actions of antislavery organizations. “Thus the constituted compact [the U.S. Constitution] has been deliberately broken and disregarded by the non-slaveholding States, and the consequence follows that South Carolina is released from her obligation.” The Declaration expressed South Carolina’s fear that “The slaveholding States will no longer have the power of self-government, or self-protection, and the Federal Government will have become their enemy.”
The South Carolina Declaration shows how national arguments related to state sovereignty arose from questions about the nature and expansion of slavery. Competing interests were evident at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 when the Founding Fathers were unable to effectively deal with the national problem of slavery. Unable to resolve the issue, it was put off for future generations. The lack of either a clear Constitutional recognition of chattel slavery or a provision for leaving the Union meant that both issues would be passionately debated. In the early years of the republic slavery became more entrenched and vital to the southern economy even as it was slowly dying out in the northern states. As the country expanded, regional conflict centered on the extension of slavery into new American territories. Included in the arguments was the fate of enslaved African Americans fleeing from the South. Over decades, North and South tried and failed to reach agreements on geographic boundaries for slavery, the recapture of runaways, and the status of free blacks living throughout the nation. National political parties, religious denominations, and even families divided over these issues. In the months between Lincoln’s election and his inauguration, as Lower South states proclaimed secession, efforts at compromise continued. Southern Unionists and their northern supporters believed that the Union could be restored without war if only the southern states had guarantees that the Federal Government would not interfere with their slave property. A Constitutional amendment guaranteeing the rights of slave owners was suggested, but Lincoln concluded that no plan of compromise would ever fully satisfy South Carolina, the state that led the South in defense of the rights of slaveholders and the right of secession. Within six weeks after South Carolina’s secession, five other states—Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana—followed its example. Early in February 1861, delegates met in Montgomery, Alabama, adopted a constitution, set up a provisional government—the Confederate States of America—and elected Jefferson Davis as their president. By March 2, when Texas officially joined the Confederacy, nearly all the Federal forts and navy yards in the seven seceding states had been seized by the new government. Fort Sumter was one of the few that remained in Federal hands. When South Carolina seceded, there were four Federal installations around Charleston Harbor: Fort Moultrie on Sullivans Island, Castle Pinckney on Shute’s Folly Island near the city, Fort Johnson on James Island across from Moultrie, and Fort Sumter at the harbor entrance. The only post garrisoned by more than a nominal number of soldiers was Fort Moultrie, where Major Robert Anderson commanded two companies, 85 men, of the First U.S. Artillery. Six days after South Carolina seceded, Anderson concluded that Moultrie was indefensible and secretly transferred his command to Fort Sumter, a mile away. On December 27 South Carolina volunteers occupied Forts Moultrie and Johnson and Castle Pinckney, and began erecting batteries elsewhere around the harbor. The state regarded Anderson’s move as a breach of faith and demanded that the U.S. Government evacuate Charles ton Harbor. President James Buchanan refused and in January attempted a relief expedition. South Carolina shore batteries, however, turned back the unarmed merchant vessel Star of the West, carrying 200 men and several months’ provisions, as it tried to enter the harbor. Early in March, Brigadier Genneral Pierre G. T. Beauregard took command of the Confederate troops at Charleston and pushed work on fortifying the harbor. As the weeks passed, Fort Sumter gradually became the focal point of tensions between North and South. When Abraham Lincoln assumed office as President of the United States on March 4, 1861, he vowed in a firm but conciliatory address to uphold the national authority. The Government, he said, would not assail anyone, but neither would it consent to a division of the Union. “The power confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the Government.” By April 4 Lincoln believed that a relief expedition was feasible and ordered merchant steamers, protected by ships of war, to carry “subsistence and other supplies” to Anderson. He also notified Governor Francis W. Pickens of South Carolina that an attempt would be made to resupply the fort. After debate—and some disagreement—the Confederate secretary of war tele graphed Beauregard on April 10 that if he were certain Sumter was to be supplied by force “you will at once demand its evacuation, and if this is refused proceed, in such manner as you may determine, to reduce it.” On April 11 Beauregard demanded that Anderson surrender Sumter. Anderson refused. At 3:20 a.m., April 12, the Confederates informed Anderson that their batteries would open fire in one hour. At ten minutes past the allotted hour, Captain George S. James, commanding Fort Johnson’s east mortar battery, ordered the firing of a signal shell. Within moments Edmund Ruffin of Virginia, firebrand and hero of the secessionist movement, touched off a gun in the ironclad battery at Cummings Point. By daybreak batteries at Forts Johnson and Moultrie, Cummings Point, and elsewhere were assailing Fort Sumter. Major Anderson withheld his fire until 7 o’clock. Though some 60 guns stood ready for action, most never got into the fight. Nine or ten casemate guns returned fire, but by noon only six remained in action. At no time during the battle did the guns of Fort Sumter greatly damage Confederate positions. The cannonade continued throughout the night. The next morning a hot shot from Fort Moultrie set fire to the officers’ quarters. In early afternoon the flag staff was shot away. About 2 p.m., Anderson agreed to a truce. That evening he surrendered his garrison. Miraculously, no one on either side had been killed during the engagement. Only five Federal soldiers suffered injuries. On Sunday, April 14, Major Anderson and his garrison marched out of the fort and boarded ship for transport to New York. They had defended Sumter for 34 hours, until “the quarters were entirely burned, the main gates destroyed by fire, the gorge walls seriously injured, the magazines surrounded by flames.” Civil war, so long dreaded, had begun.
With Fort Sumter in Confederate hands, the port of Charleston became an irritating loophole in the Federal naval blockade of the Atlantic coast. In two months of 1863, 21 Confederate vessels cleared Charleston Harbor and 15 entered. Into Charleston came needed war supplies; out went cotton in payment. To close the port—and also capture the city—it was necessary first to seize Fort Sumter, now repaired and armed with some 95 guns. After an earlier Army attempt had failed on James Island, the job fell to the U.S. Navy, and Rear Adm. Samuel F. Du Pont was ordered to take the fort.
On the afternoon of April 7, 1863, nine armored vessels steamed slowly into the harbor and headed for Fort Sumter. For 2½ hours the ironclads dueled with Confederate batteries in the forts and around the harbor. The naval attack only scarred and battered Sumter’s walls, but the far more intense and accurate Confederate fire disabled five Federal ships, one of which, the Keokuk, sank the next morning. When the ironclads failed, Federal strategy changed. Du Pont was removed from command and replaced by Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren, who planned to combine land and sea operations to seize nearby Morris Island and from there to demolish Fort Sumter. At a position secured by U.S. forces on Morris Island, Union troops under Major General Quincy A. Gillmore began to place rifled cannon powerful enough to breach Sumter’s walls. Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren and Major General Quincy A. Gillmore. Their combined attacks on Fort Sumter resulted in its November 1863. Meanwhile, Confederate laborers and slaves inside Fort Sumter worked day and night with bales of cotton and sand to buttress the walls facing the Federal guns. The fort’s garrison at this time consisted of five companies of the First South Carolina Artillery under Colonel Alfred Rhett. Federal troops fired a few experimental rounds at the fort in late July and early August. The bombardment began in earnest on August 17, with almost 1,000 shells fired the first day alone. Within a week, the fort’s brick walls were shattered and reduced to rubble, but the garrison refused to surrender and continued to repair and strengthen the defenses. Confederate guns at Fort Moultrie and other points now took up the defense of Sumter. Another Federal assault on September 9 fell short; this time the attackers lost five boats and 124 men trying to take the fort from Major Stephen Elliott and fresh Confederate troops under his command. Except for one 10-day period of heavy firing, the bombardment continued intermittently until the end of December. By then Sumter’s cannon were severely damaged and dismounted and its defenders could respond with only “harmless musketry.” In the summer of 1864, after Major General John G. Foster replaced Gillmore as commander of land operations, the Federals made one last attempt to take Sumter. Foster, a member of Anderson’s 1861 garrison, believed that “with proper arrangements” the fort could be taken “at any time.” A sustained two-month Union bombardment, however, failed to dislodge the 300-man Confederate garrison and Foster was ordered to send most of his remaining ammunition and several regiments of troops north to aid Grant’s overland campaign against Richmond. Desultory fire against the fort continued through January 1865. For 20 months Fort Sumter had withstood Federal siege and bombardment, and it no longer resembled a fort at all. But defensively it was stronger than ever. Big Federal guns had hurled seven million pounds of metal at it, yet the Confederate losses during this period had been only 52 killed and 267 wounded. General William T. Sherman’s troops advancing north from Savannah, however, caused the Confederates to evacuate Fort Sumter on February 17, 1865. On April 14, with Charleston in Union hands, the U.S. flag that was lowered when the fort was surrendered in 1861 was once again raised above Sumter’s battered ramparts. Brief DescriptionThe purpose of this map is to assist in understanding the cultural context of where confederate and Federal troops were located during 1863-1865. It is also beneficial in orientation to find the location of one of these fortifications to understand that the location of the forts in relation to one another to create a deeper understanding of how they worked together.This map is of the Charleston Harbor and portions of the surrounding barrier islands, as well as a portion of downtown Charleston itself, part of the Atlantic Ocean, Ashley River and Cooper River. In red Confederate locations are shown and in blue federal locations are shown. Confederate locations include Castle Pinckney, 3 batteries on various islands, a floating battery, Fort Johnson on James Island, and Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island. Fort Sumter and Fort Wagner are a bit different, they are written in black with both red and blue written below to show that they were held by both forces at different times. Fort Sumter was in Federal hands in 1861 and in Confederate hands between 1861 and 1865. Fort Wagner was in Confederate hands from 1861 to 1863 and in federal hands btween 1863 and 1865. The Swamp Angel is located on Morris Island and was there in 1863 and an Ironclad Attack in the Atlantic Ocean on April 7, 1863. Long DescriptionThe purpose of this map is to assist in understanding the cultural context of where confederate and Federal troops were located during 1863-1865. It is also beneficial in orientation to find the location of one of these fortifications to understand that the location of the forts in relation to one another to create a deeper understanding of how they worked together.The key shows that the orientation of this map is north with a key showing how far 2 kilometers and 2 miles is in the bottom left. On the top right is a key indicating that text written in red shows Confederate locations and text written in blue indicates Federal locations. This is a small rectangular map that shows the Charleston Harbor in the center with portions of the surrounding barrier islands of Sullivan's Island to the east, Morris Island to the south and James Island to the Southwest, land to the right of downtown to the Northeast, and a portion of downtown Charleston itself to the northwest. The Ashley River runs to the left side of the downtown area and goes into the harbor and the Cooper River is on the right side of the downtown area. Near where the Cooper Rover and the Charleston Harbor meet is a small island that contains Castle Pinckney written in red showing that it is a Confederate site. On the land to the right there is a battery written in red showing that it is a Confederate site. On the farthest left point of Sullivan's Island is a floating battery written in red and a little further right is Fort Moultrie, also written in red showing that they are Confederate sites. Below that is the Atlantic Ocean. In the lowest portion of the Atlantic Ocean is a spot written in blue saying Ironclad attack April 7, 1863 and a blue dotted line that shows the main ship channel. Moving to the left side of the map there is James Island taking up a large portion of that side and where it touches the harbor you can see Fort Johnson and a battery just below it written in red showing that they are Confederate sites. Morris Island is just below James Island and in the central portion the "Swamp Angel" 1863 is seen written in blue showing that it is a Federal site. Just before you get to the end of the island Fort Wagner is written in black and below that the years 1861-1863 are written in red and the years 183-1865 are written in blue. On the Northern most point of Morris Island is a battery written in red and the name Cummings Point written beside. In the mouth of the harbor with the Atlantic on one side and Morris Island and Sullivan's Island on the other side is Fort Sumter written in black. Below that written is Federal 1861 in blue and Confederate 1861-1865 in red. Image 1 of 2: John A. DahlgrenThis is a historic, black and white, oval sketch portrait of Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren. His body is angles to his right with his head facing the center. He has thin straight hair that shows a receding hairline that is parted to the left of his head. Furrowed eyebrows are over eyes that focus straight forward. He has a long, thin nose and a thick mustache over a tightly drawn mouth. His sideburns extend the full length of his jaw. He appears to be wearing a dark officer's cape with a white shirt poking out over the straight collar beneath.Credit: NPS Image 2 of 2: Quincy A. GilmoreThis is a historic, black and white, oval sketch portrait of Major General Quincy A. Gillmore. His body is angles to his right with his head also facing in that direction. He has dark curly hair and a receding hairline with a widow's peak. His thick dark eyebrows are furrowed over eyes are facing towards the center, staring off into the distance. His mouth is covered by a dark mustache, full beard, and sideburns that is well groomed. He wears a dark uniform, similar to Anderson's uniform with a dark coat with a stand up collar that goes to mid neck with a white shirt peaking out over the top. on his left shoulder, which is the only one visible, is a shoulder strap that is a rectangle with a white boarder and a star in the center. Down the front of his body are two rows of buttons.Caption: Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren and Major General Quincy A. Gillmore. Their combined attacks on Fort Sumter resulted in its November 1863. Credit: NPS Image 1 of 2: John A. JohnsonThis is a historic, black and white, oval sketch portrait of Major John A. Johnson. His body is slightly angled to his left and his face is facing forwards. His dark hair is pushed up and parted to the left side of his head. His thinner eyebrows are on top of soft eyes that are gazing forward. He has visible laugh lines above his mustache, which is attached to a well manicured beard with sideburns and a goatee situated in the center. He is wearing a light jacket with a lay down collar and a single star on this right lapel. below the jacket he is wearing a light shirt with a button on his right side close to the neck and another light shirt beneath with a stand up collar and a dark cravat, or neck scarf, tied and is barely visible between the shirts.Credit: NPS Image 2 of 2: Fort Sumter illustrationOn the upper portion of this painting is a light sky with wispy clouds.A light colored painting showing a battered Fort Sumter extending the center of the frame. The Fort does not have a lot of visible brick walls, but there is a large pile of light brown rubble situated in the center of what little walls remain. On the far left of the frame beside the fort is what looks like some wooden rubble. The lower portion of the painting shows water that is reflecting the ruined fort and light sky. In the middle of the water, if if they are coming towards us is a row boat carrying 4 men and one man standing on the nearby land with a rope in his hands that is attached to the rowboat. The land that the man is standing on is dirt trodden.Caption: Fort Sumter withstood all Federal efforts to batter it into submission, thanks largely to chief engineer Major John A. Johnson and the workmen under his command. Credit: Architect of the U.S. Capitol Black band on top of page that reads Fort Sumter Today. Below that the page is divided into three distinct sections. The upper most section contains three images that are from the 1870s, 1901, and the 2000s showing different parts of the fort's history after the Civil War. Below the images is a section of text that chronicles the history of Fort Sumter from the end of the Civil War to modern day. The middle section includes the section that provides basic information such as hours of operation, boat information, safety and contact information. Beside that is a descriptive walking tour of Fort Sumter with numbers indicating certain areas with a corresponding diagram. The third section on the bottom contains a drawing that depicts Fort Sumter as it would have looked in 1861.
Description: This black and white photograph shows a ruined brick wall of Fort Sumter which extends the entire length of the picture. The remains of the lower-tier casemates, or arched gun rooms, can be seen through the rubble. The left most casemate is easily discernible with a visible arched roof.
At the extreme right of the picture, a lighthouse sits above the ruined wall of Fort Sumter at the angle. This squat lighthouse with an angled rectangular base has two windows inside the structure. The lighthouse has a wider base and gets narrower as it gets taller. One window is several feet higher than the lower window. They are symmetrical. The top platform is circular with an enclosed railing. The top of the light, where the Fresnel lens is located, is enclosed and circular. To the left, atop the top, flies the US flag from a tall white flagpole. In the foreground there is a sandy beach with tidal surf coming onto the beach in the lower right hand corner of the picture. Credit: Library of Congress Related Text: This photograph of Fort Sumter was made in the early 1870s, after the U.S. Army had begun to clear away the rubble from the Civil War years in an attempt to make the fort once again serviceable as a coastal defense. It shows Sumter’s right flank and the remains of the lower-tier casemates, just starting to emerge from the ruins. The lighthouse was built in 1865 at the right shoulder angle where the fort’s right face and right flank meet. Its appearance changed over the years as it was moved to facilitate reconstruction work. The lighthouse was finally demolished in 1948.
Description: This black and white photograph shows a gun crew of ten visible artillerymen loading a 12-inch rifle on Battery Huger, a concrete structure.
The foreground of the photograph shows a metal railing. In the right hand corner of the picture, there is a staircase leading down from the level on which the 12-inch rifle is located. There is a pole at the angle where the railing turns at a right angle towards the top of the staircase. This tall white pole partially obstructs the view of the 12-inch rifle about halfway down the length of the gun. The 12-inch rifle is mounted on a fixed gun carriage, which sits on a raised concrete gun mount. The gunmount is in the shape of a circle, fitting into a semicircle cut out of the larger concrete structure. The barrel of the 12-inch rifle is above the parapet. Six male uniformed artillerymen stand at the breech of the gun, atop a fixed platform. The platform has two angled ladders on either side, which each have 8 rungs. The men closer to the breech of the gun on the platform are working together, holding an implement, likely a rammer. A few paces away from the ladder, below the gun mount, stands an artilleryman at attention with erect military bearing. A few paces to his right and behind him lie artillery implements, leaning against an open chest. Standing on the gun carriage, towards the back of the gun, is an artilleryman with a range-finding device pressed to his eye. We see his back. Facing the back of the gun, underneath the barrel of the 12-inch rifle, near where the gun mount meets the wall, stand two men. Credit: National Archives Related Text: The massive concrete Spanish-American War structure known as Battery Isaac Huger has dominated the entire central section of Fort Sumter since 1899, when the battery was completed. Like the fort in which it stands, it was named for a South Carolina hero of the Revolutionary War. The photo at left, taken in 1901, shows one of the two long-range 12-inch rifles that made up the battery’s armament. Its companion gun, located where the Museum stands today, was called a “disappearing rifle.” It was visible over the parapet when firing, with the recoil causing it to “disappear” into a recessed area behind the parapet for reloading. Both guns had a maximum range of 9.75 miles.
Description: This aerial color photograph shows a birds-eye view of Fort Sumter, the island on which it sits, the surrounding waters of the harbor, and the sandbar to its south.
The aerial perspective shows the remaining bottom tier of the fort's historic brick walls. The pentagonal shape is obvious. The salient, or point of the pentagonal fort, faces the lower left hand corner of the image. The lower right hand corner of the image shows the dock extending out further into the water. The picture shows that the dock meets a paved walkway near the current sally port, or entrance, of the fort on the left flank wall. The left flank wall appears as the rightmost wall in this image given the orientation of the image. The brick walls of the fort and the land in front of the left flank wall have rip-rap, large strewn rocks, on the waterline to protect the fort from high water levels. The left flank wall through which a visitor would enter is first covered in enclosed casemates, or arched gun rooms, with white roofs. Further inside the fort, there is a grassy open area, called the parade ground. A few cannon can be seen on the parade ground near the left face wall, which extends from the left flank wall to the salient. Inside the brick structure of the historic fort, there is a massive concrete gun emplacement, Battery Isaac Huger. Battery Huger has two enclosed levels. Its top, or parapet, is in the open air. Battery Huger has an open air gun pit on its right on the second level. Battery Huger's left side has a brick roof where an open air gun pit once existed. Around the corner of the salient, there is a roofline of casemates extending along the right face of the fort. Where the right face ends, there is a staircase leading up to a grassy observation deck atop the fort. Between the right flank wall, which runs between the right face wall and the gorge wall on the back of the fort, and Battery Huger is earth fill with a grassy lawn. Sitting atop the observation deck there is a semicircle of 5 flagpoles, displaying historic US and Confederate flags as well as the state flag of South Carolina. This semi circle crowns, can be seen above, a focal point flagpole. This flagpole with a thicker, granite base is taller and flies the current 50-star US flag. Surrounding the front walls of the fort is open tranquil, dark blue water. Behind the gorge, or back wall, of the fort is a piece of land with grass and taller clumps of vegetation. Extending past this natural area is a partially exposed sandbar, which takes up most of the top right corner of the image. Credit: NPS Related Text: Fort Sumter today bears only a superficial resemblance to its original appearance. The multi-tiered work of 1861 was reduced largely to rubble during the Civil War. Battery Huger, built across the parade ground at the time of the Spanish-American War, dominates the interior.
When the Civil War ended, Fort Sumter presented a very desolate appearance. Only on the left flank, left face, and right face could any of the original scarp wall be seen. The right flank wall and the gorge wall, which had taken the brunt of the Federal bombardments, were now irregular mounds of earth, sand, and debris forming steep slopes down to the water’s edge. The fort bore little resemblance to the impressive work that had stood there when the war began in 1861.
During the decade following the war, the Army attempted to put Fort Sumter back into shape as a military installation. The horizontal irregularity of the damaged or destroyed walls was given some semblance of uniformity by levelling jagged portions and rebuilding others. A new sally port was cut through the left flank; storage magazines and cisterns were constructed; and gun emplacements were located. Eleven of the original first-tier gunrooms at the salient and along the right face were reclaimed and armed with 100-pounder Parrott guns. From 1876 to 1897 Fort Sumter was not garrisoned and served mainly as a lighthouse station. During this period maintenance of the area was so poor that the gun platforms were allowed to rot, the guns to rust, and the area to erode. The impending Spanish-American War, however, prompted renewed activity that resulted in the construction of Battery Huger in 1898 and the installation of two long-range 12-inch rifles the following year. Fortunately, the war ended quickly and the guns were never fired in anger. During World War I, a small garrison manned the rifles at Battery Huger. For the next 20 years, however, although maintained by the Army, the fort was not used as a military establishment. But it did become a destination for tourists until World War II brought about the fort’s reactivation. The Battery Huger rifles, long since outmoded, were removed about 1943. During late World War II, 90-mm antiaircraft guns were installed along the fort’s right flank and manned by a company of Coast Artillery. In 1948, transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service, Fort Sumter became a national monument. The following guide highlights the main historical portions of the fort today.
Fort Sumter National Monument is in Charleston Harbor and can be reached only by boat. The fort is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily between April 1 and Labor Day. At other times of the year the hours vary; call 843-883-3123. Tour boats operated by a National Park Service concessionaire leave from the Fort Sumter Tour Boat Facility at Liberty Square in downtown Charleston. Liberty Square is located on the Cooper River at the eastern end of Calhoun Street and includes the South Carolina Aquarium For boat schedules, call 843-883-3123.
While every effort has been made to make your visit safe and enjoyable, you must remain alert and cautious in all areas of the fort. Be especially careful on stairways and uneven surfaces.
Description: This is an illustrated map of Fort Sumter that is designed to guide visitors as they walk around the fort. The map shows the five sides of the fort with key features that are numbered and listed under the section entitled A walking tour of Fort Sumter. Other features that are displayed on the map include walkways, restrooms, the Fort Sumter museum, the flag pole, the powder room, and Battery Huger, pronounced yu g, in the center of the fort. The five sides of the fort are listed outside the outline of the fort and include right flank, right face, left face, left flank, and gorge wall.
Related Text: For those who wish to inspect the fort at their own pace, this text, keyed to the fort plan at right, describes a short tour of both ruins and exhibits. By comparing the fort plan and the painting of the fort as it appeared on the eve of the Civil War, you will gain a better understanding of how the Fort Sumter of today compares to the Fort Sumter of 1861.
Description: This image is a large drawing that is showing what Fort Sumter would have looked like in 1861. The fort is surrounded by water and there are grey rocks along the edge of the fort's walls. When describing the pentagon from this point forward, the technical names for the walls will be used and they are labeled on each wall are as followed. When picturing a pentagon there are two sides that are angled and come to a point. The wall to the left of that point is called the left face and the wall on the right is called the right face. A straight line down from each of those angled walls is are two parallel walls that are called the left and right flank in relation to the left and right face. Connecting the left flank and right flank is a long wall that is called the gorge. Where each of these walls meet there is a flat angle. The left flank wall is a long wall that is is most easily seen from the outside with the left flank and right face seen, but more at an angle. From the outside there are nine cannon holes along the bottom of the left and right face wall. It can be said that they are cannon holes because on the right portion of the left face there is a cut out that exposed part of the fort interior with cannons, the tracks that the cannons are rotated on with people behind each. The left flanks has eight cannon holes visible. On the two visible angles that are seen between the walls there is one cannon hole. Above each of the exposed cannon holes on all visible outside walls are a bricked up square. On the interior corners of the angles between the right face and right flank, right face and left face, left face and left flank there is an eight sided stair tower, which is labeled, that has eight pained windows and a door that opens up to the upper level that is home to more cannons and tracks. There are four cannons on the top of the left face wall that are spread out and not next to one another. the left flank is almost full and hosts six cannons. The right flank is more difficult to see, but eight cannons can be barely seen.
Along the interior of the fort's right flank and left flank wall are three levels of enlisted men's barracks which extend above the exterior walls. The barracks along the right flank has seven windows on the top two levels and six on the bottom, the other space where a seventh window would be is a door the third from the left on the left half and the third from the right on the right side. This is repeated on the other side because right down the middle of the barrack is a bricked up portion. The barracks along the left flank the side that touches the exterior wall seven windows and six doors that alternate that open up to the upper level of the wall to where the cannons are. Along each end of the barracks is a chimney and two taller ones in the middle. Along the back gorge wall there are the officer's quarters. it is also three levels high which extend above the exterior walls. The building is constructed in a similar manner that the enlisted men's barracks are. In the the middle of the officer's quarters is an arched doorway that is called a sally port. On the outside of the fort as if it is coming to the Sally Port is a Granite Wharf, which is written. The interior of the fort includes the name Parade Ground. Below those words is a pile of dirt. To the right of the pile of dirt there are two boxes of what looks like dirt and a platform. Near the corner between the left face and flank walls there is an American flag that is on a wooden pole with three supports along the base. There are five people inside the fort on the parade ground, two close to the enlisted men's barracks on the right flank wall and three near the Sally Port. Credit: NPS/L. Kenneth Townsend Related Text: Its five-foot-thick brick walls towered approximately 50 feet above low water to command the main ship channel. Four sides, 170 to 190 feet long, were designed for three tiers of guns; the gorge, mainly officers’ quarters, mounted guns only on the third tier. Enlisted men’s barracks paralleled the gunrooms on the two flanks. A sally port pierced the center of the gorge, opening onto a wharf. The fort was designed for an armament of 135 guns and a garrison of 650 men. By December 1860 Fort Sumter was 90 percent completed, standing empty, with only 15 cannon mounted and ready.
Fort Sumter National Monument is one of over 400 areas in the National Park System. To learn more visit, www.nps.gov.
Address: 1214 Middle Street, Sullivans Island, SC, 29482 Phone: 843-883-3123 Website: www.nps.gov/fosu Other Information: Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. National Park Foundation: Join the park community, www.nationalparks.org. Fort Moultrie Welcome to the audio-described version of Fort Moultrie's official print brochure. Through text and audio descriptions of photos, illustrations, and maps, this version interprets the two-sided color brochure that Fort Moultrie visitors receive. The brochure explores the history of the park, some of its highlights, and information for planning your visit. This audio version lasts about 36 minutes.
Fort Moultrie is part of Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park.
Fort Moultrie, located in South Carolina. The park is situated approximately nine miles southeast of Mount Pleasant, SC and approximately 11 miles southeast of Charleston, SC. This park was established in 1948. Each year, thousands of visitors come to enjoy the unique experiences that only can be had at Fort Moultrie. We invite you to learn about the birth of the United States, the evolution of cannon and ship technology, and the legacy of enslaved people and the Gullah Geechee Heritage. Take a walk through the fort and learn about the 170+ year history of coastal defense. For those seeking to learn more about the park during their visit, enjoy the 20 minute long video inside the visitor center. To find out more about what resources might be available or to contact the park directly, visit the "Accessibility" and "More Information" sections at the end of this audio-described brochure.
The front side is divided into three parts, top to bottom. The top part features a color illustration of the June 28, 1776 attack on the fort. A number of British ships are shown exchanging cannon fire with the fort, depicted on the far left with a blue Moultrie flag flying overhead. The middle section is interpretive text titled "Guardian of the Straits." The section offers a synopsis of the fort's evolution from the American Revolution to World War II. The bottom section features six illustrations with supporting texts that span the 171 years of defense at Fort Moultrie. From left to right, the first illustration shows soldiers of the 2nd South Carolina Regiment firing a cannon in the palmetto log fort. The second illustration shows a cannon and carriage emplaced in the third fort, typical of what was present prior to the beginning of the Civil War. The third illustration shows a Civil War era ironclad monitor vessel of the U.S. Navy. The fourth illustration shows a large disappearing gun and carriage, typical of what was present on the new concrete gun batteries that were built between 1896 and 1903. The fifth illustration shows the Harbor Entrance Control Post, built on a hill at Fort Moultrie in 1943. The sixth illustration shows a German submarine, a steel submarine net, and a circular mine that was anchored to the bottom by a cable.
Description: An historic painting depicting the 1776 attack on an unfinished palmetto log fortification on Sullivan's Island by British Royal Navy men-of-war. The colors are muted. The perspective of the scene is watching nine large warships firing cannons at a low fort and the fort firing back. The sea is calm and a soft bluish grey in color. The air is heavy with grey smoke.
The one story fort made of a light colored material is on the left side and foreground of the painting. A corner of that fort is visible and on that corner is a flagpole with a blue flag flying. The flag is waving to the left. There is a small white crescent on the flag's top right corner closest to the flag pole. The top of the fort is notched with squares and inside those squares rest cannon. There is a row of four cannon along the left side of the corner and three on the front side. There are two massive multi-masted brown wooden ships in the foreground of the painting. One of the ships is on the left side of the painting and the other on the right. The brown wooden ship on the left is just outside the corner of the fort. The ship has its cream-colored sails unfurled and is facing away from the painter. At the back of the ship is a large rectangular British flag is waving to the left. This flag is mostly faded red and in the upper right quarter is rectangular blue field. On this blue field is elongated red plus sign with white boarders. At each of the interior corners of the plus sign is another angled red line boarded in white that touches the corner of the blue field. At the top of the tallest of the three masts, there is a long, narrow piece of white fabric that is blowing to the left of the ship and is almost at a right angle to the mast. Cannon are firing cannon from the ship's left side. There are tall clouds of grey smoke that are obscuring the rest of the fort from view and also obscuring a clear view of four ships in front of it - only the higher portions of those ships' rigging and masts can be seen deeper into the picture. The tall, three-masted ship on the right side is facing the painter at a slight left angle. It's main cream-colored sails are unfurled, are filled with wind and blowing outward. At the back of the ship, through the lines, there is a large rectangular British flag is waving to the left. This flag is mostly faded red and in the upper right quarter is rectangular blue field. On this blue field is elongated red plus sign with white boarders. At each of the interior corners of the plus sign is another angled red line boarded in white that touches the corner of the blue field. This ship is firing from the cannon on the left side of the ship towards the fort. There is a large grey cloud of smoke that begins at the water line and billows half way up the mast lines. In the background of these two ships are other, similar-looking ships, some with their sails unfurled and other have the sails tucked away. The sails that are unfurled are pocked with holes from battle. All are flying the British flag from the rear of the ship. Caption: A View of the British Attack. Credit: Nicholas Pocock / Courtesy of the University of South Carolina. Related Text: From the time of the earliest European settlements to the end of World War II, coastal fortifications guarded the harbors and shores of the United States. Here at Fort Moultrie the story of two centuries of seacoast defense is told through a unique plan of restoration. Five sections of the fort and two outlying areas, each mounting typical weapons, represent a different historical period in the life of the three Fort Moultries. The first fort on Sullivans Island was still incomplete when Admrial Sir Peter Parker and nine warships attacked it on June 28, 1776. After a nine-hour battle, the ships were forced to retire. Charleston was saved from British occupation, and the fort was named in honor of its commander, William Moultrie. In 1780 the British finally captured Charleston, abandoning it only with the advent of peace. After the Revolution Fort Moultrie was neglected, and by 1791 little of it remained. Then, in 1793, war broke out between England and France. The next year Congress, seeking to safeguard American shores, authorized the First American System of nationwide coastal fortifications. A second Fort Moultrie, one of 20 new forts along the Atlantic Coast, was completed in 1798. It too suffered from neglect and was finally destroyed by a hurricane in 1804. By 1807 many of the other First System fortifications were in need of extensive repair. Congress responded by authorizing funds for a Second American System, which included a third Fort Moultrie. By 1809 a new brick fort stood on Sullivans Island. Between 1809 and 1860 Fort Moultrie changed little. The parapet was altered and the armament modernized, but the big improvement in Charleston’s defenses during this period was the construction of Fort Sumter at the entrance of the harbor. The forts ringing Charleston Harbor—Moultrie, Sumter, Johnson, and Castle Pinckney—were meant to complement each other, but ironically they received their baptism of fire as opponents. In December 1860 South Carolina seceded from the Union, and the Federal garrison abandoned Fort Moultrie for the stronger Sumter. Three and a half months later, Confederate troops shelled Sumter into submission, plunging the nation into civil war. In April 1863 Federal ironclads and shore batteries began a 20-month bombardment of Sumter and Moultrie, yet Charleston’s defenses held. When the Confederate army evacuated the city in February 1865, Fort Sumter was little more than a pile of rubble and Fort Moultrie lay hidden under the bank of sand that protected its walls from Federal shells. The new rifled cannon used during the Civil War had demolished the brick-walled fortifications. Fort Moultrie was modernized in the 1870s, employing concepts developed during the war. Huge new cannon were installed, and magazines and bombproofs were built of thick concrete, then buried under tons of earth to absorb the explosion of heavy shells. In 1885 President Grover Cleveland appointed Secretary of War William C. Endicott to head a board to review the coastal defenses of the United States and recommend how they might be improved in light of newly developing weapons technology. The system that emerged, named for Endicott, again modernized the nation’s fortifications. New batteries of concrete and steel were constructed in Fort Moultrie. Larger weapons were emplaced elsewhere on Sullivans Island, and the old fort became just a small part of the Fort Moultrie reservation that covered much of the island. As technology changed, harbor defense became more complex. The world wars brought new threats of submarine and aerial attack and required new means of defense at Moultrie. Yet these armaments also became obsolete as nuclear weapons and guided missiles altered the entire concept of national defense. Today Fort Moultrie has been restored to highlight the major periods of its history. At the fort you move steadily back in time from the World War II Harbor Entrance Control Post to the site of the palmetto-log fort of 1776.
Description: The black and white sketch shows seven men in uniform around two cannon. The scene is from the inside of a walled fort, and the men are behind a wooden notched log wall. They are standing on a wooden plank floor. The men are all wearing a uniform that consists of black boots that reach halfway between their soles and knees. Their long pants are white. Their white shirts are covered by white long-sleeved jackets that have tails that stretch below their waist. There are two wide cloth straps that are criss crossed on their chest and make a large X across their chests and on their backs. They are wearing tricorn black hats.
Two men in the back of the drawing are standing near a cannon are turned away and focused on the cannon. Five men are gathered around the front cannon. The cannon is pointed to the right and only the back half of the cannon can be seen because the rest of the cannon is hidden by the log walls. The tube of the cannon is being cradled off the floor by a wooden carriage on four wheels, only the two wheels on the side of the carriage facing the artist are visible. At the end of the carriage, there is a pulley attached, and two strands of rope are laced through the pulley and the rope is shown suspended slightly above the floor and between two of the men who are kneeling behind the cannon. There are three men at the back of the cannon and two outside men are kneeling and center man is standing. The knelling man to the left has his left hand on the base of the carriage. The man kneeling on the right side is bent on his left knee and has his hand extended straight with his fingers pointing above the cannon. There are two men standing on the sides of the cannon and each has a pole in their hands and the bottom end of the pole is being leveraged at the base of the cannon. The last man is standing and watching the activity. His back is to the artist. To his right side and leaning against the wall of the fort is a pole much taller than him with a giant sponge on the top side. One man on the far side of the cannon is gripping a thick pole and has it placed at the base of the cannon tube. Related Text: In its 171-year history, Fort Moultrie has defended Charleston Harbor twice. The first time, on June 28, 1776, during the Revolutionary War, the 30 smooth bore cannon of the original fort drove off a British fleet mounting 200 guns. Despite its lack of use in combat, the fort was maintained until 1947 to provide a ready, and inexpensive, deterrent to any prospective enemy. Image 1 of 2: CannonThis historical black and white photograph is rectangular. The image is narrow and longer than it is wide. It depicts a rifled and banded 32-pounder Columbiad cannon, mounted on a wooden gun carriage, which sits forward on a wooden chassis. The chassis moves along metal rails on wheels.The cannon is positioned behind a low brick wall. The gun is pointed towards the right. The cannon is in the foreground of the picture and is positioned outside in the open air. To the right of the cannon, there is an artillery sponge sitting on a raised "X." In the background, the picture shows the water, sand dunes along a beach, and a row of abatis, or sharpened tree branches, at a perpendicular angle to the fort. Image 2 of 2: ShellingThis rectangular, black and white artistic rendering depicts two US Navy ironclads in choppy surf. The whitecaps on the waves are low, but there are significantly taller jets of water spray behind and to the front of the two ironclads, representing explosive artillery rounds that have exploded near the ships.The ironclads sit low in the water. Both vessels fly the US flag. The flag on the ironclad to the left is tattered and flying from the gun turret of the ironclad. The flag on the ship to the right flies from the stern of the vessel. The majority of this vessel, including the turret and gun, cannot be seen. Related TextBy the 1860s, seacoast weapons like this rifled and banded 32-pounder used by Confederates at Fort Moultrie stood side by side with older, heavy caliber, smoothbore cannon. For nearly two years, Federal forces bombarded the Charleston forts from land and sea, and though the masonry walls of Forts Sumter and Moultrie crumbled under the shelling, both forts were able to hold back the Union attacks.
Description: This rectangular black and white photograph shows a 10-inch disappearing rifle. The gun sits sunken into a concrete structure, a gun emplacement called a battery. There are eight concrete steps leading down to the gun carriage from the floor of the gun level of the structure. The breech, or back, of the gun where the projectile was loaded is level with a height a few feet above the top stair.
The 10-inch rifle is seen mounted on a disappearing carriage, which depicts many gears and mechanical devices. There is also a raised platform near the gun with ladders to the left and right to access a narrow platform that sits above the gun. Related Text: The technology of weaponry advanced rapidly after the Civil War. Some huge smoothbore cannon were still in use in 1900, but by World War I many seacoast forts, such as Battery Thomson a mile east of Moultrie, were mounting breechloading disappearing rifles like the 10-inch model below. Upon firing, the rifle pivoted down so it could be reloaded in safety behind the protection of tons of earth and concrete. Image 1 of 2: Harbor Entrance Control PostThis narrow, tall rectangular black and white photograph shows the Harbor Entrance Control Post inside Fort Moultrie.In the foreground there are two utility poles with electrical cables running from them. Behind the utility poles is the earth and concrete mound, housing the Harbor Entrance Control Post. The earth slope is steep, and there is neatly cut grass on the mound. On top of the mound sits the above-ground portion of the structure. It consists of two stories. There is a searchlight mounted outside on the bottom level pointed left. To the right of the searchlight is mounted a two story portion of the structure, painted in a camouflage design. The bottom story is interior and there are narrow horizontal windows high in the wall. The top story is outdoors. Two individuals are standing outside. There is another structure, of unknown material, mounted on top of the Harbor Entrance Control Post. There is also a radio tower. Four signal flags fly from the top of the structure. Image 2 of 2: Submarine and underwater minesThis black and white artist rendering shows four mines strapped to something outside of the bottom frame of the picture. Behind the mines there's a neat grid design. Above the mines there is a black wavy line, depicting water. Above the mines sits a floating submarine. The scale and size of the submarine are out of proportion to the mines. The mines are as big as the submarine. The submarine is pointed left. There is a conning tower and a gun on top of the submarine. There is a rudder at the stern.Related TextThe 1940s brought new challenges for seacoast defenses. Submarines and airplanes joined battleships as security threats. As a result, anti-aircraft guns were added to the fort’s armament, and mines were laid in Charleston Harbor. In 1944 a new Harbor Entrance Control Post was built, from which all the city’s harbor defenses were coordinated.
The back of the brochure features a wayfinding map of Fort Moultrie, which has nine identified points of interest. This self-guided walking tour of Fort Moultrie has interpretive information on each stopping point. The map and interpretive text, which corresponds to each of the 9 stops on the walking tour, take up the top two-thirds of the back of the brochure.
The bottom third of the back of the brochure discusses Fort Moultrie's role in harbor defense with a map identifying the shipping channel attacking navies would have used as well as other US Army forts. There are also three drawings of the three fortifications that have stood on the site on Sullivan's Island. Each drawing has interpretive text, discussing the construction and history of the fort. DescriptionThis map shows an overhead view of Fort Moultrie. The color way-finding and cognitive map corresponds to a self-guided walking tour of Fort Moultrie. Walking tour stops are numbered with accompanying cultural history interpretive text. There is a prescribed order of travel and a compass rose with an arrow pointing down to the right indicating which way is north. Visitors are encouraged to go backwards in time, starting with the World War II Harbor Entrance Control Post inside Fort Moultrie and ending with the site of Fort Moultrie I outside of, and to the front of the fort, closer to the harbor. There are two additional stops off the map and to the left to visit Cannon Walk and Battery Jasper.The walking paths outside of the fort walls are gray while the paths inside the fort are white or brick. The exterior walls are brick while the interior of the fort is primarily a series of earth mounds covered in grass. A gray path starts at the bottom of the map and heads vertically straight into the sally port, or entrance, of the fort. This entrance takes the visitor into a concrete tunnel on top of which is a large earth mound. Visitors can travel underground in the tunnels or head directly straight from the entrance on a brick path out onto the open grassy area of the parade ground. There is a large flagpole on your right as you enter the parade ground. The flagpole sits on the slope of the hill. A historical 15 star-15 stripe US flag flies from the pole. The fort is roughly symmetrical in size and can be bisected at a vertical axis from the sally port. Short Description for the Left Side of the FortThe left half of the fort is comprised of two concrete batteries (Battery McCorkle and Battery Bingham) each mounting one rifled gun, the Harbor Entrance Control Post (HECP) on the far left side, five short cylindrical structures with rectangular caps stand on a grassy hill in between the HECP and bastion, lastly a bastion in a protruding angular rectangle shape at the front left corner perpendicular to the sally port.Long Description for Left Side of the FortAs the visitor follows the left brick pathway the first structure will be on his/her right hand side. Battery McCorkle has three gun positions in a line each with its own set of stairs taking the visitor up and down form each position. Past these gun positions a large flat concrete surface fills the space between the gun and fort walls.Stop number two labeled Harbor Defense, 1898-1939 is marked between Battery McCorkle and Battery Bingham which connect at the front left angle (harbor side) of the fort. Battery Bingham has two gun posts with stairs leading up an down them much like Battery McCorkle; however, these gun posts' stairs are in a semi circle shape. On the far left gun post of Battery Bingham sits a rifle. Continuing along the brick path, on the left hand side of the fort the visitor can access a path to his/her right that will lead to the HECP on the left, and an entrance to the underground level of the HECP on the right. The HECP is atop a steep earth slope covered in grass. Stairs take the visitor to the middle floor while a latter accesses the top of the structure. The underground level of the HECP has an exterior entrance/exit to the left of the bastion. Continuing along the path, a long set of stairs takes one down from the area of the HECP, with grassy slopes on either side, to a former gun position. This raised concrete and brick platform is an empty space and leads in two directions. One option leads the visitor to travel through a tunnel, topped by an earthen mound, to the bastion where there are metal rails embedded in the ground where cannon once stood. The bastion is a dead end surrounded by brick walls. Behind these walls and the outer perimeter wall is grass covered earth fill. The other option from the empty platform leads the visitor down another shorter staircase to a tunnel entrance. This tunnel leads one back to the sally port. Short Description for Right Side of the FortThe brick path you enter on from the sallyport leads to an earthen mound, called a traverse. Underneath this mound is a concrete powder magazine. To the right of the powder magazine is a pairing of post-Civil War artillery, protected on each side by earthen traverses. The right side of the fort has two primary features: the grassy parade ground in the right middle and a raised horizontal outdoor platform on which cannon are placed between the outer defensive wall, or parapet, and the edge. This runs along the fort's right side walls and on the bastion.Walking along the terreplein, past the post-Civil War artillery battery and its right-side earthen traverse, the visitor finds a Civil War rifled cannon on their left. It has another earthen traverse on its right. On the far side of this traverse is a second Civil War cannon. Further along the terreplein are two pre-Civil War cannon. A powder magazine protected by a brick traverse stands on the level of the parade ground. Long Description for the Right Side of the FortAs the visitor follows the path leading to the right side of the fort a concrete entry way is directly on his/her left hand side. This entry way leads to the first earthen traverse. Continuing along the path a pair of cannon face outward towards the harbor atop a chassis. The number three stop labeled 1870's Modernization is marked to the right of the cannon. The cannon's barrel sit above the parapet. The path leads to another earthen traverse sitting in between the 1870's cannon and Civil War era cannon. The Civil War Era cannon, stop 4, are pointing west over the parapet each atop a chassis. Between the two Civil War era cannon is a grassy knoll shaped like a semi circle. Unlike the 1870's cannon these cannon sit on top of a brick flooring that continues till the visitor reaches the pre-Civil War era cannon located. The path continues around the pre-Civil War era cannon, stop 5 discussing the 1809 fort, making a semi circle around the powered magazine allowing the visitor to look down into the walled in area surrounding this structure. A set of stairs will take the visitor down from the terreplein onto the parade ground. The map cautions visitors to watch their step. To the visitors right, as they're facing the 1870's cannon, the powder magazine is behind and to the right nestled behind protective high walls. Directly in front of the yellow powder magazine lie the 1809 Barracks Foundations. This area is covered in brick and a path lies between the powder magazine and foundations. Another path runs perpendicular to this and leads to the base of a grass hill, above sit the 1870's and Civil War era cannon. The parade ground fills in the remaining space of the right side of the fort.There is an arrow leading from the right of the fort to a path that goes around and to the front of the fort, harbor side, taking visitors to stops 6 and 7 (Fort Moultrie II and Fort Moultrie I). There is a postern gate from the right side wall, underneath the terreplein where the pre-Civil War artillery are mounted, to enter or exit the fort. This is the recommended route to exit the fort to visit stops 6 and 7. The postern gate, a tunnel with a step down to enter and a step up to exit at the end, is found to the right of the 1809 powder magazine. The path continues to the left of the fort, and visitors are encouraged to visit stops 8 and 9 (Cannon Walk and Battery Jasper). These points lie off the map. As the visitor exits the fort through the sally port directly on their left hand side are two grave sites: Patapsco Monument and Osceola Grave. Credit: NPS / Kenneth Townsend Related TextThroughout its long history, Fort Moultrie has undergone many changes as improving military and engineering technologies made harbor defense more complex. Instead of looking as it did at any one period, the fort has been restored to reflect these changes from the camouflaged Harbor Entrance Control Post of World War II to the site of the palmetto-log fort of 1776. Near the fort’s entrance are the graves of Osceola, celebrated Seminole leader who died here in 1838, and five of 62 seamen who lost their lives when the US monitor Patapsco was sunk midway between Forts Sumter and Moultrie in 1865.The following guide identifies features of today’s fort, keyed by number to the (map) painting above. The painting shows the fort as seen from the visitor center.
Description: A map of the entrance to Charleston Harbor features the old main ship channel that ran parallel to Morris Island, south of the harbor entrance. This channel forced ships to sail straight towards Sullivan's island and Fort Moultrie, on the north side, before turning into the harbor. Other forts such as Forts Johnson and Sumter, and Castle Pinckney are indicated.
Credit: Naval History Division, Department of the Navy Related Text: Fort Moultrie was well situated to guard Charleston Harbor. Shoals at the harbor entrance forced ships to enter the harbor from the south and sail toward the fort on Sullivans Island. In this position ships could not fire on the fort until they turned into the harbor. In the mid-19th century Fort Sumter added its firepower to keep ships out of the harbor.
Description: A period drawing shows the incomplete state of the first fort at the time of the June 28, 1776 battle. Designed to be a large square, each corner featured a bastion, or area that extended outward from the fort. The eastern and southern walls and two bastions were completed prior to the battle.
Credit: Library of Congress Related Text: The first fort on Sullivans Island was hastily built in 1776 to protect Charleston from an attack by the British. The fort was constructed by raising two palmetto-log walls 16 feet apart and filling the space between with sand. The spongy palmetto and yielding sand readily absorbed shot and shell from the British ships and protected American defenders.
Description: The image shows Fort Moultrie II. The outer wall of the fort formed a large pentagon. The inner perimeter of the outer wall featured a level of cannons designed to fire over the wall. At a slightly higher elevation inside the fort, another pentagonal shaped wall accommodated another level of cannon. Emplacements for 16 cannons are shown on this image. Cannons were closely spaced together around the inner wall and widely spaced around the outer wall. Small squares indicated locations of powder magazines and a hot shot furnace, which heated cannon balls befoe they were fired.
Credit: National Archives Related Text: In 1794 Charleston became one of 16 ports to receive the new defenses of the First American System of fortifications. The second Fort Moultrie, part of this system, was a five-sided structure with earth and timber walls 17 feet high. The fort was completed in 1798, but soon fell into ruin from lack of up keep. A hurricane in 1804 destroyed the fort.
Description: The drawing of the completed brick fort features the layout of the three original barracks building, in a U-shaped formation inside the fort. Smaller buildings such as the main powder magazine and the hot shot furnace are also shown. There were three main ocean-front walls. Two bastions were shown at each end of the land side of the fort wall.
Credit: National Archives Related Text: Throughout its long history the third Fort Moultrie has undergone modification. The fort’s walls have often been covered with sand to protect them from artillery shells, and the interior of the fort has been filled with earth and concrete to mount new weapons. Its armament, too, has changed, from smooth-bore cannon to disappearing rifles to anti-aircraft and anti-submarine weapons.
The Fort Moultrie Visitor Center and interior theater is accessible. There are assistive listening devices available for use when watching the film.
Caution should be used while visiting Fort Moultrie as the ground can be uneven; be careful when walking in tunnels, paved in cement, paths made of bricks, and through the grassy parade grounds. The interior of the fort has some accessible sections. Please see the ranger at the front desk for specific directions. We strive to make our facilities, services, and programs accessible to all. For more information about our services, please ask a ranger, call, or check on our website.
Fort Moultrie is open 9 am to 5 pm daily, except Thanksgiving Day, December 25, and January 1. Groups should make reservations for guided tours. Pets are not allowed inside the fort.
Watch your step and use caution in the fort. Please use the paths and do not climb on mounds or cannon.
The fort is on Sullivans Island, SC. Coming from Charleston, take US 17 (business) to Mt. Pleasant; turn right on SC 703. At Sullivans Island, turn right onto Middle Street. The fort is 1.5 miles from the intersection.
Fort Moultrie is administered by the National Park Service as part of Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park.
Address: Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park 1214 Middle Street Sullivan's Island, SC 29482-9748 Phone: 843-883-3123 Website: www.nps.gov/fosu To learn more about national parks and National Park Service programs in America’s communities, visit www.nps.gov. |
Last updated: June 2, 2026