Battle of James Island

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Battle of James Island Part of the American Civil War Date June 16, 1862 Location Charleston, South Carolina Result Confederate victory Belligerents United States (Union) CSA (Confederacy) Commanders Henry Benham Nathan Evans Strength 6,600 2,000 Casualties and losses 685 204

v • d • e Lower Seaboard Theater Fort Sumter – Santa Rosa Island – Fort Pulaski – Forts Jackson and St. Philip – New Orleans – Secessionville – Simmon's Bluff – Tampa – Baton Rouge – 1st Donaldsonville – St. John's Bluff – Georgia Landing – 1st Fort McAllister – Fort Bisland – Irish Bend – Vermillion Bayou – 1st Charleston Harbor – 1st Fort Wagner – Grimball's Landing – 2nd Fort Wagner – 2nd Charleston Harbor – 2nd Fort Sumter – Plains Store – Port Hudson – LaFourche Crossing – 2nd Donaldsonville – Kock's Plantation – Stirling's Plantation – Fort Brooke – Gainesville – Olustee – Natural Bridge

The Battle of Secessionville (or the Battle of James Island) on June 16, 1862, was the defeat of the only Union attempt to capture Charleston, South Carolina, by land during the American Civil War.

[edit] Battle

In early June 1862, Maj. Gen. David Hunter transported Horatio G. Wright's and Isaac I. Stevens's Union divisions under immediate direction of Brig. Gen. Henry Benham to James Island where they entrenched at Grimball's Landing near the southern flank of the Confederate defenses. The Union forces, under the command of Brig. Gen. Benham, landed 6,500 men from the 3rd New Hampshire, 8th Michigan, 7th Connecticut, 28th Massachusetts, and 79th New York "Highlanders" on the southeastern end of James Island, and marched toward Charleston. However, "Shanks" Evans, who commanded less than half that number of Confederate forces, made up of troops from South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia, met the Northern troops at a fort at Secessionville commanded by Colonel T. G. Lamar and routed them.

[edit] Aftermath

The Union suffered 683 casualties (107 dead), compared to 204 (52 dead) by the Confederates. Although the battle was minor, it served as a powerful propaganda victory, increasing morale particularly in Charleston and offsetting recent Confederate losses in the Western Theater.

Benham had acted against orders in attempting to take James Island, and he was subject to a court martial after the loss. Although the numbers involved were small, the stakes were high. The Union would continue to attempt to starve and attack Charleston for the rest of the war, and, had they succeeded, the "Fort Lamar" at Secessionville (which had been named not for the secession of South Carolina, but for an earlier attempt of some plantation owners to rebel) would have controlled the harbor.

[edit] References

This article incorporates text from a National Park Service website([1]) that is a public domain work of the United States Government.

• Foote, Shelby, The Civil War, A Narrative: Fort Sumter to Perryville, Random House, 1958, ISBN 0-394-49517-9.

[edit] External links

• The South Carolina Historical Society page on the battle
• A history of the battle