Charleston Arsenal
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Porter Military Academy | |
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The octagonal Waring Library, built by Porter Military Academy | |
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| Location | 175-181 Ashley Ave., Charleston, South Carolina |
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| Coordinates | 32°47′12″N 79°56′52″W / 32.78667°N 79.94778°WCoordinates: 32°47′12″N 79°56′52″W / 32.78667°N 79.94778°W |
| Area | 1.1 acres (0.45 ha) |
| Built | 1862 |
| Architect | Bell, Holten; Snook, John Butler |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Late Gothic Revival, Octagon Mode |
| Governing body | State |
| NRHP Reference # | 96000685[1] |
| Added to NRHP | June 21, 1996 |
The Charleston Arsenal was a United States Army arsenal facility in Charleston, South Carolina seized by state militia at the outbreak of the American Civil War. On June 21, 1996, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Porter Military Academy.[2][3]
The arsenal was constructed in 1841 near the intersection of Ashley Avenue and Mill Street in Charleston. It served as a storage place for weapons, ordnance, and ammunition for the U.S. Army in antebellum days. An earlier Federal arsenal, the Old Citadel, was taken out of service and after became a part of the Citadel. The Charleston arsenal produced a considerable amount of artillery and small arms ammunition during the Mexican-American War and up to the Civil War.
With the secession of South Carolina in late 1860, it became a target for Confederate sympathizers and local militia. South Carolina troops seized the arsenal in late December, and the Confederates held it for much of the war. Josiah Gorgas had the arsenal enlarged and modernized with the installation of steam power. For a time, it was used a barracks to house Confederate troops, including the 26th South Carolina. The arsenal was finally retaken by Union troops in 1865 when Charleston finally fell.
On July 16, 1866, the U.S. Government designated the 11.26-acre (4.56 ha) site as a Federal Military Reservation, but in 1879 the army closed the arsenal. The building and land was sold in 1888 to the Porter Military Academy which occupied the site until it build a new campus west of the Ashley River, and in 1963 the site became part of the Medical University of South Carolina.
See also
References
- ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09.
- ↑ Poston, Jonathon H.; Curtis Worthington (August 4, 1995). "Porter Military Academy" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ↑ "Porter Military Academy, Charleston County (175-181 Ashley Ave., Charleston)". National Register Properties in South Carolina. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
External links
- National Park Service: Porter Military Academy
- South Carolina forts
- Official Report of the seizure of the Charleston Arsenal
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