Last month I was in Charleston, SC to speak to the Fort Sumter Civil War Round Table. The venue was Duckett Hall at The Citadel. While in town I took a little time to tour some of the campus with my brother. Lots of history there (though the campus moved here after the war – it was located on what is today Marion Square), including a WWII major and general of some note, vehicles, swords, flags, and Bull Runners. Here we go:
In the Library
Paintings of Cadet actions in the Civil War
While in Charleston, SC to present to the Fort Sumter Civil War Round Table last month, I took some time to visit a couple Civil War related sites. First up was Ft. Johnson, at the end of Ft. Johnson Road on James Island, not far from my brother’s house where I was staying. Per the American Battlefield Trust:
In September of 1775, the Council of Safety ordered William Moultrie, commander of the 2nd South Carolina Regiment [more on that regiment and one of its commanders later], to seize Fort Johnson on the northeast point of James Island in Charleston County, South Carolina. Moultrie assigned Colonel Isaac Motte to command three 50-man companies led by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Barnard Elliott, and Francis Marion to attack the fort. Motte took possession of the fort with little resistance, and this capture was the first-time soldiers raised the new South Carolina over a property previously controlled by the Crown. Decades later, on April 12, 1861, at 4:30 a.m., a flaming mortar shot from Fort Johnson arced into the air and exploded over Fort Sumter, marking the official beginning of the American Civil War. Confederate soldiers buried the structure during the war, but the fort was uncovered in 1931. In 1972, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
I also took made a quick stop at Hampton Park, near the Citadel, which was the site of what many call the nation’s first “Memorial Day:”
While in Charleston the week of this past St. Patrick’s Day to present to the Ft. Sumter Civil War Roundtable, I made a pit stop with my brother at the Hibernian Society, where he is a member. The organization is a society, not a club, and is not affiliated with the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH). A National Historic Landmark, the Hibernian Hall was completed in 1840, and hosted the Stephen Douglas faction of the Democrat party in the convention of 1860. The building suffered some damage from direct hits during Federal shelling of the town during the war – renovations sometimes turn up evidence.
We entered the Hall from the members entrance:
A quick tour of the interior:
Now for a Bull Run connection. Remember Captain James Conner, of the Washington Light Infantry, Co. A, Hampton’s Legion, a Bull Runner whose grave I visited in Magnolia Cemetery?
It turns out, Conner was president of the Hibernian Society from 1871-1874. His portrait hangs with all the other past presidents.
You can read some of Conner’s Bull Run correspondence here, here, and here.
While in Charleston, SC, for a presentation on March 13 to the Fort Sumter Civil War Round Table, I took a trip to the city’s Magnolia Cemetery. Below are a few images, including some of the Bull Runners interred there.
First up, the entry and the Civil War section near the office.
Here are some Bull Runners:
The three crews if the Confederate submarine Hunley:
A fire eater:
A general prominent out west:
Next door at St. Lawrence Catholic cemetery:
More Charleston stuff coming, including more on James Conner, The Hibernian Society, The Citadel, and Ft. Johnson.
Here are a few photos from James Island I took while on my recent trip to Charleston, S.C. Click the images for larger versions. I apologize for the format – still trying to figure out WordPress’s “new” editor, and it’s clumsy. Next post I think I’ll just insert thumbnails.
Secessionville Manor, a short boat ride from my brother’s dock. The impressive dwelling and grounds played a role in the 1862 battle of the same name.
Morris Island Lighthouse, a longer boat ride. The lighthouse can orient you in the general direction of the site of Ft. or Battery Wagner, now under water. And the lighthouse was designed at least in part by First Bull Run first-shot-firer, Peter Conover Hains. There is an active preservation group working on the lighthouse, and you can learn more about it here.
Monuments and displays at the Ft. Lamar Heritage Preserve. (EDIT: I did not notice the vandalism until I posted these photos.)
These are self explanatory, and are found in the yard of the James Island Presbyterian Church.
My now traditional pre-talk selfie.
This past April 12, I was in the Holy City, otherwise known as Charleston, SC, to present my program on McDowell’s plan for what became the First Battle of Bull Run. We had about 30-35 people on hand at the hall of Stella Maris Catholic Church on Sullivan’s Island, in the shadow of Ft. Moultrie. This presentation capped of a very full day that included a trip out to Shute’s Folly in Charleston Harbor, the site of Castle Pinckney, which for a time was home to Federal prisoners taken at First Bull Run. But more on that later.
The talk was a long time coming, as friend Jim Morgan (a co-founder of the round table) had first invited me down a couple-or-three years ago. I was scheduled to speak last May, I think, when the group held their meetings at The Citadel, but Covid put the kibosh on that. So things loosened up and we rescheduled, but with a change in venue as things had not loosened up enough for the folks at the Citadel.
I’ve presented “McDowell’s Plan” more times than any other program I’ve done. And I’m never happy after I finish, as I always think I left something out, or put something in that I shouldn’t have, or said something stupid (see below for my pre-talk stupid story). This time was non different, and I vow again to make big changes before next time (which right now looks like April 2022 in Frederick, MD). But I got some good feedback, answered some good questions, and I think folks generally liked it.
We started out pledging allegiance to this flag.
This flag was also there, but no one pledged anything to it.
All in all it was a good time, and I have to say there are some really sharp minds in this group (including present and former Citadel history profs. Kyle Sinisi and Steve Smith, and retired USMC Col. Ed Forte, among others), so be on top of your game if you’re lucky enough to be invited to speak there.
I did have the opportunity to really embarrass myself with one other esteemed member of the group, and I’ll share that story which I posted on Facebook again here because I’m a glutton for punishment.
So, after a full morning of boating and exploring Castle Pinckney, I got back to my base of operations and was able to take a nap and freshen up. I met up with a few members of the RT at a place called “Poe’s” on Sullivan’s Island, near the venue. (Turns out some hack writer from Baltimore was stationed for a time at Ft. Moultrie, also on Sullivan’s Island.) Jim Morgan, one of the founders of the RT and the person who invited me to speak, makes the introductions. Now, I’m horrible with names and forget them as soon as I hear them. I’m seated next to a man named Rick Hatcher, and am told he is a retired NPS historian who had worked at both Ft. Sumter and Ft. Moultrie, among others. At some point, I was handed a copy of one of my Collateral Damages articles from Civil War Times. Mr. Hatcher asked me if I ever wrote about the Ray house. I’m thinking on it, and having trouble focusing what with all the new names that are rapidly escaping my brain. He says “Wilson’s Creek.” I say, “Oh yeah, I did,” and he tells me he used to work there, and I try to remember the man’s name who I talked to at the site when I wrote “the article.” Well it soon dawns on me that I’m thinking of the Bottom House at Perryville, and that I never wrote an article on the Ray House at Wilson’s Creek. Trying to explain this mix-up, I say, “Well, same state.” Which can only be true if Missouri and Kentucky are the same state. And they’re not. Still trying to dig myself out, I bring up a fine study of Wilson’s Creek that I read years ago, which was authored by William Garrett Piston “and some other guy.” Ummmm….did I mention it was a long day? (Mr. Hatcher was a good sport about it.)
On May 11, 2020, I’ll be giving a talk on First Bull Run in Charleston, SC, where the Ft. Sumter Civil War Round Table meets at The Citadel. Barring any other invite prior to that, this will mark the farthest I’ve travelled to speak, and my first sojourn to do so in the heart of Secessia, a state which partners with Virginia to bracket the Vale of Humility which is North Carolina. It should be a fun trip and I’m really looking forward to it. More as the date approaches.
![fort sumter cwrt poster[12189]](https://bullrunnings.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/fort-sumter-cwrt-poster12189.jpeg)
Good Friend Jim Morgan (of A Little Short of Boats fame) has relocated to Charleston, SC, and helped found the new Ft. Sumter Civil War Round Table. The group’s inaugural meeting will be February 5, 2019, 6 PM at The Citadel’s Daniel Library Museum Reading Room, with author Gordon Rhea speaking on the Overland Campaign. March will see Frank Johnson of the Hunley Museum, and April will feature the granddaddy of them all, Ed Bearss.
If you’re in the area, stop and check it out, and tell Jim you heard about it from me!
Donald Williams, author of Shamrocks and Pluff Mud, sent along this bit from the May 7, 1861 edition of the Charleston Mercury, explaining the actions of the Charleston Meagher Guards militia regarding the individual in whose honor they took their name (see here):
At a meeting of the Meagher Guards, held at the Military Hall on the evening of the 6th inst., the following preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted:
The report of the committee appointed to inquire into the truth of the rumor that THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGER, Esq. (in honor of whose patriotic efforts for the liberation of Ireland this company was named) had joined the crusade against the Southern States, having been heard—
1. Resolved, That the same be confirmed.
And, whereas, from the said Report, it appears to be true that Mr. Meagher has been carried away by the fanaticism of the North, and has enrolled himself in the ranks of our enemies, taking arms against us in this most unholy war, in support of usurpation and oppression, thus proving himself recreant to the sacred principles of liberty, of which he was hitherto an uncompromising an advocate; therefore,
2. Resolved, That, remembering the services of Mr. MEAGHER in the cause of freedom in Ireland, this Company have learned with infinite disappointment and regret that he too, should have joined the oppressors of this their adopted land.
3. Resolved, That under these circumstances this company can no longer, consistently with its position and dignity, bear his name, and that the same be and hereby is repudiated by them.
4. Resolved, That the name of THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER be erased from the roll of the honorary members of this Company.
5. Resolved, That it be referred to a Committee to suggest some suitable name by which this Company shall hereafter be known.
6. Resolved, That a copy of these preamble and resolutions be published in the daily papers of this city, and in the New York, Day Book
I received word from my brother in Charleston, SC, that a new flag is now flying over Castle Pinckney in Charleston Harbor (see here for some posts on the one-time Bull Run prison-pen.)
Yep, that’s the famous Irish tricolour you see flapping in the breeze. The fort was purchased a while back from the South Carolina State Ports Authority by the Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1269 for $10 (read about it here.) They’re the folks who have raised the flag, and according to them they’ve done so in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, a very, very big day in Charleston, if you didn’t know. Visit their preservation site here. This is the second time the flag has flown there. See here for details on the first.
You’re right if you’re thinking that this particular flag was not officially in use in Ireland at the time of the Civil War. In 1848, the first Irish tricolour was presented to two visiting Irish nationalists by a small group of French women who were sympathetic to their cause. Those men returned to Ireland’s Waterford City and presented the flag, but it would be another sixty-eight years before it would become recognized as an emblem of the nation, after one was raised over the Dublin Post Office during the Easter Rising.
But there are links between the Irish banner and Castle Pinckney in Civil War ways, even if unintentional on the part of the fort’s caretakers. On December 27, 1860, local Charleston militiamen led by (North Carolinian) James Johnston Pettigrew stormed the very lightly defended fort and took possession of it for the state. The three militia units involved were the Washington Light Infantry, the Carolina Light Infantry, and the Meagher Guards.
OCCUPATION OF CASTLE PINCKNEY BY THE CHARLESTON MILITIA, DECEMBER 26, 1860.
Harper’s Weekly, 01/12/1861
Hmm…Meagher Guards. Tantalizing, yes? The Guards was a company of Charleston Irishmen, which had named itself in honor of Thomas Francis Meagher. Yes, that Thomas Francis Meagher. In 1853 Meagher, on the lecture circuit, delivered a St. Patrick’s Day speech to Charleston’s Hibernian Society so stirring that – according to Donald Williams, the Society’s current historian and author of Shamrocks and Pluff Mud – an honorary membership was conferred on him. Of course, at the time Meagher (an acting major with the 69th New York State Militia at First Bull Run) was still famous as an Irish patriot, and not as the Union general he would become. The Hibernians revoked Meagher’s membership in 1861 as his role in the Union war effort became more prominent. The Meagher Guards became the Emerald Light Infantry (see here.) According to Irish-American Units in the Civil War they eventually formed part of Co. K. of Maxcy Gregg’s 1st South Carolina Volunteers.
Capt. Meagher of Co. K, 69th New York State Militia
Now here’s where it gets freaky. Care to guess who was one of the two young Irish nationalists that accepted the tricolour from those French women back in 1848? That’s right, non-other than Thomas Francis Meagher, who had yet to be exiled to Tasmania and escape to the United States. His unveiling of the flag in Waterford City is celebrated annually (this year’s festivities are being held today and tomorrow – see here.) How about that?
Modern Day Meagher in Waterford City’s Tricolour Celebration
Also, photographic evidence shows that some members of Meagher’s unit captured at Bull Run were indeed held in Castle Pinckney (the regiment at Bull Run was the 69th New York State Militia, not New York Infantry.) Meagher was captain of Co. K, a zouave group. I think the fella fourth from right, seated, is a good candidate for a member of Co. K.
![Title: Federal prisoners captured at battle of Bull Run, Castle Pinkney [i.e. Pinckney], Charleston, S.C., August 1861 Summary: Photograph shows group from the 69th New York Infantry [sic](Fighting 69th), some seated, others standing in the rear, facing front. A sign above the door, No. 7 Musical Hall, 444th Broadway. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2013651611/](https://bullrunnings.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/35329v.jpg)
Title: Federal prisoners captured at battle of Bull Run, Castle Pinkney [i.e. Pinckney], Charleston, S.C., August 1861
Summary: Photograph shows group from the 69th New York Infantry [sic] (Fighting 69th), some seated, others standing in the rear, facing front. A sign above the door, No. 7 Musical Hall, 444th Broadway.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2013651611/
So it would appear altogether fitting and proper that this flag should fly at this place at this time, don’t you think?
Harry Smeltzer
Bull Runnings 
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