National-Register-Form-Ft-Mitchel-FINAL

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts See instructions in National Register Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions Name of Property Historic name: _Fort Mitchel _ Other names/site number: Fort Gillmore, Battery Mitchel _ Name of related multiple property listing: N/A _ (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing Location Street & number: _65 Skull Creek Drive _ City or town: Hilton Head State: _SC _ County: 013/29926 _ Not For Publication: Vicinity: N/A State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this nomination _ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60 In my opinion, the property _ meets _ does not meet the National Register Criteria I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance: _national _statewide Applicable National Register Criteria: _A _B _C _local _D Signature of certifying official/Title: State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government Section page Date In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria Signature of commenting official: Date Title : State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government _ _ National Park Service Certification I hereby certify that this property is: entered in the National Register determined eligible for the National Register determined not eligible for the National Register removed from the National Register other (explain:) _ Signature of the Keeper Date of Action Classification Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply.) Private: X Public – Local Public – State Public – Federal Category of Property (Check only one box.) Building(s) District Site X Structure Section page Object Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count) Contributing Noncontributing _ _ buildings _1 _ sites _ _ structures _ _ objects _1 _0 _ Total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register _0 Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) _ _Defense/fortification_ _ _ _ _ _ Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) _ Recreation and Culture/Outdoor recreation _ _ _ _ _ Section page Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions.) _ _N/A _ _ _ _ _ _ Materials: (enter categories from instructions.) Principal exterior materials of the property: N/A Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current physical appearance and condition of the property Describe contributing and noncontributing resources if applicable Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, type, style, method of construction, setting, size, and significant features Indicate whether the property has historic integrity.) _ _ Summary Paragraph Fort Mitchel (38BU1167), a Civil War earthwork fortification constructed by the United States Army in 1861-1862, sits on a 3.27 acre site at 65 Skull Creek Drive in a mixed-use area of Hilton Head Plantation on northwest Hilton Head Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina The fort is owned by the Heritage Library Foundation, whose goal is to protect and preserve it in perpetuity The fort was constructed beginning in late November 1861 by the 3d New Hampshire Volunteer and the 3d Rhode Island Heavy Artillery Regiments, belonging to the Hilton Head District, Department of the South, United States Army, and was part of the Federal defenses of Hilton Head Island It was a semi-permanent fort designed to be manned by artillerymen serving a variety of artillery pieces Intended to protect the Skull Crrek approaches to the coaling station and ship maintenance facilities at Seabrooke Landing, about a mile to the northeast, it was constructed in an open cotton field on a bluff about 15 feet above Skull Creek Fort Mitchel, constructed in a semi-circular or lunette design is in excellent condition, despite the growth of trees and other vegetation over a period of 150 years Its construction is typical of earthen Civil War fortifications, but the size, sophistication of design, and physical integrity of this fort are all exceptional in the context of such surviving fortifications in South Carolina Most large earthwork structures and lines of earthworks in the state, whether constructed by Federal or Confederate troops and whether intended as temporary works or semi-permanent ones, have much less integrity than Fort Mitchel does currently Section page _ _ Section page Narrative Description Plan and Characteristics of Fort Mitchel as Constructed in 1861-1862 The placement of Fort Mitchel, determined by general strategic and tactical considerations, in turn dictated its specific design, a practice standard in the layout and construction of semipermanent field fortifications during the Civil War, which were situated and intended to defend (sometimes described as “anchored upon”) man-made structures such as roads, bridges, railroads, or cleared fields, or natural features such as mountain and their passes, ridges, and hills, rivers and creeks, and forest lines The approximate size of the fort, as it exists today, is roughly a semicircle with a diameter of 250 feet The surrounding dry moat runs for approximately 400 feet and encloses an area of about 25,000 square feet, a little more than half an acre Pathways run on top of the ramparts, which stand to feet above ground level and two observation decks stand midway around the ramparts A pathway incorporating a wooden bridge runs between the observation decks and across the moat Civil War-Era Guns and the Armament of Fort Mitchel Artillery during this period was either smoothbore or rifled, with both types primarily muzzleloading A smoothbore gun or howitzer was classified by the weight of its round solid shot, such as a 6-pounder, 10-pounder, 12-pounder, 24-pounder, 30-pounder, or 32-pounder A rifled gun was classified by the inside diameter of its tube, such as a 3-inch gun, 4.5-inch or 4.62-inch gun, 6-inch gun, or 8-inch gun, measured across the lands, or the narrowest possible measurement, instead of across its rifled grooves.1 It is not known whether the guns actually mounted at Fort Mitchel were smoothbore pieces or rifled pieces; but it is known that the Fort Mitchel armament was not thought to be sufficient to challenge an ironclad warship It is also not known what artillery pieces were actually mounted in the fort, but it was designed by Quincy A Gillmore to hold or heavy guns The cannon were mounted on wooden platforms and surrounded by sandbags, forming embrasures through which they could be fired Three traverses, or earthen mounds, which could be used as lookout stations for observing activity up or down Skull Creek or on neighboring Pinckney Island, were built primarily to protect the soldiers working at the gun enplacements These mounds protected them from enfilading or flanking fire; that is, fire from either their extreme right or left, from areas on which they were unable to bring their guns to bear It would have been unlikely for the fort to employ the largest columbiads, the 50-pounders and 100-pounders, which were used primarily to defend positions against naval vessels The guns in the embrasure batteries could have been smaller garrison, siege, or “seacoast” guns, or field artillery such as those used with armies in frequent motion, which were more mobile and could be moved from place to place along the lines and from one semi-permanent fortification to another and back again Useful introductions to Civil War artillery include Warren Ripley, Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War (New York: Promontory Press, 1970), and Philip Katcher, American Civil War Artillery 1861-1865: Field and Heavy Artillery (Oxford and New York: Osprey Publishing, 2001) Section page Fort Mitchel permanently exhibits two Civil War-vintage cannon representative of those probably utilized there in the 1860s The two smooth-bore 24 pound howitzers are typical of those used in similar facilities and would have been considered “heavy’ guns, as recommended by Q.A Gillmore Cannon sited at Fort Mitchel were likely mounted on field carriages, such as that currently on display, in order to afford mobility With a bore of 13/16 inches, these cannon had a range of 1300 yards One gun exhibited was made in 1864 by the Seyfret, McManus Foundry in Reading, Pennsylvania; the other was made in 1861 at the Bellona Foundry in Richmond, Virginia Current Condition, Ownership, and Use The entrance to the site is on the west side of Skull Creek Drive and is shared with a popular Hilton Head restaurant, the Old Fort Pub, which takes its name from Fort Mitchel A parking lot, also shared by the restaurant, is adjacent to the site, which includes several paved walking trails, totaling more than 1000 feet, through the fort and is open to the public during daylight hours The Heritage Library Foundation has erected ten interpretive signs at appropriate points within the fort site, explaining the facility structure and providing relevant historical context, as well as an information kiosk at the entrance to the fort and a bench on the ramparts Although there has been some slight to moderate erosion of the ramparts in the past 150 years, overall the fort is in excellent condition, especially when compared to other Civil War field fortifications in the South Carolina lowcountry Fort Mitchel was not disturbed by the development of the surrounding Hilton Head Plantation, instead it was salvaged from obscurity in weeds and vines when the adjacent Old Fort Pub was built in 1973 Fort Mitchel was viewed at the time as a means of promoting the new restaurant and walkways were built so that visitors to the restaurant could enjoy the fort as well Today the Heritage Library Foundation estimates that more than 5000 individuals visit Fort Mitchel each year, many through guided tours conducted by the Library and by the Coastal Discovery Museum Initially, the Fort Mitchel site was donated by the Plantation developer to the Hilton Head Historical Society, but when that society ceased operations, Fort Mitchel was turned over to the Heritage Library Foundation on August 26, 20062 See Beaufort County Assessor, Property Max database, Property ID R510 003 000 0070 0000 Section page _ Statement of Significance Applicable National Register Criteria (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register listing.) X A Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history X B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past X C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history Criteria Considerations (Mark “x” in all the boxes that apply.) A Owned by a religious institution or used for religious purposes B Removed from its original location C A birthplace or grave D A cemetery E A reconstructed building, object, or structure F A commemorative property G Less than 50 years old or achieving significance within the past 50 years Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions.) _ Military Engineering _ Ethnic Heritage/Black_ _ Period of Significance Sections 9-end page _ 1861-1868 _ Significant Dates _ 1862 _ 1864 _ Significant Person (Complete only if Criterion B is marked above.) _ Quincy Adams Gillmore Ormsby McKnight Mitchel_ Cultural Affiliation _ N/A _ _ Architect/Builder _ _Quincy Adams Gillmore _ Statement of Significance Summary Paragraph (Provide a summary paragraph that includes level of significance, applicable criteria, justification for the period of significance, and any applicable criteria considerations.) Fort Mitchel, a Civil War earthwork fortification constructed on Skull Creek on the west side of Hilton Head Island, opposite Pinckney Island, by the United States Army in 1861-1862 is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places at the statewide level of significance under Criterion A in the Area of Significance for Military History, for its role in the Federal occupation and defense of Hilton Head Island; as a rare example of a large semipermanent Federal field fortification in the South Carolina low country Fort Mitchel is also eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion B at the statewide level of significance in the Areas of Significance for Military History and Engineering for its association with its designer, General Quincy Adams Gillmore, perhaps the foremost engineering figure of the Civil War and in the area of Ethnic Heritage/Black for its association with General Ormsby McKnight Mitchel and Mitchelville, the nearby freedmen’s village established by Gen Mitchel in 1862 Fort Mitchel is also eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places at the statewide level of significance under Criterion C in the Area of Significance for Engineering, as a sophisticated and particularly intact example of a large semi-permanent field fortification established by the Union Army on the southeastern coast The fort retains an exceptional degree of integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and Sections 9-end page association It is open to the public under the stewardship of its owner, the Heritage Library Foundation of Hilton Head Island, SC _ _ Narrative Statement of Significance (Provide at least one paragraph for each area of significance.) Criteria A - Significant Events Fort Mitchel (also called Battery Mitchel and Fort Gillmore) played an important role in the military campaigns waged in the southeastern coastal areas during the Civil War Although this site did not experience military action, its presence figured prominently in the strategy and tactics adopted by both Confederate and Union forces in the region Today, it serves as a vital representation and reminder of a sector of conflict that is not well known to the general public Fort Mitchel is a coastal battery position located on a bluff overlooking a bend in Skull Creek, about a mile below its entrance into Port Royal Sound The battery was constructed on Hilton Head Island in 1862, as part of the outer defenses for the headquarters of the Federal Department of the South and the Union Army X Corps The Department of the South had been created in the spring of 1862, not long after the Federal occupation of Beaufort, Port Royal, St Helena Island, Hilton Head Island, and the other South Carolina and Georgia sea islands in November 1861, with its headquarters on Hilton Head Island The commanding general of the Department of the South in 1861 and 1862 was Thomas W Sherman3 The Federal Capture and Occupation of the South Carolina Sea Islands, 1861-1862 After combined Federal land and naval forces commanded by Captain Samuel F DuPont captured Fort Walker on Hilton Head Island and Fort Beauregard across Port Royal Sound at Bay’s Point on November 1861, the towns of Beaufort and Port Royal, and the neighboring sea islands (Hilton Head Island, St Helena Island, Ladies Island, and Fripp Island, to name the largest and most significant of them), were occupied by Federal troops that continued to hold them for the remainder of the war.4 Tables of Organizations of the South Carolina Expeditional Corps, September-October 1861, and the Department of the South, March 1862-June 1865, in Frederick H Dyer, A Compendium of the War of Rebellion: Compiled and Arranged from Official Records of the Federal and Confederate Armies, Reports of the Adjutant Generals of the Several States, the Army Registers and Other Reliable Documents and Sources (Des Moines: Dyer Publishing Company, 1908 Reprint edition, Dayton, Ohio: The National Historical Society, in cooperation with The Press of Morningside Bookshop, 1979), pp 362-374; John H Eicher and David J Eicher, Civil War High Commands (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001), p 845 Lawrence S Rowland, Alexander Moore, and George C Rogers, Jr., The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina Volume 1, 1514-1861 (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1996), pp 443-59, and Robert Carse, Department of the South: Hilton Head Island and the Civil War (Columbia: The State Printing Company, 1961; Reprint edition, Hilton Head Island: Impressions Printing, 1987) Sections 9-end page 10 Criteria B – Significant Persons Fort Mitchel is important because of its association with two highly significant historical figures of the Civil War period Brief biographies of each follow General Quincy Adams Gillmore In his obituary, The New York Times proclaimed Gen Quincy A Gilmore to be “the greatest artillerist and one of the greatest engineers in the War of the Rebellion”21 Fort Mitchel can be seen as one of Gillmore’s important early engineering successes, perhaps the first and only military structure designed solely by him Quincy Adams Gillmore was born and raised in Black River (now the City of Lorain) in Lorain County, Ohio He was named after the president-elect at the time of his birth, John Quincy Adams He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1845 He graduated in 1849, first in a class of 43 members He was appointed to the engineers and was promoted to first lieutenant in 1856 From 1849 until 1852, he was engaged in constructing the fortifications at Hampton Roads in coastal Virginia For the next four years, he was instructor of Practical Military Engineering at West Point and designed a new riding school Beginning in 1856, Gillmore served as a purchasing agent for the Army in New York City He was promoted to captain in 1861 With the outbreak of the Civil War in early 1861, Gilmore was assigned to the staff of Brig Gen Thomas W Sherman and accompanied him to Port Royal, Virginia He then became Chief Engineer for the Expeditionary Corps that invaded Hilton Head Island in 1861 Under his direction, the army constructed two earthen forts on Hilton Head—Fort Mitchel and Fort Holbrook, located in the Spanish Wells area Gillmore also performed various reconnaissance missions and environmental assessments for Major General David Hunter, Commander of the Union Department of the South In April 1862, he was given command of the forces that caused the surrender of Fort Pulaski, Georgia This victory closed Savannah as a Confederate blockade running port It also was the first time rifled artillery was used against masonry forts This operation was anticipated to take several weeks, but Gillmore’s force defeated the Fort within 30 hours The rifled artillery was very effective against Fort Pulaski, rendering masonry forts almost obsolete from that point forward22 Gillmore received praise and honor for the victory Beginning the siege as only a captain, he finished with the rank of Brigadier General of Volunteers.23 21 “General Gillmore’s Death” The New York Times April 8, 1888 Proctor, David A “Gillmore, Quincy Adams (1825-1888), Union General.” In Heidler, David S and Jeanne T Heidler, eds Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History New York: W.W Norton, 2002 Also, see Wise, Stephen R Gate of Hell: Campaign for Charleston Harbor, 1863 Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1994 22 Sections 9-end page 17 After a tour of duty in Kentucky, Gillmore returned to Hilton Head as the Commander of the Department of the South in June 1863 and immediately began preparations to attack Charleston Initially successful in an attack on the southern end of Morris Island on July 10, 1863, Gillmore then assaulted Fort Wagner on the north end of the island He launched his first attack on Fort Wagner on July 11 After that attack was defeated, he assembled a larger assault force and with the assistance of John A Dahlgren's naval fleet planned a second attack On July 18, 1863 Gillmore's troops were repulsed with heavy losses in the Second Battle of Fort Wagner Among the troops who assaulted Ft Wagner was the 54th Massachusetts, a regiment of AfricanAmericans led (as required by regulation) by white commissioned officers Gillmore had ordered that his forces be integrated and that African-Americans were not to be assigned menial tasks only, such as KP or latrine duty, but instead they were to carry arms into battle They and their assault on Ft Wagner were the subject of the 1989 Civil War movie, Glory, which starred Morgan Freeman and Matthew Broderick24 Gillmore next employed siege operations to capture Fort Wagner, using innovative technology such as the Requa gun and calcium flood light to blind opponents during trenching efforts He also implanted a massive Parrott rifle, nicknamed the "Swamp Angel," which fired 200-pound shots into the city of Charleston itself Despite the swampy ground Union troops were able to work their way toward Fort Wagner Meanwhile, Gillmore's artillery pounded Fort Sumter into rubble On September Gillmore's forces finally captured Fort Wagner Gillmore’s use of powerful artillery and trenches against the Charleston forts presaged the arrival of modern warfare25 In early May 1864, Gillmore and the X Corps were transferred to the Army of the James and shipped to Virginia They took part in the Bermuda Hundred operations and played a principal role in the disastrous Drewry's Bluff action Gillmore openly feuded with his superior, Benjamin F Butler over the blame for the defeat Gillmore asked for reassignment and left for Washington, D.C In July 1864, Gillmore helped organize new recruits and invalids into a 20,000-man force to help protect the city from a threat by 10,000 Confederates under Jubal A Early, who had reached the outer defenses of the Union capital Federal reinforcements from the Gulf coast were being transferred East at the time and Gillmore was put in command of a detachment of the XIX Corps which had been quickly diverted to the defense of the capital at the battle of Fort Stevens26 With the threat to Washington over, the XIX Corps was transferred to the Army of the Shenandoah and Gillmore was reassigned to the Western Theater as inspector of military fortifications As the war was drawing to an end he was reassigned to command of the  Lewis, Adam J The Civil War Experiences of General Quincy Adams Gillmore: The Challenges of Transitioning from the Tactical to the Operational Level of Command School of Advanced Military Studies, United States Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 2011 pp 11-49 23 24 Ibid 25 Proctor, op cit 26 Ibid Sections 9-end page 18 Department of the South one final time and was in command when Charleston and Fort Sumter were finally turned over to Union forces He received brevet promotions to Brigadier General and Major General in the U.S Army for the campaign against Battery Wagner, Morris Island and Fort Sumter dated March 13, 1865 With the war over, he resigned from the volunteer army on December 5, 1865 As a civilian, Gillmore actively supervised numerous significant engineering projects, such as the Kings County Elevated Railroad in Brooklyn, and continued to be interested in advancing military technology He died in Brooklyn, NY on April 7, 1888 and was buried at the West Point Military Academy with full honors27 General Ormsby McKnight Mitchel28 Ormsby McKnight Mitchel was born, Aug 28, 1810, in Union County, Kentucky Immediately after the death of his father, his family removed to Ohio, where he acquired the elements of a classical and mathematical education; at the age of twelve became a clerk in a store in the town of Miami; and three years later entered the Military Academy, from which he was graduated, in 1829, fifteenth in a very notable class Promoted to the Artillery, after his graduation leave of absence, he was detailed as an Asst Professor of Mathematics in the Military Academy, remaining there two years, when he joined his company at Fort Marion, Fla He resigned from the Army on September 30, 1832 Immediately after his resignation he opened an office as Counselor at Law in Cincinnati, in which position he continued until the establishment of the Cincinnati College in 1834 when he was elected the Professor of Mathematics, Philosophy, and Astronomy Mitchel held this position till 1844, when the college buildings were destroyed by fire During his professorship he also served as the Chief Engineer of the Little Miami Railway Mitchel, in 1842, delivered a series of lectures on astronomy at Cincinnati College Encouraged by their success, he established a plan for the building of an observatory which was eventually begun on November 9, 1853 In order to replace his professorship income after the 1844 fire, Mitchel became a professional lecturer on astronomy, making the tour of almost every city in the United States Besides lecturing, he became the editor of an astronomical journal, was the Adjutant-General of Ohio for a year, and became the Chief Engineer of the Ohio and Mississippi Railway for some years When the Civil War began, Mitchel was at once made a Brigadier-General of Volunteers, and placed in command of the Department of the Ohio, with his headquarters at Cincinnati While there he carefully surveyed the approaches to the city, built redoubts and projected entrenchments at the prominent points, which served a good purpose when Cincinnati was subsequently threatened by a large rebel force During this time, he conspired with espionage agent James J Andrews on plans to steal a train in Georgia and disrupt a railroad vital to the 27 “General Gillmore’s Death.” op cit 28 This section is derived principally from Wilson, James Grant, ed Appleton’s Cyclopedia of American Biography, Vol (New York: D Appleton & Co 1887.) pp 340-341 and Headley, P.C The Patriot Boy: The Life and Career of Major-General Ormsby M Mitchel (New York: William H Appleton, 1885.) Sections 9-end page 19 Confederate States Army coincident with Mitchel's planned attack on Chattanooga, Tennessee The raid failed, as did Mitchel's military operation Andrews and a number of his men were captured Andrews himself was among eight men who were tried in Chattanooga They were hanged in Atlanta by Confederate forces, but were later buried in the National Cemetery at Chattanooga in 1887 Although a military failure, the story of Andrew's Raid became known to American history as the Great Locomotive Chase, and has been retold in publications and film The pursuit of Andrews' Raiders formed the basis of the Buster Keaton silent film, The General, and a dramatic 1956 Walt Disney film, The Great Locomotive Chase.29 When the Departments of the Ohio and Cumberland were merged, Mitchel was engaged in organizing volunteers at Louisville, then occupied Bowling Green and Nashville, and in March, 1862, moved on Huntsville, Ala Here, seizing the rolling stock of the Charleston Railroad, he took command of one expedition to Stevenson, and sent another to Decatur, thus securing one hundred and twenty miles of railway, and the possession of Northern Alabama For these achievements he was promoted to be a Major-General of Volunteers, and Sep 17, 1862, took command of the Tenth Army Corps and Department of the South, headquartered on Hilton Head Island, SC General Ormsby Mitchel arrived on Hilton Head on September 15, 1862, in the midst of two 13gun salutes, one from the arriving ship which was answered by guns ashore A local publication called The Independent wrote glowingly of how General Mitchel plunged immediately into work Before the end of that week General Mitchel had visited the camps on Hilton Head at Beaufort and had addressed all the regiments The week in which that expedition to St John’s Bluff sailed witnessed an expedition that burned the extensive salt works a quarter of a mile long at Bluffton and a reconnaissance up Savannah River proceeding further and achieving more than any previous reconnaissance had done General Mitchel possessed very progressive attitudes toward “contrabands” or freed Negroes Before taking charge in Hilton Head, he had served in Georgia There he had counseled one Colonel Turchin, advising him to offer refuge and protection to a mulatto named Joe, who had provided the Union army with key intelligence Turchin said “General Mitchell decided to employ Negroes for military purposes and promised to give them refuge as an award for their services I consider this policy to be correct in the supreme degree.” Mitchel seems to have set about with great energy to improve conditions for the thousands of contrabands who were gathering on Hilton Head The writer for The Independent, mentioned above, was eloquent in his praise for the thoughtful care which General Mitchel gave to them He is widely recognized as the author of the plan to create the first settlement of freed slaves where they would govern themselves by virtue of free elections30 In his honor it would be named Mitchelville (see following section) 29 http://www.andrewsraid.com/ 30 “Gen Mitchel on the ‘Freedmen’.” American Missionary December 1862 Sections 9-end page 20 Within 35 days of his arrival, General Mitchel fell ill of yellow fever, and died at Beaufort, S C., Oct 30, 1862, at the early age of fifty-two He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY31 A Model Freedmen’s Village on Hilton Head Island, 1862-1863 In September 1862—after President Abraham Lincoln announced his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that as of January 1863, all slaves in all states or parts of states “in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free”—the United States Army, United States Department of the Treasury, and northern missionary organizations began laying the foundation for plans by which these new freedmen and freedwomen and their children could make a life for themselves.32 They would have assistance to get a rudimentary formal education and agricultural and vocational training, to earn wages and receive other financial assistance, and to acquire land of their own This attempt to ease the transition from slavery to freedom and to help give freedmen a chance to become successful members of the postwar society that would follow the restoration of the Union and the abolition of slavery is commonly known as “the Port Royal Experiment.” It was in many respects a trial run—but in the end not quite a model—for the postwar Reconstruction of the South.33 On Hilton Head Island, however, these efforts were first undertaken by the United States Army alone and not in cooperation with the Treasury or with northern missionary organizations, making their implementation there unique Major General Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel, who took command of the Department of the South on 17 September 1862, immediately proposed establishing a freedmen’s village a suitable distance northwest of department headquarters near the northeastern quadrant of the island where ex-slaves could build their own houses, form their own government, and establish their own public schools.34 31 “Death of General Mitchel” The New South Nov 1, 1862 32 The Emancipation Proclamation, January 1863, quoting the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, 22 September 1862, in David S Heidler and Jeanne T Heidler, eds., Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History (New York and London: W.W Norton & Company, 2000), pp 2430-31 33 The documentary edition by Ira Berlin, Barbara J Fields, Thavolia Glymph, Joseph P Reidy, and Leslie S Rowland, eds., Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation 1861-1867 Selected from the Holdings of the National Archives of the United States Series I, Volume I (Book I): The Destruction of Slavery (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985), especially Chapter 2: Lowcountry South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, pp 101-156, is particularly valuable For further context see Willie Lee Rose, Rehearsal for Reconstruction: The Port Royal Experiment (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1964; Reprint edition, New York: Oxford University Press, 1976), and the three excellent introductory essays (gathered together from Volumes I-IV of Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation 1861-1867), in Ira Berlin, Barbara J Fields, Steven F Miller, Joseph P Reidy, and Leslie S Rowland, Slaves No More: Three Essays on Emancipation and the Civil War (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993) Michael Trinkley, ed., Indian and Freedmen Occupation at the Fish Haul Site (38BU805), Beaufort County, South Carolina, Research Series No (Columbia: Chicora Foundation, Inc., 1986), hereafter cited as Trinkley, ed., Indian and Freedmen at Fish Haul; Michael Trinkley, National Register Nomination for Fish Haul / Mitchelville; Christopher Espenshade and Ramona Grunden, Contraband, Refugee, Freedman: Archaeological Investigations of the Western Fringe of Mitchelville, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina (Atlanta: Brockington and Associates, Inc., 1990); “Our Port Royal Correspondence The Expedition to St John’s Popularity of the Emancipation Proclamation in the Army A Skirmish Educating the Blacks for Freedom, &c.,” The New York Times, October 1862 34 Sections 9-end page 21 Mitchel himself wrote to United States Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P Chase in midOctober, describing his hoped-for “Plantation System,” My model plantation, with its fields, fences, seeds, tillage, implements, houses, furniture, &c., would be organized with as little delay as possible I would commence the buildings, which will be required for the large accessions of population which will certainly come to us, when we break through the enemy’s line on the main land, which we are determined to I would have all the blacks distinctly informed as to the plan by which they were to be governed, educated, and made industrious and worthy citizens I would tell them that the fruits of their future toil would be consecrated hereafter to their own benefit; to each family on the plantation I would give a separate dwelling, with a patch for their own private cultivation as a little garden From estimates which I have carefully made, I am quite certain that an industrious family of three persons will certainly save from $150 to $200 each year In five years such a family will have laid up in the Plantation Bank an amount sufficient to make them independent And then with industrious habits, with religious instruction, with correct moral views and sentiments, with minds properly trained to self-dependence, they may elect their own homes if they so choose, and begin the world for themselves.35 A correspondent for The New York Times observed a week later, “Gen MITCHEL is doing a good work here with the negroes Stimulated and encouraged by his efforts to serve them, they are making rapid strides toward improvement and enhanced usefulness.” 36 Mitchel, already ill when he took command of the Department of the South, died of yellow fever in Beaufort on 30 October, 1862, less than three weeks after he wrote his letter to Chase 37 Fort Gillmore was subsequently renamed Fort Mitchel in memory of the General, who had made a lasting impact in a very short period of time The village, named Mitchelville in his memory, was more regularly laid out than most other freedmen’s settlements on the Sea Islands and other Federal-occupied areas in the South, which were typically little more than barracks or holding areas, and never intended to be anything else Mitchelville, which was surveyed and featured named streets with neat little wooden cottages, was completed in March 1863 Charles Carleton Coffin, an army correspondent for the Boston Journal, visited it about that time and later described it as located 35 Maj Gen Ormsby M Mitchel to Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P Chase, 13 October 1862, in “Gen Mitchel and the Contrabands,” The New York Times, 30 October 1862 This letter was printed in the Times the same day Mitchel died of yellow fever in Beaufort 36 “News From Port Royal Arrival of the Steam Transport United States—Another Report about the Savannah Ram, &c Capture of the Steamer Ouachita—Other Prizes—Several of the Sixth Connecticut Taken Prisoners— Gen Mitchel and the Negroes, &c.,” The New York Times, November 1862 37 Eicher and Eicher, p 392; Heidler and Heidler, eds., pp 1341-42; Ezra J Warner, Generals In Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders (Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State University Press, 1964), p 327 Sections 9-end page 22 on a broad, sandy plain, bordered by groves and thickets of live-oak, palmetto, and the coast pine At that time [the spring of 1863] there were about seventy houses,—or cabins rather,—of the rudest description, built of logs, chinked with clay brought up from the beach, roofs of long split shingles, board floors, windows with shutters,—plain board blinds, without sash or glass Each house had a quarter of an acre of land attached There was no paint or lime, not even whitewash, about them It was just such as place as might be expected in a new country, where there were no saw-mills or brick-kilns, a step in advance of a hole in the ground or a bark wigwam It was the beginning of the experiment of civilization on the part of a semi-barbarous people just released from abject bondage, and far from being free men.38 With a population of about 1,500 for the remainder of the war, it was by far the largest community of freedmen, freedwomen, and children in the Department of the South.39 With the end of the Civil War, the United States Army continued to occupy Mitchelville and the rest of Hilton Head Island (in the new Department of South Carolina, and subsequently the Department of the Carolinas, a new Department of the South, and finally the Second Military District) for the next two years, but by 1867 it began to leave, eventually selling government buildings, reducing steamer service to and from the island, and leaving the freedmen to largely fend for themselves The headquarters of the department had already moved most of its operations to Charleston in the spring and summer of 1865, and the military post on Hilton Head was officially abandoned on 14 January 1868.40 The village was essentially intact, with regularly laid out streets, defined lots, and fences around blocks, until the mid-1870s In 1875 the heirs of Mary Baynard Pope (d 1856), the last antebellum owner of Fish Haul / Fish Hall Plantation—the abandoned/confiscated tract that had become the site of Mitchelville in 1862-63—acquired approximately 1,300 acres (including the sites of Mitchelville and Fort Howell) from the Federal government, and they began selling parcels of it in 1876 The freedmen’s village, and postwar African-American community, remained well into the twentieth century.41 Criterion C – Distinctive Characteristics Fort Mitchel is unique in its design and in its current condition Although there are numerous other earthen fortifications up and down the coast, virtually all of these were built by the Confederates and designed for heavy seacoast weapons to guard against naval attack Fort Mitchel, on the other hand, is a Federal installation Although it is sited to guard against an 38 Charles Carleton Coffin, Four Years of Fighting: A Volume of Personal Observation with the Army and Navy, from the First Battle of Bull Run to the Fall of Richmond (Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1866), pp 231-32 39 Trinkley, ed Indian and Freedmen at Fish Haul; Trinkley, National Register Nomination for Fish Haul / Mitchelville; Espenshade and Grunden 40 Eicher and Eicher, pp 822, 845; Trinkley, ed., Indian and Freedmen at Fish Haul, pp 95-108 41 Trinkley, ed., Indian and Freedmen at Fish Haul, pp 62, 101-02 Sections 9-end page 23 amphibious attack, it was designed to mount field or seige cannon, rather than seacoast weapons Fort Mitchel is also in the best state of preservation of any comparable site and is currently visited by several thousand tourists each year It is thus a distinctive and unusual work for the Low Country Significant Extant Confederate Field Fortifications in Lowcountry South Carolina Although there are numerous Civil War field fortifications with varying degrees of integrity and preservation in the lowcountry, the vast majority of them are Confederate earthworks constructed for the defense of Charleston, Charleston Harbor, and the neighboring sea islands These extant Confederate field fortifications or portions of them in Charleston County, in varying degrees of integrity and preservation, have been previously listed in the National Register of Historic Places: Date of Listing Fort Johnson / Powder Magazine, James Island 14 September 1972 Fort Pemberton, James Island 21 November 1978 Battery LeRoy, James Island (Civil War Defenses of Charleston) 11 August 1982 Battery No 1, James Island (Civil War Defenses of Charleston) 11 August 1982 Battery No 5, James Island (Civil War Defenses of Charleston) 11 August 1982 Battery Tynes, James Island (Civil War Defenses of Charleston) 11 August 1982 Fort Pringle, James Island (Civil War Defenses of Charleston) 11 August 1982 Fort Trenholm, James Island (Civil War Defenses of Charleston) 11 August 1982 Unnamed Battery, St Andrew’s Parish (Civil War Defenses of Charleston) 11 August 1982 Unnamed Battery No 1, James Island (Civil War Defenses of Charleston) 11 August 1982 Unnamed Battery No 2, James Island (Civil War Defenses of Charleston) 11 August 1982 Battery Cheves, James Island (Civil War Defenses of Charleston) 11 August 1982 Fort Palmetto, Christ Church Parish (Civil War Defenses of Charleston) 11 August 1982 Battery Wilkes, St Andrew’s Parish (Civil War Defenses of Charleston) 11 August 1982 Significant Extant Federal Field Fortifications in Lowcountry South Carolina There are very few extant Federal field fortifications in the lowcountry, most notably a few in Beaufort and environs, but most of them earthworks on Hilton Head Island, constructed to defend the headquarters of the Department of the South, United States Army, and the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, United States Navy, both of which occupied Hilton Head from late 1861 through the end of the war in 1865 and into the Military Reconstruction period No other Federal field fortifications in South Carolina, however, are as well-preserved and wellmaintained as Fort Mitchell Significant extant Federal fortifications on Hilton Head Island, in varying degrees of integrity and preservation, include:  Fort Welles (38BU1154 / Port Royal Plantation), on the northeastern shore of Hilton Head Island guarding the entrance to Port Royal Sound Built in 1861-62, it replaced a Confederate earthwork built in 1861 and named for Confederate Secretary of War Leroy Sections 9-end page 24 Pope Walker (1817-1884) Abandoned by the Confederates after the Battle of Port Royal Sound on November 1861, Fort Walker was occupied by the Federals, who constructed a completely new earthwork which they named for United States Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles (1802-1878)  Fort Sherman (38BU1156 / Port Royal Plantation), near Hilton Head, the point on Port Royal Sound which lends its name to the entire island It was a large bastion constructed in 1864 instead of an enclosed earthwork, and was intended to supplement an 1862 line of defenses running from northeast to southwest It was named for Brigadier General Thomas W Sherman (1813-1879), the first commander of what would later become the Department of the South, November 1861-March 1862  Battery Holbrook (38BU1164 / Spanish Wells Plantation), near Braddock’s Point, just south of Calibogue Sound on the southwestern shore of Hilton Head Island It was constructed in 1864 and named for 1st Lieutenant Henry Holbrook of the 3rd Rhode Island Volunteer Artillery (1833-1863), who was killed on Morris Island, 21 August 1863  Fort Howell (38BU79 /1151) on Beach City Road on Hilton Head Island in close proximity to the historic location of Mitchelville, and the Fish Haul Archaeological Site The fort was constructed by the 32nd U.S Colored Infantry in the fall of 1864, with the purpose of protecting the adjacent freedmen’s village of Mitchelville, and of adding to the Union troops’ defense of the northern portion of Hilton Head Island Major Bibliographical References Bibliography (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form.) Berlin, Ira, Barbara J Fields, Thavolia Glymph, Joseph P Reidy, and Leslie S Rowland, editors Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation 1861-1867 Selected from the Holdings of the National Archives of the United States Series I, Volume I (Book I): The Destruction of Slavery Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985 Sections 9-end page 25 Berlin, Ira, Barbara J Fields, Steven F Miller, Joseph P Reidy, and Leslie S Rowland Slaves No More: Three Essays on Emancipation and the Civil War Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993 Berlin, Ira, Joseph R Reidy, and Leslie S Rowland, editors Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, 1861-1867 Selected from the Holdings of the National Archives of the United States Series II: The Black Military Experience Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1982 Browning, Robert M Jr., Success Is All That Was Expected: The South Atlantic Blockading Squadron During the Civil War Washington, D.C.: Brassey’s, Inc., 2002 Carse, Robert Department of the South: Hilton Head Island and the Civil War Columbia: The State Printing Company, 1961; Reprint edition, Hilton Head Island: Impressions Printing, 1987 Coffin, Charles Carleton Four Years of Fighting: A Volume of Personal Observation with the Army and Navy, from the First Battle of Bull Run to the Fall of Richmond Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1866 Cullum, George W Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S Military Academy Volume II: 1841-1867 Revised Edition, New York, 1890 Supplements, Volume IV: 1890-1900; Volume V: 1900-1910; and Volume VI: 1910-1920 New York, 1900, 1910, 1920 Denison, Frederick Shot and Shell: The Third Rhode Island Heavy Artillery Regiment in the Rebellion, 1861-1865 Providence: J.A and R.A Reid, 1879, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Accessed online at www.history.navy.mil Dyer, Frederick H A Compendium of the War of Rebellion: Compiled and Arranged from Official Records of the Federal and Confederate Armies, Reports of the Adjutant Generals of the Several States, the Army Registers and Other Reliable Documents and Sources Des Moines: Dyer Publishing Company, 1908 Reprint edition, Dayton, Ohio: The National Historical Society, in cooperation with The Press of Morningside Bookshop, 1979 Eicher, John H., and David J Eicher Civil War High Commands Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001 Eldredge, E The Third New Hampshire and All About It Boston: E.B Stillings and Co., 1898 Espenshade, Christopher T., and Ramona Grunden Contraband, Refugee, Freedman: Archaeological and Historical Investigations of the Western Fringe of Mitchelville, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Atlanta: Brockington and Associates, Inc., 1990 Sections 9-end page 26 Gaines, W Craig, Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2008 “General Gillmore’s Death” The New York Times April 1888 “Gen Mitchel and the Contrabands.” The New York Times, 30 October 1862 Headley, P.C The Patriot Boy: The Life and Career of Major-General Ormsby M Mitchel New York: William H Appleton, 1885 Heitman, Francis B Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, From Its Organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903 Volume Washington: U.S Government Printing Office, 1903 Hess, Earl J Field Armies and Fortifications in the Civil War: The Eastern Campaigns, 18611864 Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press, 2005 Hewitt, Janet B., Noah Andre Trudeau, and Bryce A Suderow, eds Supplement to the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies 100 volumes in parts Wilmington, N.C.: Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1994-2001 Katcher, Philip American Civil War Artillery 1861-1865: Field and Heavy Artillery Oxford and New York: Osprey Publishing, 2001 Kennedy, Frances H., editor and principal contributor for The Conservation Fund The Civil War Battlefield Guide Second Edition Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998 Lewis, Adam J The Civil War Experiences of General Quincy Adams Gillmore: The Challenges of Transitioning from the Tactical to the Operational Level of Command School of Advanced Military Studies, United States Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 2011 Mahan, Dennis Hart A Treatise on Field Fortification : Containing Instructions on the Methods of Laying Out, Constructing, Defending, and Attacking Intrenchments, with the General Outlines also of the Arrangement, the Attack and Defence of Permanent Fortifications New York: J Wiley, 1861 “News From Port Royal Arrival of the Steam Transport United States.—Another Report about the Savannah Ram, &c Capture of the Steamer Ouachita—Other Prizes—Several of the Sixth Connecticut Taken Prisoners—Gen Mitchel and the Negroes, &c.” The New York Times, November 1862 “Our Port Royal Correspondence The Expedition to St John’s Popularity of the Emancipation Proclamation in the Army A Skirmish Educating the Blacks for Freedom, &c.” The New York Times, October 1862 Sections 9-end page 27 Proctor, David A “Gillmore, Quincy Adams (1825-1888), Union General.” In Heidler, David S and Jeanne T Heidler, eds Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History New York: W.W Norton, 2002 Ripley, Warren Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War New York: D Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1970 Reprint edition, Charleston: Battery Press, 1981 Rose, Willie Lee Rehearsal for Reconstruction: The Port Royal Experiment Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1964 Reprint edition, New York: Oxford University Press, 1976 Rowland Lawrence S., Alexander Moore, and George C Rogers, Jr The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina Volume 1, 1514-1861 Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1996 Still, William N., Jr Iron Afloat: The Story of the Confederate Armorclads (Reprint of the 1971 ed.) Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 1985 Stone, Edwin Winchester, Rhode Island in the Rebellion Providence: G.H Whitney, 1864 Warner, Ezra J Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State University Press, 1964 The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies 128 volumes in series Washington: U.S Government Printing Office, 18801901 Wise, Stephen R Gate of Hell: Campaign for Charleston Harbor, 1863 Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1994 Previous documentation on file (NPS): preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67) has been requested previously listed in the National Register previously determined eligible by the National Register designated a National Historic Landmark recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey # recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # recorded by Historic American Landscape Survey # _ Primary location of additional data: Sections 9-end page 28 X State Historic Preservation Office Other State agency Federal agency Local government University Other Name of repository: _ Historic Resources Survey Number (if assigned): _ _ 10 Geographical Data Acreage of Property _3.27 Use either the UTM system or latitude/longitude coordinates Latitude/Longitude Coordinates Datum if other than WGS84: (enter coordinates to decimal places) Latitude: Longitude: Latitude: Longitude: Latitude: Longitude: Latitude: Longitude: Or UTM References Datum (indicated on USGS map): NAD 1927 or NAD 1983 Zone: Easting: Northing: Zone: Easting: Northing: Zone: Easting: Northing: Zone: Easting : Northing: Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property.) Sections 9-end page 29 The boundary of Fort Mitchel, the nominated property, is delineated by the solid black line on the accompanying Beaufort County Plat Map, around Parcel X-1 (1.06 acre) and adjoining Parcel F-1 (2.21 acre), both owned by the Heritage Library Foundation Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected.) The nominated property, owned by the Heritage Library Foundation, includes the historic earthwork fortification (on 3.17 acres) and no noncontributing resources _ _ 11 Form Prepared By name/title: Barrett J Riordan Ph.D. _ organization: Heritage Library Foundation _ street & number: _852 William Hilton Parkway city or town: Hilton Head Island _ state: _SC _ zip code: 29928 _ e-mail briordan12@hargray.com telephone: _ 843-837-9294 date: 28 May 2014 _ _ Additional Documentation Submit the following items with the completed form:  Maps: A USGS map or equivalent (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location  Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources Key all photographs to this map  Additional items: (Check with the SHPO, TPO, or FPO for any additional items.) Photographs Submit clear and descriptive photographs The size of each image must be 1600x1200 pixels (minimum), 3000x2000 preferred, at 300 ppi (pixels per inch) or larger Key all photographs to the sketch map Each photograph must be numbered and that number must correspond to the photograph number on the photo log For simplicity, the name of the photographer, photo date, etc may be listed once on the photograph log and doesn’t need to be labeled on every photograph Photo Log Sections 9-end page 30 Name of Property: Fort Mitchel City or Vicinity: Hilton Head Island County: Beaufort State: South Carolina Photographer: Carol Clemens, Heritage Library Foundation Date Photographed: 26 March 2014 Description of Photograph(s) and number, include description of view indicating direction of camera: Entrance from sidewalk Moat from southern end Fort interior from southern rampart looking north Skull Creek from mid-rampart looking west Southern rampart from fort interior looking south Wooden bridge from south observation deck Skull Creek looking southwest from south observation deck Northern moat from wooden bridge South observation deck from west end of wooden bridge 10 Moat south from creek-side footpath 11 South observation deck from creek-side footpath 12 Skull Creek looking west from creek-side footpath 13 Fort interior from creek-side footpath 14 Southern rampart from entrance looking northwest 15 Fort interior looking southwest Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C.460 et seq.) Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 100 hours per response including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Office of Planning and Performance Management U.S Dept of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC Sections 9-end page 31