Battery White
National Register Listing
Street Address:
S of Georgetown on Belle Isle Rd., Georgetown, SC City Vicinity (Georgetown County)
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817722010
Description and Narrative:
Battery White is a large earthwork battery, or earthwork artillery emplacement, built (ca. 1862) and manned by Confederate troops during the Civil War as a Confederate fortification. It was positioned on Mayrant’s Bluff, overlooking Winyah Bay, where its guns could command the seaward access to the nearby port of Georgetown. Apparently, from the beginning, however, the battery was plagued by insufficient manpower and armaments. In February 1863 it was reported that there were but 53 men and nine guns at Battery White. In January 1864 commanding Brigadier General J. H. Trapier stated that “the position itself is a strong one, and with a proper artillery and a sufficient infantry support might be rendered almost, if not absolutely, impregnable.” Assistance was not available however, and in October 1864 eleven Confederate soldiers deserted the battery and gave information regarding it to R. P. Swann, commander of the U.S.S. Potomska. By February 1865 the battery was reported completely evacuated. Still largely intact, the five hundred foot long fortification is maintained as part of the landscaping for a condominium complex on what was originally Belle Isle Plantation, owned at one-time by Revolutionary War Colonel Peter Horry. Listed in the National Register November 16, 1977.
Period of Significance:
circa 1862
Level of Significance:
National
Area of Significance:
Military;Archeology
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
November 16 1977
