JUNE 2006

In June of l862, the survival of the Confederate military was a questionable matter. In only a short span of months, Union Forces had seen successes at Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh, Island No. l0, and Fort Pulaski. They had occupied such cities as Yorktown, Norfolk, and Memphis and held Nashville and New Orleans. The significance of Charleston as the "Cradle of Secession" and its harbor became even more important after the fall of New Orleans. Its network of rivers and railroads into the interior allowed for the successful movement of troops, goods, and agricultural products which helped to support the "plantation society" and the war effort. Because of this, Federal Commanders were bent on her capture. They had already begun their efforts to take over the sea islands with the capture of Port Royal, Hilton Head and St. Helena Islands.

In response to this Union onslaught, CSA Gen. Pemberton, in charge of the Department of the South, withdrew his forces from the outlying islands near the City and focused his main defenses on James Island. One of the confederate fortifications on the island was a small earthwork with four guns. Situated in Secessionville, (the planter's summer village), this battery was built with its front running northeast to southeast, from marsh to marsh, and its flanking walls parallel with the marshes. Commanding the fort was Col. Thomas G. Lamar with sections of the lst S.C. Artillery stationed therein.

The withdrawal of the Rebels from the outlying islands was good news to Maj. Gen. David A. Hunter and by June 2nd, l862, 7500 Union troops under Brig. Gen. Henry W. Benham were conveyed into the Stono River and began landing on the southwest end of James Island. The lst and 2nd Divisions under Brig. Gen. Isaac I. Stevens and Brig. Gen. Horatio G. Wright were part of the landing forces and over the next several days, skirmishing and the trading of artillery fire occurred between the two sides with no real action taking place.

By the l2th of June, Gen. Hunter had returned back to Hilton Head and plans to capture Charleston were scrapped at least until such time as reinforcements could be received. He left Benham in charge with orders not to attack, but was given permission to protect the Union camps on James Island. After almost two weeks of daily musketry and artillery exchanges, Benham decided that the fort was a serious threat to his position on the island and also to the Naval ships stationed on the Stono River. Reconnaissance had shown the work to be unfinished and undermanned. With this in mind, on the evening of June l5th, Benham held a war council with his subordinate officers who voiced their concerns against attacking the earthwork at Secessionville.

While all this was going on, the Confederates had not been idle. Col. Lamar, who had been observing the movement of the Federal troops informed his superior that he believed an attack was imminent. He was ordered to hold his position and that reinforcements would be available for his needs. The night of the l5th, he and his entire force, which consisted of Companies B and I of the lst S.C. Artillery worked long and hard to finish throwing up the earthworks of the batteries which had not been completed until 3 a.m. on the morning of the l6th. An hour later, the silence was broken by the : advancement of Union forces. They had overrun Lamar's picket line about 3/4's of a mile out and they were now advancing at the double-quick with bayonets fixed. Lamar immediately dispatched a courier to his superior officer, Brig. Gen. N.G. Evans, requesting reinforcements and ordered his guns in place. Among the units that were sent to his aid were the lst, 9th, 22nd, 24th and 25th S.C. Battalions as well as the 4th La. Battalion.

Most of these forces had been encamped less than five miles away at Fort Johnson. Stevens' lst Brigade consisted of the 8th Mich., 7th Conn. and 28th Mass. Infantrys, commanded by Col. William Fenton of the 8th Mich., who led the charge with two companies of the 8th and one company of the lst N.Y. Engineers. His 2nd Brigade consisted of the 79th N.Y., (also known as the "Highlanders"), the l00th Pa., (also known as the "Roundheads"), and the 46th N.Y. Infantry, commanded by Col. David Leasure of the l00th Pa., who followed in support. Four guns of the lst Conn. Battery, the 3rd Me. Inf., several companies of the 3rd R.I. Heavy Artillery, and a company of the lst Mass. Cavalry, from Stevens' 3rd Brigade supported the infantry.

The area between the marshes was barely wide enough for a regiment, yet for some reason, Benham had ordered the charge to be made by a Brigade in line of battle. As a result, the men were pressed together so tightly that the battle line became a tangled mass of arms and legs. While they were attempting to form up, the middle of their line was devastated by Confederate grapeshot. Still the Yankees pressed forward.

After an hour or so of fighting, some of the Union forces had reached the Confederate works and a bloody hand-to-hand battle took place. But because the support regiments had become bogged down in the mud and the marsh, the elements of the first regiment which had gained the fort, were soon force to withdraw. For two more long hours, the heavy fire from the fort continued taking its toll on the Union forces who had reformed and charged twice more. By 7:30 a.m., Benham had conceded defeat and withdrawn his troops. Union casualties totaled 683 (l07 killed, 487 wounded, and 89 captured or missing). Confederate loss was less 304 total (52 killed, l44 wounded, and 8 captured or missing). Thus ended the Battle of Secessionville, a battle that could have changed history. Had the Union forces overtaken the fort and James Island that day... Charleston was only a breathe away and the Civil War could have ended alot sooner than it did.

One of the members of the 79th N.Y. who distinguished himself that day was Color Sgt. Alexander "Sandy" Campbell, age 24, who was responsible for planting the regimental colors on the parapet of the Rebel fort and kept them there until the Federals were forced to retire. He had been born in Scotland but had come to the U.S. in the l850's with his brothers to seek their fortunes. Sandy initially lived and worked as a stone mason in New York City, but had briefly moved to Charleston, S.C., in l856 to work on the new U.S. Custom House. In l859, he returned to New York to marry. He joined the 79th N.Y. in May of l86l and had previously seen action at First Manassas. Sandy's older brother James Campbell, thirty years old and a bachelor had also chosen to settle and work in Charleston. However, when the war broke out, he had chosen to remain loyal to the South and enlisted in the lst S.C. Battalion (Charleston Battalion), receiving a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. Ironically, he had been in the fort on James Island, the same day his brother Sandy had planted the colors for the 79th.

Two days after the battle, a flag of truce was passed and James penned the following letter to his brother "I was astonished to hear from the prisoners that you was colour Bearer of the Regiment that assaulted the Battery..." "I was in the Brestwork during the whole engagement doing my Best to Beat you[.] but I hope you and I will never again meet face to face Bitter enemies in the Battlefield[.] but if such should be the case You have but to discharge your deauty to Your caus for I can assure you I will strive to discharge my deauty to my country and My cause."

The brothers missed another reunion on the battlefield when on July 3rd, James received permission from his Captain, to approach Federal picket lines. He asked about his brother's health and if he could see him, but the pickets were not of the 79th and James returned forlornly to his camp. By the time Sandy had heard that his brother was looking for him, it was too late...the 79th had left James Island. The unit later saw action in Virginia and at Chantilly, Sandy would be wounded through the calf by a musket ball. During his recuperation, he was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant, of Co. G, and in January of l863, he rejoined his unit but resigned his commission on May 7, l863, citing his disability as the reason for leaving the service.

Although Sandy's military career was over, James was still in the thick of it. On the night of July l8, l863, after some of Gilmore's Union forces had breeched the walls of Fort Wagner, James Campbell volunteered to go there and report back to Gen. Taliaferro, who was in charge of the defenses on Morris Island. According to the "Charleston Courier," Campbell had climbed to the top of the parapet of Wagner and demanded that the Union soldiers therein surrender themselves. When two of them lunged at him with bayonets drawn, he pushed them off the parapet and they both fell, stabbing themselves. He then ordered the rest of the Federals forces to surrender, and failing to do so, one grabbed him by the leg and pulled him down into the moat below. Of the five Confederates later listed as captured or missing during that night's battle, James was the only officer.

He was soon after taken to Johnson's Island on Lake Erie, just north of Sandusky, Ohio, where he stayed from October l863 to February l864. He was then transferred briefly to Point Lookout, Md. While imprisoned, he had been promoted to lst Lieutenant. By June of that year, he was incarcerated at Fort Delaware, where he remained until after the war's end. After his release, James returned to Charleston, dabbled in farming and managing plantations for various land owners. He eventually settled on his own piece of land and lived to be 74 years of age. He died in l907 and is buried in Charleston's Magnolia Cemetery. Sandy Campbell had early-on returned to New York City, but by l870 had settled in Middletown, Conn., where he established a monument business. He died in l909 at the age of 7l. As far as we know, the brothers kept in touch after the war's end. Their letters are in a small collection at the S.C. Dept. of Archives and History in Columbia.

After the fiasco of Secessionville, Benham was placed under arrest, sent North and demoted. Lamar died the following October of some undisclosed physical ailment and the James Island fort would be named after him. Today the battle site sits in someone's front yard. A two-lane road runs through what was a corner of the fort. A subdivision called Secessionville Acres is down the road and a mass grave containing the remains of many Union man lies just in front of the fort which is hid behind the thick underbrush and trees off that road. Efforts to preserve the fort have been on-going by the S.C. Battleground Preservation Trust, Inc., and the Low Country Land Trust. It is hoped that some agreement can be made with the owners to keep this important piece of history from being destroyed. Two of the original Secessionville houses that were there the day of the battle sit at the end of the two lane road that ends in a Dead End. Reports of hauntings, shadows and strange occurrences have been reported by some of the homeowners whose houses sit on the battlefield and grave site. With all that occurred there, it is no wonder that the spirits of these long-dead soldiers have returned to the site of their demise.