Fort Mitchel

Fort Mitchel (1862-1864) - A Union U.S. Civil War Fort established in 1862 on Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina. First named Fort Gillmore after its designer and Chief Engineer at Hilton Head, Captain Quincy A. Gillmore, (Cullum 1407). Renamed Fort Mitchel after Major General Ormsby M. Mitchel, (Cullum 555), who died of yellow fever 30 Oct 1862. Abandoned in 1864. History Established by Union forces soon after the capture of Hilton Head Island on 7 Nov 1861. Built as a small earthen lunette with two faces forming a salient angle, two flanking sides and open at the rear. A central bomb-proof provided protection for the troops and supplies. Fort Mitchel was positioned on the northwest side of Hilton Head Island to control Skull Creek and protect the U.S. Navy Seabrook Landing coaling station. Skull Creek separates Hilton Head Island from the mainland. The fort was designed to mount five or six guns on a bluff above Skull Creek. The cannon were positioned so that three pointed downstream, one was positioned to fire directly across the creek, and two were pointed upstream toward Port Royal Sound. Advancing gun technology and the use of ironclad ships rendered the battery ineffective by 1864 and the attending garrison was redeployed that year. Current Status The fort site is located within the gated community of Hilton Head Plantation and a pass is required to visit the site. Adjacent to the fort site is the Old Fort Pub. The fort site is well covered with access paths, interpretive panels and display cannons (not original to the site). {"selectable":false,"width":"500"} Location: 65 Skull Creek Drive on Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina. Maps & Images Lat: 32.24311 Long: -80.74413 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 20' See Also: Fort Howell Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 714-715. A confusing entry in Roberts. USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 1222503 Spelled with two "l"s Links: North American Forts - Fort Mitchel Hilton Head - Fort Mitchel Visited: 7 Mar 2018