Castle Pinckney

Castle Pinckney was a small masonry fortification constructed by the United States government, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina in 1810. It was used very briefly as a prisoner-of-war camp and artillery position during the American Civil War. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.
Located on Shutes Folly, a small island about one mile off the Charleston shore in the harbor, the fort was built over the ruins of an older fortification called "Fort Pinckney". The original log and earthen fort, named after the Revolutionary War hero Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, was built beginning in 1797 and was intended to protect the city from a possible naval attack when war with France seemed imminent. Completed in 1804, it saw no hostilities and was virtually destroyed by a severe hurricane in September of that year. A replacement brick-and-mortar structure called "Castle Pinckney" was erected in 1809–1810 and was garrisoned throughout the War of 1812, but it saw no action during the two-and-a-half-year conflict. Afterwards, Castle Pinckney was abandoned and fell into disrepair.

More information

Comments Statistics

| | Public | French • German