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| Spring
2005 Newsletter |
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 We
know their names because of their exploits on the battlefield,but what became of the principals in the battles that made them famous? This series is a regular feature of the SCBPT Newsletter and will tell a little more about these individual’s lives After the Battle. THE BATTLE OF PORT ROYAL NOVEMBER 7, 1861 The purpose of the action was to capture Port Royal Sound and establish, on Hilton Head Island, SC, a base for the Union Blockade of South Atlantic Ports. COMMODORE SAMUEL F. DUPONT The Commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, DuPont became a national hero with his victory at Port Royal. Following the occupation of Hilton Head Island, he was directed by the Navy Department to attack Charleston with ironclads. Having little faith in success, he carried out a failed attack on Fort Sumter, April 7, 1863. Widely criticized, he was relieved of command on July 5, 1863. He was in line for an appointment within the Navy Department, but died of a respiratory ailment in June 1865 before it came through. His last letter was to Percival Drayton discussing the events at Port Royal. BRIGADIER THOMAS F. DRAYTON Drayton was the overall commander of the Confederate defenses of Port Royal Sound. He continued to serve along the South Carolina coast until the fall of 1862 when he commanded a brigade in Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. He ended the war commanding a cavalry division in Texas. He lived in Philadelphia after the war and became an insurance underwriter in North Carolina. He died in Florence, South Carolina in 1891. He is buried in Charlotte, North Carolina. CAPTAIN PERCIVAL DRAYTON The brother of Confederate General Thomas F. Drayton, he commanded the Federal gunboat “Pocahontas” during the battle. He was commander of the ironclad “Pawnee” during the 1863 assault on Fort Sumter. He later became Fleet Captain of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron serving as Commander of Admiral D.G Farragut’s flagship “Hartford” during the Battle of Mobile Bay. He was appointed Chief of the Bureau of Navigation in April 1865 and died of vertigo and fatigue in that post. COMMODORE JOSIAH TATTNALL Commander of the sparse Confederate fleet (1 converted river steamer and 3 tugs) during the battle, he continued to command Confederate naval forces in Georgia after the battle. He later became commander of naval forces in Virginia. Cleared of blame for the sinking of the “Virginia”. he returned to Georgia in 1862. After the war, he spent several years in Nova Scotia, returning to Savannah in 1870 and was named Inspector of Ports for the city of Savannah. He died June 14, 1871. . |
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————— South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust | 843.689.3223 | info@scbattlegrounds.org —————— |