Confederate and Federal forces will clash once again when the Battle of Pocotaligo Civil War Reenactment returns to Frampton Plantation on January 25-26. Taking place on the actual 1862 battle site in Point South, this second annual living history event is hosted by the Sons of Confederate Veterans Colonel Charles Jones Colcock Camp #2100, the South Carolina Palmetto Battalion and the Lowcountry & Resort Islands Tourism Commission.
In addition to the afternoon battles, visitors are welcome to explore a Civil War encampment complete with Sutler Row and period demonstrations, as well as tour a life-size replica of the CSS H.L. Hunley, the first submarine in history to successfully sink an enemy warship.
On October 21, 1862, a Union Force of 4,200 men under the command of General John M. Brannan sailed up the Broad River from Hilton Head Island and Beaufort and then marched on the village of Pocotaligo. Warned by Confederate pickets of this attempt to destroy the Charleston to Savannah Railroad and hinder a major supply line, Colonel W.S. Walker of Georgia telegraphed General Beauregard in Charleston. “I am holding & intend to hold my position at Old Pocotaligo,” read his urgent telegram. “Hurry up the reinforcements for Gods sake.”
Thanks in large part to a series of earthwork trenches General Robert E. Lee had ordered dug throughout the Lowcountry, a Confederate force of fewer than 450 men, including eight Confederate artillery pieces, two cavalry companies, three companies of the 11th South Carolina Volunteers and the First South Carolina Sharpshooters, managed to stall the Federal advance.
Gates open at 9 a.m. with battle reenactments at 2 p.m. Daily tickets are $10 for adults; $5 for children; and free for ages 8 and under. Admission into the Frampton Plantation House/Visitor Center & Gift Shop and the Hunley Traveling Exhibit are free. For additional information on the Battle of Pocotaligo, visit www.battleofpocotaligo.com. To learn more about Frampton Plantation and the Lowcountry & Resort Islands Tourism Commission, call 843-717-3090 or visit www.southcarolinalowcountry.com.
