From staff reports
At 10:30 a.m., on Saturday, July 8, Reconstruction Era National Historical Park will hold a free one-hour, ranger-guided program at the Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve in Port Royal marking the 160th Anniversary of the 1st South Carolina Volunteers raid on Willtown Bluffs.
In the early morning hours of July 10, 1863 African American soldiers of the 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry launched a raid up the Edisto River and along the bluffs of Willtown, S.C. – a backcountry mission which led to the liberation of around 200 enslaved people.
For those who lived along this particular stretch of the Edisto River, July 10, 1863 marked their last day in slavery, and the beginning of new lives of freedom among the Sea Islands. Many remembered this time as “The Year of Jubilee,” or a time of widespread emancipation on the South Carolina coast.
The Willtown Raid took place little more than a month after Harriet Tubman and soldiers of the 2nd South Carolina Infantry liberated more than 750 people along the Combahee River.
This ranger-led program, centered around the events of the raid, will meet at the site of Camp Saxton where the soldiers of the 1st South Carolina trained for service in the months leading up to the Willtown Raid. The Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve is located at 601 Old Fort Road. Visitors are encouraged to bring a water bottle and a lightweight folding chair. There is some parking at the Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve, and the site is located around a ½ mile walk from the Port Royal Farmers Market.
For more information about Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, visit www.nps.gov/reer
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