Battle of Port Royal 1861
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 7 November 1861 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1861 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Civil War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 32.2500, -80.6600 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army expeditionary force captured Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, between Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, on November 7, 1861. The sound was guarded by two forts on opposite sides of the entrance, Fort Walker on Hilton Head Island to the south and Fort Beauregard on Phillip's Island to the north. A small force of four gunboats supported the forts, but did not materially affect the battle.
The attacking force assembled outside of the sound beginning on November 3 after being battered by a storm during their journey down the coast. Because of losses in the storm, the army was not able to land, so the battle was reduced to a contest between ship-based guns and those on shore.
The fleet moved to the attack on November 7, after more delays caused by the weather during which additional troops were brought into Fort Walker. Flag Officer Samuel F. Du Pont ordered his ships to keep moving in an elliptical path, bombarding Fort Walker on one leg and Fort Beauregard on the other; the tactic had recently been used effectively at the Battle of Hatteras Inlet.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Port Royal (revision 1380654762), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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- Siege of Fort Pulaski 1862 · 33 km
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- Battle of Wassaw Sound 1863 · 45 km
Other battles of the American Civil War
- Battle of Aquia Creek 1861
- Battle of Arlington Mills 1861
- Battle of Athens (1861) 1861
- Battle of Ball's Bluff 1861
- Battle of Barbourville 1861
- Battle of Big Bethel 1861
- Battle of Blackburn's Ford 1861
- Battle of Bolivar Heights 1861
- Battle of Boonville 1861
- Battle of Camp Allegheny 1861
All 498 battles of the American Civil War →
Browse more: battles in United States · North America · 19th century battles