160 years ago, Union forces captured Beaufort. That history will be relived Saturday
The 160th anniversary of Beaufort’s capture by Union troops — which changed the outcome of the Civil War — will be relived this weekend, and you can watch.
Live reenactments of troops with the 79th New York Highlander Regiment and 48th New York Infantry, Company F, will be conducted at The Arsenal Courtyard, 713 Craven St., from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Admission is free, although donations will be accepted.
In early December 1861, the two U.S. Army units were part of the occupation of Beaufort after the Union Navy success in the Battle of Port Royal on Nov. 7, said Ginnie Kozak of the Beaufort History Museum, which is sponsoring the reenactment. Port Royal Sound, the deepest natural harbor south of New York City, became the first of several ports in the deep South to serve as bases for the blockade fleet.
“Until then, the Union was had absolutely nothing positive happening on the battlefield anywhere,” Kozak said.
Beaufort was captured by the Army as part of the larger strategy of blockading the Southern ports to prevent commerce with Europe.
At the time of the Battle of Port Royal Sound, the Beaufort volunteer infantry was stationed at Bay Point Island, where residents used to hunt, fish and camp, Kozak said. Today, conservation groups are battling the proposed construction of a 4,000-square-foot villa on the island, one of the last undeveloped barrier islands in South Carolina.
When Union forces arrived, officers for the Beaufort volunteers were having lunch, and Union forces found it still on the table, Kozak said.
The John Mark Verdier House on Bay Street, now a museum, served as the Army’s headquarters. Many Beaufort mansions still standing today were used as hospitals or offices, Kozak said.
About 15 to 20 reenactors for New York and other areas will be coming to Beaufort to present live demonstrations of Civil War-era camp life, drills and marching, “the same way it happened 160 years ago,” Kozak said. There will be bagpipes, discussions and live demonstrations of the importance of music and bugle calls during the war, the use of weapons including cannon, how medical support was deployed in the field, the role of women, and camp “dining” and cooking.
“It was actually this time of the year, late November and early December when the occupation took place,” Kozak said.
Who were the New York troops?
The 79th New York Volunteer Infantry was originally organized as a social club in New York City in 1858. It was comprised primarily of emigrant Scots and Scots-Americans.
In December 1861, The Highlanders were sent to the city of Beaufort to help occupy the town. At one point, they set up camp near what is now the National Cemetery on Boundary Street.
The 48th New York Infantry regiment occupied Port Royal, Hilton Head Island and Bluffton after the Battle of Port Royal.
