At the Battle of Secessionville, fought here on 16 June 1862, Confederate troops under Col. Thomas G. Lamar defended a simple unfinished earthwork later enlarged and named Fort Lamar, positioned at the narrow end of a funnel-shaped strip of high ground flanked by tidal creeks and marsh, and broke the Union advance through James Island against Charleston in the most significant Civil War battle in South Carolina. Union troops under Henry W. Benham launched several assaults against the earthwork at the eastern end of the Confederate line, but were repulsed with heavy casualties and evacuated James Island a few days later. A total of 683 Federals and 204 Confederates were killed, wounded, or captured, including 107 Federals and 52 Confederates who lost their lives on this battlefield.
