Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, solidly under the control of the United States military, is the Union’s southern headquarters for the war and a major military supply depot. Fort Howell, a hospital, barracks, and other structures support a force that at times exceeds 30,000 men. Strategically, the island is staging grounds and supply headquarters for…
From the swelling ranks of freedmen, African Baptist churches are now forming in Union-controlled areas of coastal South Carolina. This month freed slaves form the First African Baptist Church of Bluffton, a community just across the inland waterway from Hilton Head Island. The new congregation is the first Baptist church formed in the community. The…
Today is Sunday, and a new Baptist church is born. But it is not a typical Baptist church. Union troops are now firmly in control of much of South Carolina’s coastline. One island town stands out above the others: Hilton Head, one of the wealthiest of the state’s towns prior to the war. Previously home…