The Battery - Seawall, Cannons and Pirates

Photo: Brian Stansberry (photographer), CC BY 3.0 (cropped)

A stop on Charleston Historic District Walk, a free self-guided tour.

You have reached the tip of the peninsula, where the Ashley and Cooper Rivers meet in Charleston Harbor. The raised seawall promenade along the water is the Battery, and the shady park beside it is White Point Garden, about 5.7 acres of live oaks, monuments and old guns.

This shore has long been tied to defense and punishment. In 1718 the pirate Stede Bonnet and many of his crew were hanged near here, an event recalled by a marker in the garden. Look out toward the harbor mouth and, on a clear day, you can pick out Fort Sumter, where the Civil War began with a Confederate bombardment in April 1861.

The cannons around the park come from many eras, from the Revolution to World War I, and the white bandstand dates from 1907. Along East Battery, the grand houses facing the water were built by merchants and planters whose fortunes rested largely on enslaved labor. Walk a stretch of the seawall, then cut back through the garden toward Meeting Street.

Getting here: Keep walking south as East Bay Street becomes East Battery, then follow the raised seawall to White Point Garden at the end of the peninsula.

Did you know?: The 11-inch Dahlgren gun on the East Battery side came from USS Keokuk, a Union ironclad that Charleston's forts sank in April 1863. It was mounted here in 1900.

Photo op: Climb onto the seawall promenade and shoot back along the curve of East Battery mansions, or face the harbor at sunset.

More on Wikipedia: White Point Garden · The Battery · Stede Bonnet · Fort Sumter

The Battery - Seawall, Cannons and Pirates

Stops on this tour