Lowcountry's hidden Civil War history

DEEP IN THE ACE BASIN -- Some of the Lowcountry's best-preserved Civil War-era fortifications haven't really been "preserved" at all -- at least not in the sense that someone ever worked to maintain, repair or reconstruct them.

Instead, these sites have simply been left alone. They've managed to survive rather nicely for more than a century by being ignored.

Many are found on private property whose owners protect them -- and the environment surrounding them -- for hunting, horseback riding or other sport.

Jeff Grigg has befriended many such owners through his boat repair business in Green Pond.

That's enabled him to make a hobby out of exploring land that most will never see. He estimates he's pinpointed 13 Civil War earthworks in Colleton and Beaufort counties.

"Nine had never been recognized as an earthwork," he says. "Nobody knew what they were."

He's shared his findings with highway officials, state historians and others.

"Basically, anything pre 1900 is what I look for," he says. "I buy a lot of antique history books. I look through old maps. I do it for the research. I don't relic hunt."

With the owners' permission, Grigg recently spent much of an afternoon giving an informal tour of some of the most interesting sites he's come across.

Winter is the perfect time for such a tour. The plant life has died back, providing glimpses of earthen mounds that otherwise might be hard so see. Just as importantly, there are far fewer mosquitoes and chiggers around.

The one condition of this tour is that their location be kept general to discourage curiosity seekers or vandals.

The most impressive site is a large Civil War battery that Grigg says was built in 1862 to help defend the railroad line that served as an important Confederate artery between Charleston and Savannah.

This fortification is the size of a house, and one can see three embrasures for cannons and a bomb proof for storing munitions. Puddles still stand in front where the earth was removed.

Grigg says he was curious about why part of this fortification was oriented like it was, and he soon discovered an accompanying earthwork a few hundred yards away across a clearing. The pair were apparently constructed so their defenders could catch federal raiders in a crossfire.

A few trees are growing in the earthen walls, and the fort has eroded a bit over time.

"We say they melt. It's like ice cream," he says of the earthen mounds. "Still, it's extremely well-preserved because the Federals never made it up here."

The private site has other history nearby, too. There's an old black cemetery with dozens of marked graves and likely hundreds more unmarked ones. This also is the final resting place for many descendants of slaves who built this fort.

Grigg later points out a few others, including a small earthwork only about a third the size of a mobile home. And he's hunting for more.

"My fear is if we don't record these sites, if we don't know where they are, then how can we prevent them from being bulldozed?" he asks.

Ignorance and benign neglect have worked as a preservation strategy so far, but that might not always be the case.

Robert Behre may be reached at 937-5771 or by fax at 937-5579. His e-mail address is rbehre@postandcourier.com, and his mailing address is 134 Columbus St., Charleston, SC 29403.