The waters where boaters now cruise, the Swamp Angel once terrorized Charleston
Built atop a manmade earthwork of sandbags on a ‘Marsh Battery’ between Folly and James Island, the Swamp Angel housed a 16,500-pound rifled Parrott cannon whose shells could reach downtown Charleston. With its target as the steeple of St. Michael’s church, a shelling by the Swamp Angel on August 22, 1863, forced the evacuation of the city south of Broad Street. Capturing Charleston —‘the cradle of the Secession’ — served as both a strategic and symbolic goal for the Union. (Photograph by Hass & Peale, Courtesy of the Library of Congress.)
Do you have a photo to contribute? Send it to Strattonlawrence@gmail.com with its story and see it in print! Images like this are included in the book, Images of America: Folly Beach. To purchase a signed copy, email Stratton.
