This panoramic pencil drawing by artist Alfred Waud illustrates both the wild and sizeable dunes on Folly, as well as Union soldiers pointing toward the sea and the ships forming the blockade. Drawn in May 1863, the coming summer would prove to be the most eventful in all of Folly’s history. The island served as the staging ground for Union General Quincy A. Gillmore’s plan to take Charleston via an attack on Morris Island. At the peak of the Union’s occupation in 1863, as many as 16,000 troops were based on Folly, forming a tent city with far more occupants than the island has ever supported in the 150 years since. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress.)
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