Secessionville

On June 16, 1862, Confederate troops repelled a Union effort to seize Charleston, South Carolina, by land, in a clash also known as the First Battle of James Island alongside its more common name, the Battle of Secessionville. This encounter, occurring during the American Civil War, stands out chiefly for the aftermath involving Union brigadier general Henry Benham, who faced court martial for pushing forward with the assault on James Island despite orders forbidding such action.

Prelude

Charleston's strategic value once the Union set its Anaconda Plan in motion was captured in a remark from Gen. Robert E. Lee, who warned that losing the city would sever Confederate communication with the outside world and shut down the last route for fore

Battle

In the opening days of June 1862, Union commander David Hunter moved the divisions of Horatio G. Wright and Isaac I. Stevens onto James Island, placing them under Henry Benham's immediate oversight. The force dug in at Grimball's Landing, close to the southern edge of the Confederate line. Benham put ashore 6,600 soldiers, drawn from the 3rd New Hampshire, 8th Michigan Infantry, 7th Connecticut Infantry, 28th Massachusetts, 100th Pennsylvania Infantry, 46th New York Volunteer Infantry, 3rd Rhode Island Heavy Artillery, and the 79th New York Highlanders, at the island's southeastern tip, then pushed inland toward Charleston.

On June 10, John C. Pemberton dispatched the 1st South Carolina Rifle Regiment and the 4th Louisiana Battalion, led by Colonel Hagood and backed by Colonel Gilbert W.M. Williams's 47th Georgia Volunteer Infantry, toward Grimball's pl

Aftermath

Thomas Lamar emerged from the fighting celebrated as "The Hero of Secessionville." Benham, meanwhile, worried about mounting losses among his six battered regiments following three failed assaults, and he chose to characterize the engagement as merely a "reconnaissance in force."

For disobeying orders, Hunter stripped Benham of command, pointing to the directive issued 10 June that barred any attack on Charleston or Fort Johnson, and had him placed under arrest. James Island's abandonment came by Hunter's order on 27 June, and within days, by 7 July, Union troops had cleared out entirely.

Nearly seven months later, on 26 Jan. 1863, Gen. Joseph Holt, serving as Judge Advocate General of the United States Army, concluded that Benham's assault had been warranted and fell outside what the 10 June directive prohibited. Despite this vindication, Benham would never hold another field command.