Port Royal Sound
Encyclopedia
Port Royal Sound is a coastal sound
, or inlet
of the Atlantic Ocean
, located in the Sea Islands
region, in Beaufort County
in the U.S. state
of South Carolina
. It is the estuary
of several rivers, the largest of which is the Broad River
.
Port Royal Sound is located between Hilton Head Island
to the south and, to the north, Port Royal Island
, Saint Helena Island
, Parris Island
, and other smaller islands. The Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
facility is located on Parris Island.
Several rivers flow into Port Royal Sound, most notably the Broad River. Other rivers that contribute to Port Royal sound include the Coosawhatchie River
, Colleton River, Chechessee River, and Pocotaligo River, among others.
Many waterways called rivers in the Sea Islands region are more akin to tidal strait
s, connecting bays and estuaries and separating islands. Port Royal Sound is connected to other coastal waterbodies via channels of this type. For example, the Beaufort River separates Port Royal Island and St Helena Island, while connecting Port Royal Sound Saint Helena Sound
via Brickyard Creek and the Coosaw River. Skull Creek and Mackay Creek separate Hilton Head Island from the mainland, while connecting Port Royal Sound to Calibogue Sound. A waterway called Whale Branch separates Port Royal Island from the mainland, while connecting Port Royal Sound and the Broad River to Saint Helena Sound, via the Coosaw River.
The town of Port Royal
and the city of Beaufort
are located on Port Royal Island.
The Intracoastal Waterway
passes through Port Royal Sound.
Port Royal Sound was named in 1562 by Jean Ribault
, who founded a short-lived Huguenot
colony at the bequest of the French admiral Gaspard de Coligny
, called Charlesfort
, on Parris Island. Port Royal Sound is thus the second oldest surviving French place-name in the U.S. In 1566 Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
founded the settlement of Santa Elena in the Port Royal Sound area. It remained an important Spanish colony until about 1587.
In 1663 the Province of Carolina
was founded. While Charles Town
became the colony's center, the Port Royal Sound area was important strategically and economically from the colony's earliest years.
In the early 1684 a group of about 150 Scottish immigrants founded a settlement called Stuarts Town on the shores of Port Royal Sound. After these colonists encouraged the Yamasee
Indians to begin raiding Spanish Florida
the Spanish retaliated and, in 1686, destroyed Stuarts Town.
Port Royal was one of the first British settlements established in the colony of South Carolina. Beaufort, founded around 1710, became the island's main settlement and the island became the core of St. Helena Parish.
The Yamasee Indians were South Carolina's most important native ally between about 1685 and 1715. They were an amalgamated confederated of the remnants of earlier tribes such as the Guale
and Tama. Having been allies and enemies of both the Spanish and the British over time, and having moved widely throughout the southeast, by 1710 the Yamasee had settled in about ten towns in the Port Royal area. The names of some of the towns survive to the present as placenames, including Altamaha, Chechessee, Pocotaligo, and Huspah. Relations with South Carolina deteriorated in the early 18th century until the Yamasee decided to change sides. After the Yamasee War
of 1715 they, and many other Indians of the Port Royal regions, moved south of the Savannah River
, mostly becoming Spanish allies. This left South Carolina's southern frontier exposed, leading to the construction of several forts and the eventual establishment of the new colony of Georgia
.
Fort Frederick was built on Port Royal Island in the 1730s. Today the Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve
contains the remains.
During the American Civil War
the Union naval commander Samuel Francis Du Pont
reduced the forts guarding Port Royal Sound. It remained in Union control for the rest of the war and became a major naval base.
According to the USGS, variant and historical names for Port Royal Sound include Brayne Sound, Winneau River, Weenea River, Portus Regalis, Port Royal River, and Port Royal Entrance.
Sound (geography)
In geography a sound or seaway is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight and wider than a fjord; or it may be defined as a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land ....
, or inlet
Inlet
An inlet is a narrow body of water between islands or leading inland from a larger body of water, often leading to an enclosed body of water, such as a sound, bay, lagoon or marsh. In sea coasts an inlet usually refers to the actual connection between a bay and the ocean and is often called an...
of the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, located in the Sea Islands
Sea Islands
The Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the United States. They number over 100, and are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns Rivers along the coast of the U.S...
region, in Beaufort County
Beaufort County, South Carolina
-National protected areas:*Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge *Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 155,215 people, 45,532 households, and 33,056 families residing in the county. The population density was 206 people per...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. It is the estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
of several rivers, the largest of which is the Broad River
Broad River (South Carolina)
The Broad River is a tidal channel, in Beaufort and Jasper County, South Carolina. The channel flows between mainland on the west and Port Royal and Parris Islands on the east. The Coosawhatchie River flows into the Broad River at the head. It joins Coosaw River channel Northeast and continues...
.
Geography
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Hilton Head Island or Hilton Head is a resort town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is north of Savannah, Georgia, and south of Charleston. The island gets its name from Captain William Hilton...
to the south and, to the north, Port Royal Island
Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...
, Saint Helena Island
Saint Helena Island, South Carolina
St. Helena Island is one of the Sea Islands in Beaufort County, South Carolina that are historic sites of early European colonization of North America. St. Helena is also the center of African-American Gullah culture and language. It is sometimes claimed to be the oldest settlement in the United...
, Parris Island
Parris Island, South Carolina
Parris Island is a former census-designated place , currently a portion of Port Royal in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,841 at the 2000 census. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Parris Island is included within the Beaufort Urban Cluster and the larger...
, and other smaller islands. The Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. MCRD Parris Island is used for the training of enlisted Marines...
facility is located on Parris Island.
Several rivers flow into Port Royal Sound, most notably the Broad River. Other rivers that contribute to Port Royal sound include the Coosawhatchie River
Coosawhatchie River
The Coosawhatchie River is a river in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It rises in Allendale County near the towns of Allendale and Fairfax and accepts drainage from Swallow Savanna, Harters Pond, Little Duck Branch, Duck Branch, Beech Branch , Blood Hill Creek, and Cedar Branch. The channel...
, Colleton River, Chechessee River, and Pocotaligo River, among others.
Many waterways called rivers in the Sea Islands region are more akin to tidal strait
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
s, connecting bays and estuaries and separating islands. Port Royal Sound is connected to other coastal waterbodies via channels of this type. For example, the Beaufort River separates Port Royal Island and St Helena Island, while connecting Port Royal Sound Saint Helena Sound
Saint Helena Sound
Saint Helena Sound is a coastal inlet in Beaufort and Colleton counties, South Carolina. The inlet is located East of Beaufort, between Edisto Island. and Hunting Island. Saint Helena Sound is 7.5 mi/12.1 km wide. The Combahee River empties from the Northwest and the Edisto River and...
via Brickyard Creek and the Coosaw River. Skull Creek and Mackay Creek separate Hilton Head Island from the mainland, while connecting Port Royal Sound to Calibogue Sound. A waterway called Whale Branch separates Port Royal Island from the mainland, while connecting Port Royal Sound and the Broad River to Saint Helena Sound, via the Coosaw River.
The town of Port Royal
Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...
and the city of Beaufort
Beaufort, South Carolina
Beaufort is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston. The city's population was 12,361 in the 2010 census. It is located in the Hilton Head Island-Beaufort Micropolitan...
are located on Port Royal Island.
The Intracoastal Waterway
Intracoastal Waterway
The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are artificial canals...
passes through Port Royal Sound.
History
Spanish explorers sent by Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón in 1521, and de Ayllón himself in 1526, were probably the first Europeans to visit Port Royal Sound, although there is debate over their exact routes.Port Royal Sound was named in 1562 by Jean Ribault
Jean Ribault
Jean Ribault was a French naval officer, navigator, and a colonizer of what would become the southeastern United States. He was a major figure in the French attempts to colonize Florida...
, who founded a short-lived Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
colony at the bequest of the French admiral Gaspard de Coligny
Gaspard de Coligny
Gaspard de Coligny , Seigneur de Châtillon, was a French nobleman and admiral, best remembered as a disciplined Huguenot leader in the French Wars of Religion.-Ancestry:...
, called Charlesfort
Charlesfort-Santa Elena Site
Charlesfort-Santa Elena Site is an archeological site on Parris Island, South Carolina, which is also known as Ribaut Monument, San Marcos, San Felipe, or 38BU51 and 38BU162...
, on Parris Island. Port Royal Sound is thus the second oldest surviving French place-name in the U.S. In 1566 Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés was a Spanish admiral and explorer, best remembered for founding St. Augustine, Florida in 1565. This was the first successful Spanish foothold in La Florida and remained the most significant city in the region for several hundred years. St...
founded the settlement of Santa Elena in the Port Royal Sound area. It remained an important Spanish colony until about 1587.
In 1663 the Province of Carolina
Province of Carolina
The Province of Carolina, originally chartered in 1629, was an English and later British colony of North America. Because the original Heath charter was unrealized and was ruled invalid, a new charter was issued to a group of eight English noblemen, the Lords Proprietors, in 1663...
was founded. While Charles Town
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
became the colony's center, the Port Royal Sound area was important strategically and economically from the colony's earliest years.
In the early 1684 a group of about 150 Scottish immigrants founded a settlement called Stuarts Town on the shores of Port Royal Sound. After these colonists encouraged the Yamasee
Yamasee
The Yamasee were a multiethnic confederation of Native Americans that lived in the coastal region of present-day northern coastal Georgia near the Savannah River and later in northeastern Florida.-History:...
Indians to begin raiding Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida refers to the Spanish territory of Florida, which formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and the Spanish Empire. Originally extending over what is now the southeastern United States, but with no defined boundaries, la Florida was a component of...
the Spanish retaliated and, in 1686, destroyed Stuarts Town.
Port Royal was one of the first British settlements established in the colony of South Carolina. Beaufort, founded around 1710, became the island's main settlement and the island became the core of St. Helena Parish.
The Yamasee Indians were South Carolina's most important native ally between about 1685 and 1715. They were an amalgamated confederated of the remnants of earlier tribes such as the Guale
Guale
Guale was an historic Native American chiefdom along the coast of present-day Georgia and the Sea Islands. Spanish Florida established its Roman Catholic missionary system in the chiefdom in the late 16th century. During the late 17th century and early 18th century, Guale society was shattered...
and Tama. Having been allies and enemies of both the Spanish and the British over time, and having moved widely throughout the southeast, by 1710 the Yamasee had settled in about ten towns in the Port Royal area. The names of some of the towns survive to the present as placenames, including Altamaha, Chechessee, Pocotaligo, and Huspah. Relations with South Carolina deteriorated in the early 18th century until the Yamasee decided to change sides. After the Yamasee War
Yamasee War
The Yamasee War was a conflict between British settlers of colonial South Carolina and various Native American Indian tribes, including the Yamasee, Muscogee, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Catawba, Apalachee, Apalachicola, Yuchi, Savannah River Shawnee, Congaree, Waxhaw, Pee Dee, Cape Fear, Cheraw, and...
of 1715 they, and many other Indians of the Port Royal regions, moved south of the Savannah River
Savannah River
The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the northernmost part of the border...
, mostly becoming Spanish allies. This left South Carolina's southern frontier exposed, leading to the construction of several forts and the eventual establishment of the new colony of Georgia
Province of Georgia
The Province of Georgia was one of the Southern colonies in British America. It was the last of the thirteen original colonies established by Great Britain in what later became the United States...
.
Fort Frederick was built on Port Royal Island in the 1730s. Today the Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve
Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve
Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve is a property located in Port Royal, South Carolina. Situated along the Beaufort River, the Preserve contains the remains of Fort Frederick. Also known as "Fort Prince Frederick", the tabby fort was built by the British between 1730 and 1734 to defend against a...
contains the remains.
During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
the Union naval commander Samuel Francis Du Pont
Samuel Francis du Pont
Samuel Francis Du Pont was an American naval officer who achieved the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, and a member of the prominent Du Pont family; he was the only member of his generation to use a capital D...
reduced the forts guarding Port Royal Sound. It remained in Union control for the rest of the war and became a major naval base.
According to the USGS, variant and historical names for Port Royal Sound include Brayne Sound, Winneau River, Weenea River, Portus Regalis, Port Royal River, and Port Royal Entrance.
See also
- Scottish colonization of the Americas#Stuarts Town, Carolina - 1684
- Waterways forming and crossings of the Atlantic Intracoastal WaterwayWaterways forming and crossings of the Atlantic Intracoastal WaterwayThis is a list of waterways that form the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and crossings across it.-Florida:* Florida Bay* Baker Cut * Buttonwood Sound* Grouper Creek* Tarpon Basin* Dusenberg Creek* Blackwater Sound...