Parapet and Magazine

Battery Wilkes was constructed in 1862 to protect the crossing of the road and the Charleston-Savannah railroad at Long Branch Creek. As a part of the western exterior defense line, there were originally two additional positions bearing the same name, one on the south side of the road and another bearing on the Stono River. Battery Wilkes, named after the owner of the site where it was constructed, was still armed at the close of the war. The battery is important as one of two St. Andrew’s Parish batteries which remain largely unaltered and represent the best examples of the exterior defense line defending the western approach to Charleston. This small earthwork has a parapet of approximately ten feet with two gun platforms and a powder magazine about fifteen feet in height. Although originally an enclosed battery, Battery Wilkes is now in a residential yard and has undergone some alteration. A driveway now runs between the parapet and the magazine, and a low brick retaining wall spans the front face of the parapet. Listed in the National Register October 21, 1982.

View the complete text of the nomination form for this National Register property. In addition, the Historic Resources of Civil War Defenses of Charleston, 1861-1865 includes historical background information for this and other related National Register properties.

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