Fort Pringle
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
Fort Pringle Interior
Captain Robert Pringle
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Located along the banks of the historic Stono River, Fort Pringle, also called "Battery Pringle," is a Confederate artillery battery emplacement on James Island in the City of Charleston, South Carolina.
The fort was constructed in 1863 under the direction of General P.G.T. Beauregard as part of the James Island Siege Line. General Beauregard strategically placed the fort at the western end of the Siege Line in order to prevent Union naval access to the Stono River and assist in the defense of James Island from Union ground attack.
The
fort is the namesake of Confederate Captain Robert Pringle of Company B, Lucas
Battalion, 15th South Carolina Heavy Artillery. Captain Pringle was killed in
action during Union bombardment of Battery Wagner, an artillery emplacement on
Morris Island, just a short distance away from the location of Fort Pringle.
Prior to the war, Captain Pringle was a wealthy plantation and slave owner.
The
fort is believed to have been on the receiving end of some of the heaviest Union
naval bombardments delivered at Charleston Harbor. By the end of the Civil War,
Fort Pringle was home to nine large cannon.
Fort
Pringle is a primarily earthen fortification measuring 360 ft. x 160 ft. x 400
ft. x 520 ft. It has a parapet wall with a height ranging from 7 1/2 ft. to 12
1/2 ft. The fort's 12 1/2 ft. powder magazine is still located on-site.