Naval Hospital offers tours of Fort Frederick, historic sites

If you are looking for local fieldtrip locations add Fort Frederick and Camp Saxton to your list. 

The Camp Saxton Site is nationally significant as an intact portion of the camp occupied from early November 1862 to late January 1863 by the 1st South Carolina Volunteers, the first black regiment mustered into regular service in the United States Army during the Civil War, and as the site of the elaborate ceremonies held here on New Year’s Day 1863 which formally announced and celebrated the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves in areas then “in rebellion” against the United States. Throughout the summer of 1862 President Lincoln carefully considered the inclusion of blacks in the Union war effort, both in terms of the effect their emancipation could have on the Confederacy and in terms of the work they could perform as laborers and even soldiers in the U.S. Army. By August he was ready to implement a policy permitting his generals to use all the means at their disposal, including readily available black manpower, to help preserve the Union. On August 22nd Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton authorized Rufus Saxton to “arm, equip, and receive into the service of the United States such volunteers of African descent as you may deem expedient, not exceeding 5,000.” The Camp Saxton Site is an approximately six-acre wooded and greenspaced site, bounded on the east by the Beaufort River, on the west by the complex at the United States Naval Hospital Beaufort, on the north by the boat basin off the Beaufort River and on the south by the ruins of Fort Frederick. Listed in the National Register February 2, 1995.

Below is an article that recently appeared in the Beaufort Gazette written by Patrick Donohue.

Officials at Naval Hospital Beaufort are hoping area residents take advantage of recently-implemented monthly tours of Fort Frederick and other historic sites behind its gates.

Since April, sailors and other staff at the hospital have led guided tours of the base's historic sites, including the ruins of Fort Frederick, a 276-year-old British fort built on the Beaufort River to protect the area from attacks by Indians and by Spaniards from St. Augustine, Fla.

The free tours are conducted on the third Saturday of every month, and can be coordinated through the hospital's public affairs office. Visits to the fort can also be arranged through the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, according to its website.

Capt. Joan Queen, the hospital's commanding officer, said the hospital is trying to accommodate recent requests from town of Port Royal officials to allow more public access to Fort Frederick and other sites behind the hospital's gates.
Access to the sites has been limited since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks led to increased security at the hospital.
"Those sites are important pieces of our community's history and our nation's history, and we want to make sure that the public has as much access to those places as possible," Queen said. "We really appreciate all of the support we receive from the community, and this was one of the ways that we can return that support."

The three-acre Fort Frederick site is part of the 127 acres of riverfront land the Navy bought in 1945 to build Naval Hospital Beaufort. The fort site was donated to the state as part of the National Park Service's Federal-Lands-to-Parks Program in 1997.

All that remains of Fort Frederick today are 3-foot-high walls of tabby -- a building material made of lime, sand and oyster shells that predates concrete -- marking the southwest bastion. The northeast bastion is submerged 100 feet into the Beaufort River and is visible at low tide, according to DNR.
Queen said she hopes the tours are the beginning of more access to the hospital's historic sites.
"We're working with DNR and the town of Port Royal to look at other ways the public can gain access," she said.

If you go:
Naval Hospital Beaufort is offering the tour at 10 a.m. on the third Saturday of each month. Those wanting to take it must sign up at least 24 hours in advance.

Groups of 10 or more can schedule a tour separately, but the hospital needs at least a week's notice, and approval is dependent on availability of a guide to escort the group.

To schedule a visit, call Naval Hospital Beaufort's Public Affairs Office at 843-228-5306.

By PATRICK DONOHUE pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com 843-706-8152

The Beaufort District Collection of the Beaufort County Library offers a great deal of information about the history of Fort Frederick along with photographs.