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The remains of Fort Walker are a reminder of Hilton Head Island's role during the American Civil War. Built at the entrance to Port Royal Sound in 1861, Fort Walker was designed to protect the South Carolina coast in the event of a Union attack. On November 7, 1861, Fort Walker and another Confederate fortress, the nearby Fort Beauregard, fell into Union hands during the Battle of Port Royal. With 13,000 Union troops under the command of Gen. Thomas W. Sherman storming the area, the Battle of Port Royal proved to be America's largest amphibious assault until the D-Day landing on the beaches of Normandy more than 80 years later. After Union soldiers assumed control of Hilton Head Island, Fort Walker was renamed Fort Welles. The area around the former Fort Walker grew into a town, complete with a bakery, hotel, church, blacksmith's shop and theater. U.S. troops retained control of Fort Walker and Hilton Head Island for the duration of the Civil War.

Today, the earthwork ruins of Fort Walker lie inside the gates of the Port Royal Plantation, located at the northern end of Hilton Head Island. Two historical markers on Fort Walker Drive commemorate Fort Walker and the Battle of Port Royal. The remains of two other earthwork fortifications dating from the Civil War — Fort Howell and Fort Mitchel — are also located in Hilton Head Island's northern section.

Fort Walker Contact Information
Access to Fort Walker is limited. Visitors wishing to tour Fort Walker should contact the Coastal Discovery Museum.
P.O. Box 23497
100 William Hilton Parkway
Hilton Head Island, SC 29925
(843) 689-6767
info@coastaldiscovery.org