Camp Saxton: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Reconstruction Era National Historic Park

IR 2 Cultural Landscapes Program

This Cultural Landscapes Inventory report documents Camp Saxton, one of four other Reconstruction Era National Historic Park sites in Beaufort County, South Carolina. The site was added to the park to preserve and interpret “the resources and complex national stories of Reconstruction—African Americans’ quest for freedom, the challenges resulting from the abolition of slavery, and the struggles to redefine the nation during and after the Civil War.” Camp Saxton was at the center of the country’s first programs designed to redefine African American life in the United States (U.S.)—the Port Royal Experiment. As such, in early 1862, the site transformed from a working plantation to a safe harbor for self-emancipated African Americans. Soon thereafter, the site served as the camp for the first regiment of African American federal troops in U.S. history. SIGNIFICANCE SUMMARY Camp Saxton derives its primary significance as the camp of the first African American regiment in the U.S. military (1862-1863) and its role in the events of the Port Royal Experiment (1862-1865). The establishment of the first African American regiment was a watershed moment in the abolitionist movement in the United States, and one that led directly to the Emancipation Proclamation, which was first publicly issued in the live oak grove at Camp Saxton on January 1, 1863. The Camp Saxton Site was entered into the National Register in 1995 (NR 94001581). The corresponding nomination form noted that the site was significant under Criterion A, with an area of significance of “Ethnic Heritage/Black.” Despite detailing the military history of the site in its narrative statement, the nomination did not apply any other area of significance to the site, such as the military, education, and labor activities of the Port Royal Experiment. The nomination assigned a national level of significance for the Camp Saxton Site. The site is listed as being approximately six acres in size. The historic site also contains the ruins of Fort Frederick, a British fortification built between 1732 and 1734 to defend against attacks from both the Spanish and local Native Americans. The attacks never came, however, and the fort’s usefulness pertained more to its function as a storehouse for bulk dry goods. Constructed of tabby, the fort itself differed from the earthen forts more common in the colony. The fort is listed separately in the National Register. The 1974 National Register nomination form for Fort Frederick noted that the site/structure possessed the following areas of significance: aboriginal (historic), architecture, education, military, and political. The nomination did not assign criteria categories (A, B, C, or D). It can be understood, however, in reflection of the stated areas of significance, that the Fort Frederick site is significant under Criterion A, C, and D for the established areas of significance.

Camp Saxton: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Reconstruction Era National Historic Park

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