(2007) Enlarge  Fort Howell
 
An excellent example of the defensive earthworks common to the civil War era, Fort Howell was constructed by Union Forces occupying Hilton Head Island and was one of the final fortifications to be built during the war
 
The men of the 32nd U.S. Colored Infantry Volunteers labored to complete the fort in the fall of 1864. Its purpose to protect Mitchelville, a freedman's town of newly emancipated slaves, which lay just down the road from this spot
 
Fort Howell was deeded to the Hilton Head Island Land Trust in 1993 to insure its public preservation as an historic site for current and future generations to enjoy

(2007) Enlarge  Layout of the fort

(2007) Enlarge  The fort's "Traverse," or " Bomb-Proof," a 50 foot long earthwork which protected troops inside from enemy assaults on the forts entrance
 
Pentagonal in shape, the earthworks measured approximately 525' by 400' and reached a height of 23'. Four 5' x 8' magazines, which were protected by earth mounds, housed powder and shot for up to 27 guns

(2007) Enlarge  North Bastion interpretive marker

(2007) Enlarge  North Bastion

(2007) Enlarge  The exterior of the fort featured a moat and wooden palisades - sharpened logs driven into the ground to slow advancing troops. The area directly adjacent to the fort walls was further protected by guns mounted in " bastions," an example of which at the end of this path