Port Royal Sound is a coastal

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...

, or

inlet An inlet is a (usually long and narrow) indentation of a shoreline, such as a small arm, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In marine ...

of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, located in the

Sea Islands The Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Southeastern United States. Numbering over 100, they are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns Rivers along the coast of South Caroli ...

region, in Beaufort County in the U.S. state of

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. It is the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

of several rivers, the largest of which is the Broad River.

Geography

Port Royal Sound is located between

Hilton Head Island Hilton Head Island, sometimes referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and southwest of Charleston. The island is ...

to the south and, to the north, Port Royal Island, Saint Helena Island, Parris Island, and other smaller islands. The

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (often abbreviated as MCRD PI) is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. ...

facility is located on Parris Island. Several rivers flow into Port Royal Sound, most notably the Broad River. Other rivers that contribute to Port Royal sound include the

Coosawhatchie River The Coosawhatchie River (koos-uh-HATCH-ee) is a river in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It rises in Allendale County Allendale County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,039, making ...

, Colleton River, Chechessee River, and Pocotaligo River, among others. Many waterways called rivers in the Sea Islands region are more akin to tidal

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean chan ...

s, connecting bays and estuaries and separating islands. Port Royal Sound is connected to other coastal waterbodies via channels of this type. For example, the Beaufort River separates Port Royal Island and St Helena Island, while connecting Port Royal Sound Saint Helena Sound via Brickyard Creek and the Coosaw River. Skull Creek and Mackay Creek separate Hilton Head Island from the mainland, while connecting Port Royal Sound to Calibogue Sound. A waterway called Whale Branch separates Port Royal Island from the mainland, while connecting Port Royal Sound and the Broad River to Saint Helena Sound, via the Coosaw River. The town of

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and ...

and the city of

Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions * ...

are located on Port Royal Island. The

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following t ...

passes through Port Royal Sound.

History

Spanish explorers sent by

Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón (c. 1480 – 18 October 1526) was a Spanish magistrate and explorer who in 1526 established the short-lived San Miguel de Gualdape colony, one of the first European attempts at a settlement in what is now the United State ...

in 1521, and de Ayllón himself in 1526, were probably the first Europeans to visit Port Royal Sound, although there is debate over their exact routes. Port Royal Sound was named in 1562 by

Jean Ribault Jean Ribault (also spelled ''Ribaut'') (1520 – October 12, 1565) was a French naval officer, navigator, and a colonizer of what would become the southeastern United States. He was a major figure in the French attempts to colonize Florida. A ...

, who founded a short-lived

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

colony at the bequest of the French admiral Gaspard de Coligny, called Charlesfort, on Parris Island.Port Royal Sound
, The Columbia Gazetteer of North America. Port Royal Sound is thus the second oldest surviving French place-name in the U.S. In 1566

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (; ast, Pedro (Menéndez) d'Avilés; 15 February 1519 – 17 September 1574) was a Spanish admiral, explorer and conquistador from Avilés, in Asturias, Spain. He is notable for planning the first regular trans-ocean ...

founded the settlement of Santa Elena in the Port Royal Sound area. It remained an important Spanish colony until about 1587. In 1663 the

Province of Carolina Province of Carolina was a province of England (1663–1707) and Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until partitioned into North and South on January 24, 1712. It is part of present-day Alabam ...

was founded. While Charles Town became the colony's center, the Port Royal Sound area was important strategically and economically from the colony's earliest years. In the early 1684 a group of about 150 Scottish immigrants founded a settlement called ''Stuarts Town'' on the shores of Port Royal Sound. After these colonists encouraged the

Yamasee The Yamasees (also spelled Yamassees or Yemassees) were a multiethnic confederation of Native Americans who lived in the coastal region of present-day northern coastal Georgia near the Savannah River and later in northeastern Florida. The Yamas ...

Indians to begin raiding

Spanish Florida Spanish Florida ( es, La Florida) was the first major European land claim and attempted settlement in North America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, ...

the Spanish retaliated and, in 1686, destroyed Stuarts Town. Port Royal was one of the first British settlements established in the colony of South Carolina. Beaufort, founded around 1710, became the island's main settlement and the island became the core of St. Helena Parish. The Yamasee Indians were South Carolina's most important native ally between about 1685 and 1715. They were an amalgamated confederation of the remnants of earlier tribes such as the

Guale Guale was a historic Native American chiefdom of Mississippian culture peoples located along the coast of present-day Georgia and the Sea Islands. Spanish Florida established its Roman Catholic missionary system in the chiefdom in the late 1 ...

and Tama. Having been allies and enemies of both the Spanish and the British over time, and having moved widely throughout the southeast, by 1710 the Yamasee had settled in about ten towns in the Port Royal area. The names of some of the towns survive to the present as placenames, including Altamaha, Chechessee, Pocotaligo, and Huspah. Relations with South Carolina deteriorated in the early 18th century until the Yamasee decided to change sides. After the

Yamasee War The Yamasee War (also spelled Yamassee or Yemassee) was a conflict fought in South Carolina from 1715 to 1717 between British settlers from the Province of Carolina and the Yamasee and a number of other allied Native American peoples, incl ...

of 1715 they, and many other Indians of the Port Royal regions, moved south of the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the nor ...

, mostly becoming Spanish allies. This left South Carolina's southern frontier exposed, leading to the construction of several forts and the eventual establishment of the new colony of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Fort Frederick was built on Port Royal Island in the 1730s. Today the

Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve is a property located in Port Royal, South Carolina. Situated along the Beaufort River, the preserve contains the remains of Fort Frederick. Also known as Fort Prince Frederick, the tabby fort was built by the ...

contains the remains. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

the Union naval commander Samuel Francis Du Pont reduced the forts guarding Port Royal Sound. It remained in Union control for the rest of the war and became a major naval base. Fort Fremont was an Endicott Program coast defense fort on St. Helena Island from 1899-1921. According to the

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

, variant and historical names for Port Royal Sound include Brayne Sound, Winneau River, Weenea River, Portus Regalis, Port Royal River, and Port Royal Entrance.

References

{{Coord, 32, 15, 43, N, 80, 40, 41, W, display=title Bays of South Carolina Estuaries of South Carolina Bodies of water of Beaufort County, South Carolina Sounds of the United States Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Geography

History

See also

References