Battery Gadsden is a historic

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to f ...

located at Sullivan's Island,

Charleston County, South Carolina Charleston County is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina along the Atlantic coast. As of the 2020 census, the population was 408,235, making it the third-most populous county in South Carolina (behind Greenville and Richland counti ...

. It was built in 1903–1904, and is one of a series of batteries stretching from

Fort Moultrie Fort Moultrie is a series of fortifications on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina. The first fort, formerly named Fort Sullivan, built of Cabbage Pal ...

to the eastern end of Sullivan's Island. It was named after

Christopher Gadsden Christopher Gadsden (February 16, 1724 – August 28, 1805) was an American politician who was the principal leader of the South Carolina Patriot movement during the American Revolution. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress, a brigadie ...

. Until decommissioned in 1917, the concrete battery housed four, six inch guns. It measures approximately 377 feet long and 84 feet wide, with the front or ocean side of the battery at approximately 7 feet high. Battery Gadsden and its neighbor Battery Thomson provided fortification at the mouth of

Charleston Harbor The Charleston Harbor is an inlet (8 sq mi/20.7 km2) of the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston, South Carolina. The inlet is formed by the junction of Ashley River (South Carolina), Ashley and Cooper River (South Carolina), Cooper rivers at . Morr ...

. The battery now houses the Edgar Allan Poe Branch of the Charleston County Public Library. It was built at the same time as

Battery Jasper Battery or batterie most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Battery indicator, a device which ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1974.

References

External links

Edgar Allan Poe / Sullivan's Island branch page
Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Military installations established in 1904 Buildings and structures in Charleston County, South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Charleston County, South Carolina {{CharlestonCountySC-NRHP-stub