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 fac ...

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, its population was 408,235, making it the third most populous county in South Carolina (behind Greenville and Richland counties). ...

. 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. The first fort, formerly named Fort Sullivan, built of palmetto logs, inspired the flag and n ...

to the eastern end of Sullivan's Island. It was named after Christopher Gadsden. 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 Battery Thomson is a historic artillery battery located at Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, Sullivan's Island, Charleston County, South Carolina. It was built in 1906–1909, and is one of a series of batteries stretching from Fort Moultrie to th ...

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 and Cooper rivers at . Morris and Sullivan's Islands shelter the entrance. Charleston ...

. 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. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

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