Beaufort Canon
by Norma Brandsberg
Title
Beaufort Canon
Artist
Norma Brandsberg
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Pictured is a scenic capture of a canon located in downtown Beaufort in the Stephen Elliott Park at the base of the Wood's Memorial Bridge, the most scenic Beaufort bridge in Beaufort.
The tiny park was named after Beaufort’ s own Brigadier General Elliott, 1830-1866, who served in the Confederate States Army. Before the Civil War Elliott served in the South Carolina Legislature and was Captain of the Beaufort Volunteer Artillery. Elliott was wounded in several battles including the battle of the Crater and later near Bentonville. Due to his injuries and the toll the war took on his body he only survived a few months after the war ended.
The canons actually have an interesting background history. Both of the cannons now sitting in the park came off of the British ship Vigilant.
The ship was originally a merchant vessel named Grand Duchess of Russia and served as a transport until she was purchased for use by the British navy and renamed Vigilant in 1777. She served in operations against Philadelphia during the American Revolution and, in 1779, came south to support British campaigns in Georgia and South Carolina.
Vigilant sported 20 guns including 14 24-pounders and was 122’ 6” long and 34’ 10” wide, weighing in at 684 tons with a crew of 180 sailors. She was a warship that lived up to the name Vigilant. She took part in the raid up the Broad River in February of 1779, supported Augustine Prévost’s Raid through the Beaufort District in May of 1779, and served as a guard ship at Beaufort until the British evacuated the town in September 1779 when she escorted the garrison as far as Hilton Head where she was left to guard a British encampment while the majority of the troops continued on to Savannah where they assisted in repulsing the combined French and Patriot attack.
So now you know the history behind these wonderful canons.
Uploaded
January 23rd, 2019
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