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Faq


When is the Museum open?

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How much is admission to the Museum?

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Can anyone bypass the Admissions line?

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Do I have to pay the full price for admission?

Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.

Is there a time when admission reduced?

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When is the Museum Shop open?

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Map


The Story of Mitchelville

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The Story of Mitchelville

April 1862
Formerly Enslaved Sea Islanders: Freed?

General Hunter issued a military order freeing blacks in the Sea Islands but it was rescinded by Lincoln shortly thereafter: President Lincoln developed his own plan of emancipation – the Emancipation Proclamation – officially making the “contraband of war slaves” freedmen on January 1, 1863. Charlotte Forten, the first Black missionary teacher in Port Royal, was present in Hilton Head on that day and gave an account of this historic day in an article for…
Read More

February 1862
All Black Regiment

Union Army General David Hunter, with vague orders from the US Army, began enlisting the formerly enslaved refugees in the Union Army with the help of Abraham Murchinson, an escaped formerly enslaved preacher from Savannah. Highly influential among the formerly enslaved, Murchinson recruited soldiers and the regiment eventually swelled to over 1,000 soldiers. The regiment was eventually disbanded, as the US Army did not fully support this enlistment effort and refused to pay the colored…
Read More

December 1861
Port Royal Experiment
Port Royal Experiment

US Secty of Treasury Salmon P. Chase sent an agent, Edward Pierce (who supervised the work of contrabands in Virginia), to collect the harvested cotton, in addition to report on the status and conditions of the formerly enslaved residents. During his two-week tour, Pierce checked on the conditions and abilities of the formerly enslaved, reporting back that they should have wages, better food, and education; he also reported that the formerly enslaved were in danger…
Read More

November 1861
Aftermath of Battle of Port Royal: The Formerly Enslaved Seek Refuge
Aftermath of Battle of Port Royal: The Formerly Enslaved Seek Refuge

In the aftermath of the Battle of Port Royal on Hilton Head Island, wealthy white residents and plantation owners fled inland and took as many slaves as they could with them, leaving behind over 10,000 slaves. Samuel DuPont, Captain in the US Navy, reported “you can form no idea of the terror […] Beaufort is deserted and the [white residents and plantation owners] flew in panic, leaving public and private property, letters, portfolios, all their…
Read More

April 1861
Setting the Scene: The Civil War Begins
Setting the Scene: The Civil War Begins

On April 12, 1861, the Civil War commenced with the Confederate Army attack on the Union Army’s Fort Sumter, off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. In July 1861, the enslaved residents were sent to build two earthwork forts to guard the Sea Islands/Port Royal Sound. This included building steep earth banks, cutting palmetto logs, and constructing gun emplacements. As they completed this work, the enslaved residents anticipated the end of slavery and a hope…
Read More

1860
Setting the Scene: Succession
Setting the Scene: Succession

The rapid expansion of the cotton industry following the invention of the cotton gin greatly increased the demand for slave labor, with the population of enslaved persons peaking at 4+ million. Pro-slavery activists attempted to extend slavery territories into the West but were met with significant resistance with the presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, who ran on a platform of halting the expansion of slavery. As a result, seven southern states, including South Carolina, broke…
Read More

1860
Setting the Scene: Profile of the Enslaved Residents
Setting the Scene: Profile of the Enslaved Residents

Enslaved people living on the Sea Islands arrived mainly from West Africa, including Cameroon, Angola, and Sierra Leone. Due to the isolated nature of the Sea Islands, they were able to retain many of their traditions from home, as many were only one or two generations removed from Africa. It is reported that Hilton Head, at times, resembled a West African homeland and resulted in the emergence of Gullah culture (the combination of numerous West…
Read More

1860
Setting the Scene: Hilton Head Island
Setting the Scene: Hilton Head Island

On Hilton Head Island alone, there were more than 20 working plantations and 200+ in surrounding areas. Cotton and rice were highly valuable crops grown in the Sea Islands, making Hilton Head Island one of the richest districts in the state. Due to the land’s low elevation, the threat of malaria, and hot summers, the wealthy landowners spent little time on the Island, opting to relocate to their beautiful townhouses in less tropical environments on…
Read More

The Story of Mitchelville

April 1862
Formerly Enslaved Sea Islanders: Freed?

General Hunter issued a military order freeing blacks in the Sea Islands but it was rescinded by Lincoln shortly thereafter: President Lincoln developed his own plan of emancipation – the Emancipation Proclamation – officially making the “contraband of war slaves” freedmen on January 1, 1863. Charlotte Forten, the first Black missionary teacher in Port Royal, was present in Hilton Head on that day and gave an account of this historic day in an article for…
Read More

February 1862
All Black Regiment

Union Army General David Hunter, with vague orders from the US Army, began enlisting the formerly enslaved refugees in the Union Army with the help of Abraham Murchinson, an escaped formerly enslaved preacher from Savannah. Highly influential among the formerly enslaved, Murchinson recruited soldiers and the regiment eventually swelled to over 1,000 soldiers. The regiment was eventually disbanded, as the US Army did not fully support this enlistment effort and refused to pay the colored…
Read More

December 1861
Port Royal Experiment
Port Royal Experiment

US Secty of Treasury Salmon P. Chase sent an agent, Edward Pierce (who supervised the work of contrabands in Virginia), to collect the harvested cotton, in addition to report on the status and conditions of the formerly enslaved residents. During his two-week tour, Pierce checked on the conditions and abilities of the formerly enslaved, reporting back that they should have wages, better food, and education; he also reported that the formerly enslaved were in danger…
Read More

November 1861
Aftermath of Battle of Port Royal: The Formerly Enslaved Seek Refuge
Aftermath of Battle of Port Royal: The Formerly Enslaved Seek Refuge

In the aftermath of the Battle of Port Royal on Hilton Head Island, wealthy white residents and plantation owners fled inland and took as many slaves as they could with them, leaving behind over 10,000 slaves. Samuel DuPont, Captain in the US Navy, reported “you can form no idea of the terror […] Beaufort is deserted and the [white residents and plantation owners] flew in panic, leaving public and private property, letters, portfolios, all their…
Read More

April 1861
Setting the Scene: The Civil War Begins
Setting the Scene: The Civil War Begins

On April 12, 1861, the Civil War commenced with the Confederate Army attack on the Union Army’s Fort Sumter, off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. In July 1861, the enslaved residents were sent to build two earthwork forts to guard the Sea Islands/Port Royal Sound. This included building steep earth banks, cutting palmetto logs, and constructing gun emplacements. As they completed this work, the enslaved residents anticipated the end of slavery and a hope…
Read More

1860
Setting the Scene: Succession
Setting the Scene: Succession

The rapid expansion of the cotton industry following the invention of the cotton gin greatly increased the demand for slave labor, with the population of enslaved persons peaking at 4+ million. Pro-slavery activists attempted to extend slavery territories into the West but were met with significant resistance with the presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, who ran on a platform of halting the expansion of slavery. As a result, seven southern states, including South Carolina, broke…
Read More

1860
Setting the Scene: Profile of the Enslaved Residents
Setting the Scene: Profile of the Enslaved Residents

Enslaved people living on the Sea Islands arrived mainly from West Africa, including Cameroon, Angola, and Sierra Leone. Due to the isolated nature of the Sea Islands, they were able to retain many of their traditions from home, as many were only one or two generations removed from Africa. It is reported that Hilton Head, at times, resembled a West African homeland and resulted in the emergence of Gullah culture (the combination of numerous West…
Read More

1860
Setting the Scene: Hilton Head Island
Setting the Scene: Hilton Head Island

On Hilton Head Island alone, there were more than 20 working plantations and 200+ in surrounding areas. Cotton and rice were highly valuable crops grown in the Sea Islands, making Hilton Head Island one of the richest districts in the state. Due to the land’s low elevation, the threat of malaria, and hot summers, the wealthy landowners spent little time on the Island, opting to relocate to their beautiful townhouses in less tropical environments on…
Read More

The Story of Mitchelville

April 1862
Formerly Enslaved Sea Islanders: Freed?

General Hunter issued a military order freeing blacks in the Sea Islands but it was rescinded by Lincoln shortly thereafter: President Lincoln developed his own plan of emancipation – the Emancipation Proclamation – officially making the “contraband of war slaves” freedmen on January 1, 1863. Charlotte Forten, the first Black missionary teacher in Port Royal, was present in Hilton Head on that day and gave an account of this historic day in an article for…
Read More

February 1862
All Black Regiment

Union Army General David Hunter, with vague orders from the US Army, began enlisting the formerly enslaved refugees in the Union Army with the help of Abraham Murchinson, an escaped formerly enslaved preacher from Savannah. Highly influential among the formerly enslaved, Murchinson recruited soldiers and the regiment eventually swelled to over 1,000 soldiers. The regiment was eventually disbanded, as the US Army did not fully support this enlistment effort and refused to pay the colored…
Read More

December 1861
Port Royal Experiment
Port Royal Experiment

US Secty of Treasury Salmon P. Chase sent an agent, Edward Pierce (who supervised the work of contrabands in Virginia), to collect the harvested cotton, in addition to report on the status and conditions of the formerly enslaved residents. During his two-week tour, Pierce checked on the conditions and abilities of the formerly enslaved, reporting back that they should have wages, better food, and education; he also reported that the formerly enslaved were in danger…
Read More

November 1861
Aftermath of Battle of Port Royal: The Formerly Enslaved Seek Refuge
Aftermath of Battle of Port Royal: The Formerly Enslaved Seek Refuge

In the aftermath of the Battle of Port Royal on Hilton Head Island, wealthy white residents and plantation owners fled inland and took as many slaves as they could with them, leaving behind over 10,000 slaves. Samuel DuPont, Captain in the US Navy, reported “you can form no idea of the terror […] Beaufort is deserted and the [white residents and plantation owners] flew in panic, leaving public and private property, letters, portfolios, all their…
Read More

April 1861
Setting the Scene: The Civil War Begins
Setting the Scene: The Civil War Begins

On April 12, 1861, the Civil War commenced with the Confederate Army attack on the Union Army’s Fort Sumter, off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. In July 1861, the enslaved residents were sent to build two earthwork forts to guard the Sea Islands/Port Royal Sound. This included building steep earth banks, cutting palmetto logs, and constructing gun emplacements. As they completed this work, the enslaved residents anticipated the end of slavery and a hope…
Read More

1860
Setting the Scene: Succession
Setting the Scene: Succession

The rapid expansion of the cotton industry following the invention of the cotton gin greatly increased the demand for slave labor, with the population of enslaved persons peaking at 4+ million. Pro-slavery activists attempted to extend slavery territories into the West but were met with significant resistance with the presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, who ran on a platform of halting the expansion of slavery. As a result, seven southern states, including South Carolina, broke…
Read More

1860
Setting the Scene: Profile of the Enslaved Residents
Setting the Scene: Profile of the Enslaved Residents

Enslaved people living on the Sea Islands arrived mainly from West Africa, including Cameroon, Angola, and Sierra Leone. Due to the isolated nature of the Sea Islands, they were able to retain many of their traditions from home, as many were only one or two generations removed from Africa. It is reported that Hilton Head, at times, resembled a West African homeland and resulted in the emergence of Gullah culture (the combination of numerous West…
Read More

1860
Setting the Scene: Hilton Head Island
Setting the Scene: Hilton Head Island

On Hilton Head Island alone, there were more than 20 working plantations and 200+ in surrounding areas. Cotton and rice were highly valuable crops grown in the Sea Islands, making Hilton Head Island one of the richest districts in the state. Due to the land’s low elevation, the threat of malaria, and hot summers, the wealthy landowners spent little time on the Island, opting to relocate to their beautiful townhouses in less tropical environments on…
Read More