In 1696, 51 new settlers arrived. Each family was allotted several hundred acres in the area that became known as Christ Church parish. In 1706 the Province of Carolina withstood several attacks by the Spanish and the French and were victorious in defeating French invaders in an area known as “Abcaw”.
The area of “Abcaw” was Hobcaw Plantation, located between Shem Creek and the Wando River. Later, it was also known as shipyard Plantation because its deep water and abundance of good timber made it ideal for a prosperous shipbuilding enterprise. Lands adjacent to Hobcaw Point were owned at different times by several different families, many of which maintained ferries which served Mount Pleasant.
In
1860 a public meeting was held in Mount
Pleasant that produced the first secession
resolution of the state. The secession
convention met in Charleston 1860. With the
advent of the Civil War, Battery Gary and an
adjacent floating battery between Mount
Pleasant and Sullivan’s Island were
instrumental in defense of the town, as well
as attacks on Fort Sumter. The town was also
defended by a line of fortifications from
Elliot’s Creek at Boone Hall to Copahee
Sound. Mount Pleasant was also the secret
training ground for the nine-man crew of the
Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley.
It was from Breach Inlet in 1864 that this
small vessel was launched to attack and sink
the USS Housatonic.
Today-
