Battery White Historical Association

The Battery White Historical Association (BWHA) was incorporated in 2016 as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, with the means and legal entitlement to qualify for historic preservation grants and as a fund-raising platform. Funds from grants and fund-raising donations have been used to protect the beauty and preserve the history of a Civil War earthwork fortification with two original cannons in place, known as Battery White. On the National Register of Historic Places, it overlooks a view of resplendent and undeveloped Winyah Bay near historic Georgetown, South Carolina. In addition, the adjacent historical Tea Garden has been recovered so Belle Isle residents and visitors today can reminisce on its use as a trip highlight for visitors to popular Belle Isle Gardens in the first half of the 20th Century.

Recent BWHA Projects

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Mini-Museum*

Display cases and lighting were installed to create a mini-museum in 2016, displaying artifacts found in Belle Isle Gardens and Battery White. These include metal weapon and military uniform artifacts from the early 1800s, pottery shards from two centuries of European plantation households and up to the first half of the 20th Century, pre-historic artifacts attributed to American Indian inhabitants in this area of Winyah Bay, and a clay pipe stem found by Boy Scouts during an Eagle Scout project in 2016.
* Mini-Museum open to the public only on scheduled Plantation Home Tour dates, once each year.

Split-Rail Fence

Eagle Scout candidate, Bryce Laliberte, from Florence, South Carolina, successfully completed his 2016 Eagle project by planning, funding, and leading the installation of decorative, Civil War period, split-rail fencing on either side of a United Daughters of the Confederacy memorial monument. The fence feature assists in visually delineating Battery White as a historic site, thus helping to preserve topography so that visitors to the site get a sense of what the men serving at Battery White may have seen as they looked out toward Winyah Bay. Read More

Memorial Trail

Eagle Scout candidate Thomas Temple, from Columbia, South Carolina, successfully completed his Eagle project in 2017 through planning, funding and leading the creation of a 15-station walking tour and  installing wooden posts with numbered markers on Battery White. A Memorial Trail Guide provides a map and brief descriptions identifying historical aspects of Battery White along a relaxing walking trail, or recognizing important surrounding landmarks such as the sunken wreck of the U.S.S. Harvest Moon across the bay. Read More
Battery White Memorial Trail Guide

Additional past projects have included:

  • Purchase of a replacement National Register of Historic Places plaque and documentation;

  • Purchase of storage boxes for artifacts not displayed due to space limitations;

  • Installation of additional decorative and accent split-rail fencing to enhance and protect additional areas of Battery White;

  • Purchase of battery-powered grounds maintenance equipment to prevent deterioration from use of heavy equipment on earthen berms;

  • Presentations to numerous community groups throughout South Carolina to bring awareness of the rich history of Battery White and Belle Isle Gardens;

  • Identification plaques for memorial benches surrounding the Tea Garden.

FUTURE PROJECTS -- DONATIONS ARE NEEDED

Recent Articles on Battery White:
Howard, Tommy. "A Trip Back in Time: Cub Scouts Learn About Battery White." news@South Strand News October 6, 2017.