Star Fort - Ninety Six National Historic Site

Sometime after the battle of November 1775, the patriots left and by 1781 the loyalists occupied the town of Ninety Six. The British and loyalists, using mostly slave labor, constructed the earthen star-shaped fort to protect the town and important crossroad of the frontier. The earthen walls were 14 feet high and 10 to 15 feet thick. Arriving on May 22, 1781, General Nathanael Greene led 1000 patriots in an effort to take the fort and town from 550 loyalists. Colonel Tadeusz Kościuszko directed sappers to dig a series of three siege trenches that led ever closer to the Star Fort. He had his troops construct a 30 foot high rifle tower and put it in place overnight on June 13. When the loyalists realized the patriots could fire down into the fort, they hastily raised the wall several feet by placing sandbags along the top. Kościuszko then attempted to dig a tunnel, known as a mine in those days, under the wall and pack it with gun powder in order to breach the fort. While closed to visitors due to safety and preservation issues, the tunnel still exists over 230 years later. When news of a British relief column of 2000 troops from Charleston reached General Greene, he realized he didn't have time to complete the tunnel or starve the population into surrender. On June 18, 1781, Greene authorized attacks on the Star Fort and on the Stockade Fort that guarded the water supply for the besieged loyalists. Colonel Henry Lee quickly took the Stockade, but the 50 patriots attacking the Star Fort faced a much different fate. Known as the Forlorn Hope, 30 were killed in the dry ditch surrounding the fort as loyalists swarmed out of the fort to counter-attack. After about an hour, Greene called off the attack and withdrew from the field. The unsuccessful siege lasted 28 days and was the longest of the Revolutionary War.

The one-mile walking tour of Ninety Six National Historic Site begins between the visitor center and the administration building. Heading east, it crosses Spring Branch and the historic route of Island Ford Road before arriving at an observation platform at the northern edge of the 1781 battlefield. The trail then proceeds southward along the siege trenches, partially reconstructed rifle tower and mine (tunnel) to the Star Fort.

The trail heads through the woods...

...and crosses Spring Branch on a sturdy bridge

One of several trail-side benches

Spring Branch

The trail then climbs up toward the battlefield...

...before crossing Island Ford Road

View of the siege lines, rifle tower and Star Fort from the observation tower

A wayside exhibit displays recreated engineered defenses

Remains of the zig-zag trench leading to the second siege line

The reconstructed rifle tower is only 10 feet high compared to the original 30 foot high structure

Grasshopper type cannon used in bombarding the fort

Another bench provides a location for quiet reflection

Remains of the Star Fort

While the fort walls have eroded and the surrounding ditch has filled in, the outlines are still visible

Entrance to the Star Fort

The rifle tower from inside the fort

Site of a dry well dug to in a futile effort to provide a secure source of water

Looking south from the well through the fort entrance toward town

More of the ditches around the fort walls

The red markers note the location of the communication trench between the fort and town

There is no fee to enter Ninety Six National Historic Site.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/nisi/index.htm.