The Hilton Head Steam Gun
The ruins of an Army dynamite gun from 1901, on the beach at Port Royal Plantation, reached by residents, guests, a museum tour or a low-tide walk.
- Finished: 1901
- Weapon: pneumatic dynamite gun, 100-pound shell
- Taken apart: 1902
- Visit: inside the Port Royal Plantation gate, or on a museum tour
The Steam Gun is the concrete base of a coastal defense gun at the northeast tip of Hilton Head Island, at the end of Fort Walker Drive in Port Royal Plantation. It is younger than the Civil War forts around it. After the Spanish-American War scare, the Army guarded Port Royal Sound with a Zalinski pneumatic dynamite gun, finished in 1901: a 50-foot barrel, 15 inches across, that used compressed air from steam engines behind the dune to throw a 100-pound dynamite shell more than three miles. It was the last of 13 built, fired more than 100 test rounds in 1901 and 1902, and was taken apart in 1902.
What Is Left to See
The weapon is gone. What remains is the ribbed concrete base on the dune, with a historical marker beside it, and the beach just beyond. The Coastal Discovery Museum describes the site as the ruins of the island’s steam cannon. Reviewers call it a jumbled, weathered pile of concrete rather than a gun, so go for the story and the beach rather than for a big structure.
How to Visit
The Steam Gun is inside gated Port Royal Plantation, so the road in is for residents and their guests. Three other ways to see it:
A museum tour: the Coastal Discovery Museum’s Forts of Port Royal walking tour visits the steam cannon ruins, the site of the Battle of Port Royal Sound and the earthworks of Fort Sherman and Fort Walker. It takes about two hours, meets at the Port Royal Golf Clubhouse, is not recommended for children under 7, and has online registration.
The beach: visitors who have walked the shore from Fish Haul Beach Park report reaching it on foot, timing the walk for low tide to cross a tidal creek. Sand below the high-tide line is open to the public in South Carolina, but the dune and the dry sand belong to Port Royal Plantation. Check the tide with the Hilton Head tide chart first.
A resident’s invitation: a Port Royal Plantation resident can bring guests through the gate.
Do not feed the feral cats that live in the ruins; the neighbors look after them.
Where It Is on the Island
The Steam Gun is pin 1. The island’s other historic sites are on the same map.
More Hilton Head History
Hilton Head Island history from 4,000-year-old shell rings and Captain William Hilton to the Civil War, Gullah Geechee communities and Sea Pines.
Fort Walker was the Confederate fort at the Battle of Port Royal in 1861, later Fort Welles. Its history and how to see the site today.
Fort Howell on Hilton Head is a free 1864 Union earthwork built to protect Mitchelville. History, what to see, hours and directions.
Fort Mitchel is a Civil War earthwork on Skull Creek in Hilton Head Plantation. Its history, why it was built and how to visit by gate pass or tour.
Zion Chapel of Ease on Hilton Head is a free historic cemetery with the 1846 Baynard Mausoleum. Its history, what to see and how to visit.
Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park, on the site of the first self-governed town of freed people in the US: free trail, exhibits and guided tours.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Hilton Head Steam Gun?
A Zalinski pneumatic dynamite gun the Army finished in 1901 to guard Port Royal Sound. It used compressed air, fed by steam engines, to throw a 100-pound dynamite shell more than three miles, and it was taken apart in 1902. Its concrete base and a historical marker are at the end of Fort Walker Drive.
Can the public visit the Steam Gun?
The road to it is inside the gated Port Royal Plantation, so only residents and their guests can drive in. Others can join the Coastal Discovery Museum’s Forts of Port Royal walking tour, or walk the beach at low tide from Fish Haul Beach Park.
Is the Steam Gun from the Civil War?
No. It dates from 1901, after the Spanish-American War scare. The Civil War forts, Fort Walker and Fort Sherman, are in the same neighborhood.
Where is the Steam Gun on Hilton Head?
At the end of Fort Walker Drive on the beach in Port Royal Plantation, on the northeast end of the island.
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