Morris Island

Morris Island is a small barrier island at the entrance to Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, United States. It is notable for Civil War fortifications and for the historic Morris Island Lighthouse, both of which are visible from boats and from parts of the Charleston shoreline.

The island’s primary attractions are its undeveloped beaches, seabird colonies and the visible remains of historical structures. Public visits are typically by private boat or by guided tours from Charleston; there are no regular vehicle routes onto the island and facilities are minimal.

During the American Civil War the island hosted Confederate batteries and the well-known assault on Fort Wagner in July 1863 by the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The lighthouse that marks the harbor entrance was constructed in the late 19th century and now stands offshore as erosion and shifting sands have altered the island’s shoreline.

Morris Island sits across the entrance to Charleston Harbor, a short boat ride from downtown Charleston - roughly 8 km to the north - and forms part of the coastal barrier system protecting the harbor and tidal marshes behind it.

• Access: No public road access; the island is reached only by private boat or organized boat tours from Charleston-area marinas.
• Historic significance: The island contains important Civil War sites dating to 1863 and a lighthouse built in the 19th century that now sits offshore due to shoreline erosion.

What to See #

• Fort Wagner site: Remains of the Civil War battery and the site of the 1863 assault by the 54th Massachusetts, now preserved as an uninhabited historic landscape and subject of archaeological interest.
• Morris Island Lighthouse: A late 19th-century lighthouse constructed to mark the entrance to Charleston Harbor; coastal erosion has left the tower standing offshore from the original island shore.
• Beaches and bird colonies: Barrier-island beaches and dunes that serve as nesting habitat for seabirds and provide undeveloped shoreline often visited by private boats and charter tours.