Over the past year I have presented a chronological overview of the rise and fall of Charleston’s colonial fortifications for a number of different audiences in the Charleston area. On nearly every one of these occasions, someone has asked if I can give them a summary or outline of this material, which is taken largely from unpublished archival sources. Eventually I do plan to publish the full scope of my research in an illustrated monograph, but in the interim I am happy to oblige with a basic outline of the story.

Under the Educational Resources page of the Mayor’s Walled City Task Force website, I have inaugurated a “Time Line” that will eventually contain four sections covering the Proprietary, Royal, Revolutionary, and Post-Revolutionary eras of Charleston’s early fortifications. The first part, covering the Proprietary Era of 1663-1719, is now online. The remaining parts will be posted in future weeks.