Port Royal

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Background

The largest amphibious operation in American history at the time, the November 7, 1861 Battle of Port Royal, was fought by Confederate troops in Fort Walker on Hilton Head Island and by gunboats of the U.S. Navy firing salvos as they circled directly offshore in the waters immediately to the north. The Union expeditionary force was commanded by Samuel Du Pont, the flag officer of a large fleet which included seventeen warships accompanied by 600 Marines and over 12,000 soldiers under the command of Brigadier General Thomas Sherman. They faced Confederate forces numbering over 3,000 in the Port Royal area, all from the newly constituted Coastal Command linking SC, GA and Eastern FL under the leadership of General Robert E. Lee. The Confederate garrison at Fort Walker held 255 men at the peak of the attack and was under the command of Brigadier General Thomas Drayton, whose brother, Commander Percival Drayton, was the captain of a Union warship which fired over 70 rounds at his brother’s ramparts during the four hour battle. In the fighting, Union casualties numbered eight dead and 23 wounded, while the Confederates counted eleven dead, 48 wounded and seven missing.

Though insignificant in terms of combatants and losses, the battle resulted in a Union stronghold on Hilton Head Island, deep in the Southern Confederacy, which soon became the headquarters of the Federal Department of the South housing over 35,000 troops. This concentration of Federal forces in the Lowcountry enabled an inexorable northward expansion of Union holdings culminating in the siege of Charleston, and it dramatically facilitated the successful ongoing blockade of Southern ports and the capture of Savannah later in the War.

The Leadership Experience

The program will be conducted on and around the headland on which Fort Walker was originally situated. Case studies will focus on the key leaders whose decisions and actions shaped the ultimate outcomes: Samuel Du Pont, Robert E. Lee and Thomas Drayton. The leadership focus will highlight challenges and practices which should resonate for leaders in today’s environment:

 Developing accurate competitive intelligence and effective operational planning

 Building cross-departmental alliances to enhance cooperation and collaboration

 Achieving clarity of direction and expectations

 Ensuring adequate and timely preparation for implementation

 Avoiding complacency and instilling urgency in execution

 Encouraging flexibility and improvisation in the face of diminished resources and unexpected circumstances

 Stimulating initiative and ownership of results

A minimum of four hours should be allotted for the program in planning a day’s agenda and arrangements can be made for mid-session refreshments to be served on-site in the Fort Walker area.