SIX MILES FROM CHARLESTON, FIVE MINUTES TO HELL: The Battle of Seccessionville, June 16, 1862

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Examines the joint Army-Navy operation on James Island and its aftermath. The small, curiously named village of Secessionville, just outside of Charleston, South Carolina, was the site of an early war skirmish. The consequences might have been enormous had the outcome been different. It quickly would be forgotten as the Seven Days' battles, fought shortly afterward and far to the north, attracted the attention of Americans on both sides of the conflict.

The battle at Secessionville was as bloody and hard fought as any similar-sized encounter during the war. But it was poorly planned and poorly led by the Union commanders whose behavior did not do justice to the courage of their men.