Reconstruction of a Civil War landscape: Little Folly Island,South Carolina

The inlet dividing Little Folly Island and Big Folly Island was relocated through the use of Union Navy and Army maps and a global positioning system device. Identification of the inlet was confirmed through foraminiferal analysis of marsh sediments retrieved with gouge‐auger cores. The inlet was 1.8 km closer to Confederate batteries on Morris Island than previously believed. In addition to identifying the inlet, sedimentary structures were used to differentiate anthropogenic and natural sand mounds and dunes, resulting in the identification of four previously undocumented Union gun parapets. The results of this study suggest foraminifers are a useful tool for reconstructing coastal military landscapes from the Civil War and potentially earlier conflicts. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.