1711 - August 5th, land grant from King George II cedes island to Colonel Alexander Parris.

1717 - Island becomes traditional site for hanging pirates, and careening vessels.

1730 - Island is under cultivation as an orange grove.

1746 - May 28th, Island is sold to a Quaker, Joseph Shute.

1780 - Lt. Gen. Benjamin Lincoln uses the island as the anchor for eight sailing vessels that were sunk to form a barrier against the British fleet.

1791 - George Washington visits Charleston, realizes the strategic importance of the island and orders a fort to be built.

1793 - European political scene quite tumultuous. Washington issues proclamation of neutrality to both England and France.

1794 - US signs Jay’s Treaty with England. France considers Jay’s Treaty discriminatory. No funds available to build fort.

1797 - A meeting was held in St. Michael’s church and funds were solicited for a fort. Construction of log fortification begins. The structure is called "Fort Pinckney" in honor of General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.

1798 - March, "X, Y, Z" Affair transpires. The port city of Charleston lies exposed to attack from naval forces stationed in the French-held West Indies. The prospect of war with France spurs construction. US prepares for war with France.

1800 - Prospect of war fades.

1804 - Fort completed. On the morning of September 8th, a hurricane destroys the fort.

1809 - Secretary of War Henry Dearborn reports construction of new masonry fort commenced and was progressing rapidly. Designed by Lt. Col. Williams, Castle Pinckney is one of only three "castle" design forts: Castle Williams on Governor’s Island (New York harbor, between lower Manhattan and Brooklyn) and Castle Clinton on Battery Park (lower Manhattan Island). Castle Williams is quite similar to Castle Pinckney while Castle Clinton is not.

1810 - Construction completed. Castle Pinckney is Charleston’s sole defense.

1811 - December 10th, Secretary of War Eustis reports that Castle Pinckney is "considered the most important [fortification] in the harbor [of Charleston]."

1812 - War of 1812 begins.

1814 - War of 1812 ends.

1818 - Fort is garrisoned with "small guard of artillery, 1st and 2nd battalions" under Lt. Washington.

1819 - Shares the same size force with Fort Moultrie as previous year.

1826 - Fort’s status is reduced to secondary line of defense.

1827 - Construction of Fort Sumter begins.

1829 - As per the suggestion of Lt. H. Brewerton, construction of a seawall around the fortification is begun.

1832 - The seawall is complete.

• January, President Jackson garrisons the fort with elements of the 2nd US Artillery, under the command of Captain Thomas C. Legate.
• November 24th, SC State Legislature passes an "Ordinance of Nullification."

1833 - January, Lt. Col. James Bankhead, commanding a detachment of the 3rd US Artillery replaces Capt. Legate.

• January 23rd, General Macomb instructs Bankhead to be ready to receive the collector of customs, and other customs officers, with their equipment and office's files should it become necessary to evacuate Charleston proper.

1835 - Major Gates is replaced by Brigadier General A. Eustis.

1836 - General Eustis places Capt. Giles Porter in command of the one company of the 1st US Artillery stationed at the fort.

• Capt. Porter and his command are transferred to the scene of the Seminole conflict. The fort is not regarrisoned until December 1860.

1854 - August 3rd, Congress appropriates $1500 to establish "a small light on Castle Pinckney to mark the channel from the bar to the city and up the Cooper River."

1855 - "A yellow tower with a light 50 feet above the level of the sea" is constructed on the fort grounds.

1858 - General repairs are made to the fort, which served as the powder storehouse of the city arsenal.

1860 - December, South Carolina political situation is tenuous at best.

• Armament consists of: four 42 pounders, fourteen 24 pounders, four 8-inch seacoast howitzers, one 10-inch mortar, one 8-inch mortar, and four light artillery pieces.
• December 3rd, Lt. J.C. Davis and twenty laborers are placed in the fort.
• December 11th, Lt. R.K. Meade relieves Lt. Davis of command. "Garrison" consists of 4 mechanics, 30 laborers, and an ordinance sergeant and his family.
• December 20th, South Carolina secedes.

1860 - On December 27th, a detachment of the 1st Regiment of Rifles of the South Carolina Militia (including elements of Washington Light Infantry, the Meagher Guards, and Carolina Light Infantry, about 150 strong) commanded by Col. J.J. Pettigrew, and Maj. Ellison Capers, storm and capture fort using scaling ladders without firing a shot. It is the first overt act by the State of SC and the first seizure of Federal Property.

1861 - January, Confederates garrison fort with elements of the Charleston Zouave Cadets. The cadets’ first detail was to guard prisoners while the fort was temporarily used as a prison for several months.

• September, 156 prisoners, members of the 11th NY Fire Zouaves, 69th NY ("Irish") Regiment, 79th NY Regiment, and 8th Michigan Infantry captured at 1st Manassas are moved from Richmond to Castle Pinckney.
• Prisoners form "The Castle Pinckney Brotherhood" which established a pattern for living, including rules for cleanliness and provisions for entertainment. The Charleston Zouaves helped in the brotherhood’s activities. The prisoners performed volunteer work of various kinds. There was no record of escape from Castle Pinckney.

1863 - January 30th, Confederates ironclads leave anchorage off Castle Pinckney and disperse Union Blockading Fleet.

• April 7th, Plays limited role in bombardment of harbor.
• August 17th - September 2nd, first major bombardment.
• October 26th - December 6th, second major bombardment.

1864 - July 7th - September 4th, third major bombardment.

• April 6th, It is reported that the Confederates reinforced exterior fort walls with sand for protection against artillery, especially rifled shells - a lesson learned at Fort Sumter.
  

1865 - January, Heavy working parties were engaged in banking, sodding grass, and making slight changes in the positions of the guns. Its casemates were disarmed, the front wall was covered with an exterior wall of sand, well sodded, and its ramparts were furnished with merlons and traverses.

• February 18th, Union troops take Charleston. Elements of the 21st US Colored Troops under Lt. Col. A.G. Bennett take possession of the fort.

1878 - April 11th, Sect of the Treasury requested that Castle Pinckney be transferred to the control of the Light House Board for use as a depot. April 20th, the plan is approved.

1880 - A new harbor light was established.

1884 - Summer, Two frame buildings are constructed near the fort, one large storehouse and the light keeper’s dwelling.

• June 8th, Lt. Thos. M. Bailey inspected the fort and reports: "The fort is in a dilapidated condition; the walls have settled and cracked…the gun carriages have rotted away and only parts of the guns are exposed in the rubbish in which they are buried…the roofs of the magazines have fallen in. that part of the fort which was the barracks is a dangerous wreck, gradually falling to pieces."

1890 - Entire fort is sealed and filled with sand. Concrete platform is poured on the top of the fort which will serve as foundation for subsequent buildings. Becomes Lighthouse station.

1897 - Fort proposed by Charleston philanthropist Abraham C. Kaufman, to Grand Army of the Republic as home for Union Veterans. He suggests the home be named for Major Robert Anderson, the federal commander of Fort Sumter at the outbreak of the war. Congress passed a bill appropriating money for the home but nothing ever came of the project.

1898 - Spanish-American War - no modification to fort.

1917 - January 8th, Lighthouse station abandoned, transferred from Light House Board back to war Department.

• April 6th, US enters World War I.
• Used by US Army Corps of Engineers as a supply base for harbor improvements.

1924 - President Coolidge designates fort as a national monument.

1933 - June 10th, President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 6166 transfers the fort from the War Department to the Department of the Interior, National Parks Service as a national monument.

1941 - December 7th, US enters World War II.

1951 - August 15th, Congress passes a bill to abolish Castle Pinckney National Monument and transfer it back to US Army Corps of Engineers.

1952 - June 9th, Army declines offer by Department of Interior.

• June 17th, Rep. Mendel Rivers and Senator Burnet Maybank introduce joint resolutions proposing its disposition to State, County or City of Charleston.

1953 - February 13th, Fort turned over to General Services Administration (GSA) as surplus property.

1954 - National Parks Service takes over property (W.W. Luckett, Superintendent for Charleston area accepted property from US Army Col. Clyde C. Ziegler, district US Army Corps of Engineers).

1956 - April 6th, City of Charleston explores use of the island as a sewage treatment facility.

• April 17th, Captain Chester H. Taylor requested the city remove its claim for the island in favor of his recently formed Nautical Academy.

1957 - May 17th, South Carolina State Ports Authority expressed interest in using the fort as a dredge spoil area, offers to pay GSA $12,000. Strom Thurmond and Mendel Rivers intercede on behalf of SCSPA.  November 13th, Sale approved.

1958 - March 2nd, SCSPA closes deal with GSA. SCSPA to direct SC State Archives and SC Historical Society to appoint archaeologist to survey fort. There was a "closing" ceremony at the fort at 11 a.m.

• SCSPA proposes that the fort be excavated, and restored as a state park and museum.
• March 4th, Title officially transferred to SCSPA.
• June 13th, E. Milby Burton, director of the Charleston museum is appointed chairman of the "Charleston Committee for Castle Pinckney."
• August 13th, Excavations underway. State orders University of South Carolina and the State Archives to assist.

1961 - February 1st, SCSPA estimates restoration cost at $60,000.

1962 - South Carolina State Ports Authority abandons restoration project due to lack of funds.

1964 - July 24th, Private citizen Stewart R. King of Charleston considers buying fort as a private residence but later rejects the idea.

• October 30th, fort deeded by SCSPA to SC Shriners Group for use with the organization’s crippled children program.

1965 - October 28th, Shriners return property to SCSPA.

1967 - December 22nd, A "mysterious" blaze destroys house on top of fort.

1969 - April 12th, Fort consecrated as a memorial "to all defenders of the city in all wars." Project led by Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) Camp 1269. Plans call for "restoration of the fortress and the erection of a museum." SCV acquires fort from SCSPA for $1.

• August 25th, SCV receive $5,000 from SCV National. Propose to have fort completed by April 1970. Expect restoration to cost between $500,000 and $750,000.

1970 - Fort listed on National Register of Historic Places.

1973 - May 20th, SCV plans to develop "a sleek restaurant site to serve the sea-going diner." According to Julian V. Brandt, one of the planners, "it ought to prove a gold mine."

1975 - September 2nd, SCV receive $10,000 grant from American Revolution Bicentennial Administration.

1977 - June 15th, SCV receive $15,000 grant from the Coastal Plains Commission. University of South Carolina will conduct archaeological assessment of the fort (for $7,903). Kenneth E. Lewis and William T. Langhorne, Jr. produce text: Castle Pinckney: An Archaeological Assessment by the University of South Carolina.

1978 - January 5th, Citadel cadets help clear brush and weeds from fort.

1984 - May 21st, SCV runs out of funds but still owns fort (later reverts to the SCSPA).

1992 - June 16th, Michael P. Higgins and Mark Barna (SCSPA photographer) make visual inspection of the fort for an article in The Port News.

• July 7th, Michael P. Higgins contacts Maureen and Kevin Foster of the National Parks Service and catalogs the woeful trail of events relating to the fort.
• M.P.H. proposes "Friends of Castle Pinckney" be formed.
• Castle Pinckney "the silent sentinel" is still fending off time and tide…no closer to restoration.

1995 – South Carolina State Ports Authority asks the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to investigate ways to stabilize the fort.

1999 – A $256,935 contract to construct a 260-foot long breakwater along the southern end of the historic fort is awarded to a local company. Funding will be provided by the South Carolina State Ports Authority (SPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and construction should be complete by fall 1999.

Compiled by M.P. Higgins, 16 July 1992, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
Updated by the SCSPA