Worried about a potential Union invasion, South Carolina blocks its port by sinking old ships at the mouth, which turns out to accomplish little but convince merchants to take their business elsewhere!

>Five hulks had been dragged out to the mouth of the harbor. Four of them, filled with granite, were sunk, and the fifth was anchored in the one remaining channel, ready to be sunk at a moment’s notice if a Union fleet appeared. These five worn-out brigs had, in fact, been presented to South Carolina by generous citizens from Savannah. >The hulks actually accomplished little; tidal waters pushed them aside. Yet rumors that the port was now blocked caused many merchants to take their trade to Savannah, a hundred miles away. ____________________________________ **Source:** Detzer, David. “Hostages.” *Allegiance: Fort Sumter, Charleston, and the Beginning of the Civil War*. New York: Harcourt, 2002. 167. Print.