Two historic homes in Beaufort feature writings and drawings from Union soldiers
American Graffiti: Civil War style
Story by Carolyn Males + Photography by Marci Tressel

Standing at the front door of the Milton Maxcy house (also known as the Maxcy-Rhett House) on Craven Street in Beaufort, you can almost hear the footsteps of the men who climbed the double staircases in the 1850s to discuss tariffs and states’ rights, peppered with strong anti-abolitionist sentiments. Among the men who had gathered here in Edmund Rhett’s elegant living room was his brother, U.S. Senator Robert Barnwell Rhett, a fiery proponent of secession from the Union. Hence, the white-columned mansion was dubbed “Secession House.”


The Milton Maxcy House, located at 1113 Craven St. in Beaufort and known locally as the “Secession House,” was a key site for secession discussions led by Edmund and Robert Barnwell Rhett in the 1850s. These meetings helped shape the movement for Southern independence. The house’s walls bear graffiti from Union soldiers during the Civil War and signatures from later public figures like Sen. Strom Thurmond and President George H.W. Bush. Today it is a private residence.
The footfalls echoing through this house and others would soon be those of Union soldiers who occupied the town after defeating the Confederates at the Battle of Port Royal in late 1861. While the owners of these stately houses and businesses skedaddled to Charleston and other points inland, many of their enslaved workers refused to follow. Meanwhile, Northern troops would turn these buildings into billets, hospitals, military offices and a commissary.


Union soldiers would leave a graphic legacy of graffitied names, patriotic inscriptions like “Union Forever” and sketches of soldiers, faces, eagles and — boys being boys —the occasional naughty drawing. At the Milton Maxcy House soldiers used leaded graphite to mark up the narrow corridor walls of the lower level as they waited to enter the paymaster’s office. Meanwhile, over on Bay Street, George Parsons Elliot’s Greek Revival house had been turned into Hospital #15. The walls on the second floor became the canvas for graffiti that included the aforementioned “more colorful” illustrations.
Years later, 20th century politicians, among them U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond and President George H. W. Bush, would be invited to add their signatures to the Secession House walls. Today both homes are privately owned but are sometimes featured on tours given by the Historic Beaufort Foundation.


The George Parsons Elliot House, located at 1001 Bay Street in Beaufort, has a storied history, having served as Hospital #15 for Union soldiers during the Civil War. Remarkably, during a recent restoration, well-preserved lead drawings from that era were discovered beneath the wallpaper. Today this historic property is privately owned.

