“P” is for Port Royal Naval Station

“P” is for Port Royal Naval Station. The conquest of the Sea Islands by the United States Navy in November 1861 was the beginning of more than a century of US naval involvement with Port Royal Sound. With nearly thirty feet of water over the bar at all times, Port Royal Sound is the deepest natural harbor on the Atlantic seaboard south of New York. In 1883 the U.S. Navy began purchasing land on Parris Island in Port Royal Sound to build wharves and shoreside facilities. In 1890 more than $500,000 was appropriated to build the largest drydock in the United States on Parris Island. In 1901 the annual appropriation for Port Royal Naval Station was moved to Charleston. This marked the end of Port Royal Naval Station and the beginning of the Charleston Naval Shipyard.