Union fleet bombarding Confederates at the Battle of Port Royal

William Drayton Jr. and his wife Anna Gadsden raised a family of one daughter and three boys in the wetness of Charleston, South Carolina. After their fourth child, Anna passed away and William married Maria Heyward. After having five children with her (only two of which survived to adulthood), the whole family moved to Philadelphia in 1833 when the Nullification Crisis became too controversial for the Unionist family to stay in the South any longer. Everyone made the journey, except the eldest brother, Thomas.

Thomas was fully grown by that time and had a life of his own. He was already graduated from West Point where he had become great friends with Jefferson Davis, and he was married to Catherine Pope, whose father was a very wealthy plantation owner. Thomas was also part of the South Carolina legislature and highly supported slavery and states’ rights. His loyalties were clearly to the South, and he defended that allegiance when the Civil War began. Being friends with Jefferson Davis had its perks, and he was quickly appointed a brigadier general.

Thomas F. Drayton

While Thomas was in South Carolina, his brother Percival followed the family to Pennsylvania and grew up to join the Navy. Percival moved through the ranks from midshipman to commander by the outbreak of the Civil War and took command of the USS Pocahontas.

Photograph of Percival Drayton by Matthew Brady

Almost thirty years passed until the brothers tested their military skills against one another in the Battle of Port Royal with one on shore and the other at sea. Combat began on 3 November 1861 with Thomas and the other Confederates at Fort Walker and Fort Beauregard. They didn’t have the massive naval power the Union was presenting, which was eight armed ships with more on the way that were delayed by a storm, so the Confederates fought from land.

Percival did not arrive with his Union ship until 7 November, the last day of the battle. On that morning, the weather was clear and provided perfect conditions for battle. Both sides put out and received heavy fire, but the Confederates took the biggest hits. Thomas left in the afternoon to get reserves, and when he returned he found that his men had abandoned their position. Despite the four days of battle, only 19 men were killed. The Union took over the port and obtained more victories as they moved forward on land with their army.

Fort Walker in the Battle of Port Royal

Percival continued to excel in his naval positions after the battle, but it was not the same for Thomas. After Port Royal’s capture, he was given assignments in administrative positions because of his lack of skill in real combat.

See Thomas’s file from Fold3 here, and read more about the battle here and here.

Brother Against Brother