Brother Against Brother

Henry P. Moore (1833-1911)
Slaves of the rebel Genl. Thomas F. Drayton, Hilton Head, S.C.
Photograph, [May 1862]
Prints & Photographs Division (40.14)

Percival Drayton was denounced by the legislature of his native South Carolina when he chose to fight for the Union during the Civil War. Given command of the USS Pocahontas, Drayton participated in the successful 1861 expedition against Port Royal, South Carolina, during which the defending troops--under the command of his brother, Brigadier General Thomas Drayton--were forced to withdraw inland, with the general himself leaving behind a house and slaves pictured here.