(7/30/05) [32°14’34sN, 80°44’38sW]	Descriptive marker at Fort Mitchel
Descriptive marker at Fort Mitchel	Cannon emplacement at Fort Mitchel
View of the Broad River from Fort Mitchel

Fort Mitchel was crafted of the earth by Captain Quincy Adams Gilmore, who is also responsible for a second earthen fort, Fort Holbrook, located in the Spanish Wells area of the Island. Mother Earth was the medium of choice because the rifle cannons that had come into use would shatter masonry and turn it into shrapnel, causing even greater injuries to those in a stone fortress. Gilmore had proved this theory by transporting such cannons to Tybee Island and firing on Fort Pulaski off Savannah. The stone shattered, the Confederate troops there surrendered, and Gilmore won the right to build his Hilton Head batteries from dirt.

The fort is named for Union General Thomas Mitchel.