Church Flats was a major thoroughfare for Confederate troops covering St. Paul’s and St. John’s Parishes. During the war, a bridge connected Church Flats to John’s Island which was used to maneuver troops as needed. Troops stationed at Church Flats were mobilized for the John’s Island battles of Haulover Cut (February 1864) and Burden’s Causeway (July 1864).

Conrad Wise Chapman, a talented artist and Confederate soldier, was directed by General P. G. T. Beauregard to paint many of the Lowcountry fortifications in 1863. One of the sites he painted was Church Flats Battery and camp. Chapman’s painting is part of the collection held by American Civil War Museum in Richmond.

The South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust purchased this site in 2014 using funds from a grant provided by the Charleston County Greenbelt Program.