When federal forces occupied the Sea Islands in November 1861, almost all white inhabitants fled to the mainland, leaving behind a community of nearly 10,000 African-Americans. In the "Port Royal Experiment," the federal govenrment, Northern investors, missionaries, teachers, and the former slaves sought to determine the nature of this transition to freedom.

Questions that arose over land ownership and control of labor during this "rehearsal for reconstruction" became critical issues of the postwar era.