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First Battle of Fort Wagner
Part of the American Civil War
DateJuly 10, 1863 (1863-07-10) – July 11, 1863 (1863-07-11)
LocationCharleston, South Carolina
Result Confederate victory
Belligerents
United States United States (Union) Confederate States of America CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Quincy A. Gillmore
John A. Dahlgren
George C. Strong
P.G.T. Beauregard
Robert F. Graham
Units involved
2nd Division, X Corps Fort Wagner garrison
Strength
1 brigade 1,770
Casualties and losses
339 total
49 killed
123 wounded
167 missing [1]
12[2]



The First Battle of Fort Wagner was fought on July 10 and 11, 1863, on Morris Island in Charleston harbor during the American Civil War. An attempt by the Union Army to capture Fort Wagner was repulsed. The more famous Second Battle of Fort Wagner, which involved an assault by the 54th Massachusetts, would be fought on July 18.

Background[]

In early June 1863, Union Brig. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore replaced Maj. Gen. David Hunter as commander of the Department of the South. Gillmore, an Army engineer, had successfully captured Fort Pulaski in April 1862. He began preparations for capturing Morris Island and parts of James Island, which dominated the southern approaches to Charleston Harbor. If Union artillery could be placed in those locations, they could assist in the bombardment of Fort Sumter, whose guns prevented the U.S. Navy from entering the harbor.[3]

Battle[]

On July 10, Union artillery on Folly Island (which had been occupied in April 1863) and naval gunfire from Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren's four ironclad warships bombarded the Confederate defenses protecting the southern end of Morris Island. This provided cover for the landing of Brig. Gen. George C. Strong's brigade, which crossed Lighthouse Inlet and landed at the southern tip of the island. Strong's troops advanced, capturing several batteries, moving about three miles to within range of Fort Wagner. Also known as Battery Wagner, it was a heavily gunned redoubt that covered nearly the entire width of the northern end of Morris Island, facing Sumter. Strong's report described the advance:

The two columns now moved forward, under a lively discharge of shell, grape, and canister, converging toward the works nearest the southern extremity of the island, and thence along its commanding ridge and eastern coast, capturing successively the eight batteries, of one heavy gun each, occupying the commanding points of that ridge, besides two batteries, mounting, together, three 10-inch seacoast mortars.[4]

On July 11, Strong's brigade attacked at dawn, advancing through a thick fog, attempting to seize Fort Wagner. Although the men of the 7th Connecticut Infantry overran a line of rifle pits, they were repulsed by the 1,770-man force under Confederate Col. Robert F. Graham. Heavy artillery fire from Fort Wagner prevented other units from joining the attack.[2]

Aftermath[]

Lewis Henry Douglass, the son Frederick Douglass, fought for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the first battle at Fort Wagner.[5] Union casualties were 339 (49 killed, 123 wounded, 167 missing), Confederate 12.[6] The First Battle of Fort Wagner was followed on July 16 by assaults on James Island and on July 18 by the famous, but also unsuccessful, charge of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry on July 18 in the Second Battle of Fort Wagner.

Notes[]

  1. Dyer, p. 831.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Kennedy, p. 192.
  3. Eicher, pp. 564-65.
  4. Eicher, p. 566.
  5. Historic African American Families, http://www.fineancestry.com/lewis-henry-douglass.html, retried on Jan. 26, 2013
  6. Dyer, p. 831; Kennedy, p. 192.

References[]

Further reading[]

  • Burton, E. Milby. The Siege of Charleston 1861–1865. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1970. ISBN 0-87249-345-8.
  • Reed, Rowena. Combined Operations in the Civil War. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1978. ISBN 0-87021-122-6.
  • Wise, Stephen R. Gate of Hell: Campaign for Charleston Harbor, 1863. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1994. ISBN 0-87249-985-5.

Coordinates: 32°43′48″N 79°52′16″W / 32.730°N 79.871°W / 32.730; -79.871

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at First Battle of Fort Wagner and the edit history here.
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