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Siege of
Charleston
The US Navy had seized
Port Royal as a blockade base in late 1861; in June 1862 they launched an
expedition from the burgeoning base.
Major General David Hunter, commanding the Department of the South, sent
troops under Brigadier General Henry W. Benham up to Charleston.
Charleston was not only a major port, it had tremendous prestige value as a
political symbol: secession and rebellion wrapped in one, with Fort Sumter the
centerpiece.
On June 2, 1862, with gunboats providing covering fire, the troops landed at
the southern tip of James Island. (James Island forms most of the south
side of Charleston Harbor.) The island was swampy, and the Confederates
had fortified a 5 mile long line, as well as having a fort (still incomplete) at
SECESSIONVILLE.
Two weeks later, after some modestly effective preliminary shelling, Benham
attacked the fort. He had overwhelming numbers but the narrow passage
between swamps meant they couldn't deploy. The Confederates held, and
Benham was sacked for attacking without orders.
Hunter probed a little
at the southwestern edge of Charleston, but got nowhere in some minor probes
(like SIMMON'S BLUFF) and evacuated the infantry.
P.G.T. Beauregard was the hero of the first battle of Fort Sumter, and
Jefferson Davis had sent him back to Charleston to 1)get rid of a man Davis
disliked and 2)use his engineering skills. Beauregard prodded the CS Navy
into action, and two home-made ironclads snuck out on the night of January 31,
1863. They captured one wooden ship and severely damaged another, chasing
the whole blockading squadron off, but only temporarily.
This raised the stakes. In April 1863 the Union returned to Charleston,
now more than ever a prestige target, but also a place where the garrison had
some sting.
Unlike the previous year, which was mainly an effort to see if Charleston
would fall if gently prodded, this one was based on evidence. At Fort
McAllister in Georgia ironclads had apparently been effective but importantly
for the Navy they had also come out unscathed. So a large ironclad
squadron under Samuel Du Pont arrive. The Army also unenthusiastically
chipped in several divisions (that were not, in the end, landed) under David
Hunter.
On April 7, nine ironclads steamed into CHARLESTON HARBOR, getting close
before the Confederates fired. They did less damage than expected, and
suffered much more than expected - Keokuk was 'riddled like a colander' and sank
the next day. Losses would have been heavier if a 'torpedo' (what we now
call mines) had blown up right under the flagship.
In June planning began to wipe out the embarrassments of three defeats, and
capture Charleston into the bargain. Plenty of troops were sent (15,000
under the siege specialist Quincy Gillmore) and the Navy was willing to
co-operate rather than try and harvest all the glory.
Fort Sumter was
reckoned the key to Charleston Harbor, and Gillmore thought that Morris Island
was the best way to attack Fort Sumter. So they quietly landed troops on
smaller islands just south of Morris Island, and on July 10 a surprise attack
(FORT WAGNER) swept north along the coast, capturing several batteries.
But they didn't take Battery (or Fort) Wagner. Nor did another attack the
next day. Nor did a dusk attack (led by the 54th Massachusetts) a week
later (FORT WAGNER-MORRIS ISLAND). So Gillmore switched to a full
siege. It took until September 7, but he took the fort - an empty fort,
for Beauregard had evacuated MORRIS ISLAND previous night. During the
siege he had to distract the Confederates away from just Battery Wagner, and
made a few probes onto the mainland, again hitting southwest of Charleston at
places like GRIMBALL'S LANDING.
Gillmore was also battering Fort Sumter, less than two miles away, and firing
long range guns into Charleston. The 'Swamp Angel' was no angel, but did
little real damage to Charleston and the civilians. Meanwhile Sumter was
reduced to rubble, with guns knocked out (or withdrawn) but it wouldn't
surrender. On the night of September 7-8 a navy boat expedition (FORT
SUMTER 1863) failed with over 100 casualties, while Beauregard reported 'nobody
hurt on our side.'
Sumter was now meaningless, but strong defenses still ringed the harbor, and
the Navy refused to enter while there were guns to cover the torpedoes.
And the torpedoes kept bigger craft out of effective range of the guns.
(Small craft could have swept for the torpedoes, but the guns would have smashed
the small ships). The defenses were mutually supporting, and Charleston
held out until Sherman brought his army to attack from the rear.
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