Fort Wagner, Siege of
Fort Wagner, Siege of (1963).Constructed on the northern end but extending completely across Morris Island, Fort (or Battery) Wagner was integral to the Confederate defensive system protecting Charleston Harbor. Along with the batteries directly across the channel at Fort Moultrie, and with Fort Sumter only a mile and a half away, Fort Wagner had to be taken before Union forces could capture Charleston. Wagner was literally built of sand, with thick sloping walls 20 feet tall lined in front with abatis (sharpened tree branches) and benefitting from high tides, when seawater narrowed the approach to the fort and filled the ditch Confederates dug just behind the abatis.
On 10 July 1863, the Federal army took control of the southern end of Morris Island. The next day Maj. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore ordered a dawn attack against Wagner. Brig. Gen. George C. Strong with two and a half brigades dashed against the fort's 1,200 defenders under...
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