The First Battle of Fort Wagner was fought on July 10 and 11, 1863, on Morris Island

Morris Island

Morris Island is an 840 acre uninhabited island in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, accessible only by boat. The island lies in the outer reaches of the harbor and was thus a strategic location in the American Civil War.-History:...

 in Charleston

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

 harbor during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. An attempt by the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 to capture Fort Wagner

Fort Wagner

Fort Wagner was a beachhead fortification on Morris Island, South Carolina, that covered the southern approach to Charleston harbor...

 was repulsed. The more famous Second Battle of Fort Wagner, which involved an assault by the 54th Massachusetts

54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry

The 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that saw extensive service in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was one of the first official black units in the United States during the Civil War...

, would be fought on July 18.

Background

In early June 1863, Union Brig. Gen.

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...

 Quincy A. Gillmore

Quincy Adams Gillmore

Quincy Adams Gillmore was an American civil engineer, author, and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was noted for his actions in the Union victory at Fort Pulaski, where his modern rifled artillery readily pounded the fort's exterior stone walls, an action that...

 replaced Maj. Gen.

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 David Hunter

David Hunter

David Hunter was a Union general in the American Civil War. He achieved fame by his unauthorized 1862 order emancipating slaves in three Southern states and as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.-Early...

 as commander of the Department of the South. Gillmore, an Army engineer, had successfully captured Fort Pulaski

Battle of Fort Pulaski

The Battle of Fort Pulaski was fought April 10–11, 1862, during the American Civil War. Union forces on Tybee Island and naval operations conducted a 112-day siege, then captured the Confederate-held Fort Pulaski after a 30-hour bombardment. The battle is important for innovative use of rifled guns...

 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

Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...

, whose guns prevented the U.S. Navy from entering the harbor.

Battle

On July 10, Union artillery on Folly Island

Folly Island

Folly Island is a barrier island in the Atlantic Ocean near Charleston, South Carolina. It is one of the Sea Islands and is within the boundaries of Charleston County, South Carolina. During the American Civil War, the island served as a major staging area for troops of the Union Army that were...

 (which had been occupied in April 1863) and naval gunfire from Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren

John A. Dahlgren

John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren was a United States Navy leader. He headed the Union Navy's ordnance department during the American Civil War and designed several different kinds of guns and cannons that were considered part of the reason the Union won the war...

'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

George Crockett Strong

George Crockett Strong was a Union brigadier general in the American Civil War.-Biography:Strong was born in Stockbridge, Vermont, and attended Williston Seminary but left after 1851. He attended Union College, but left for the U.S. Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1857...

'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

Redoubt

A redoubt is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, though others are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldiers outside the main defensive line and can be a permanent structure or a...

 that covered nearly the entire width of the northern end of Morris Island, facing Sumter. Strong's report described the advance:
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

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 Col.

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 Robert F. Graham. Heavy artillery fire from Fort Wagner prevented other units from joining the attack.

Aftermath

Union casualties were 339 (49 killed, 123 wounded, 167 missing), Confederate 12. 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

Battle of Fort Wagner, Morris Island

The Second Battle of Fort Wagner, also known as the Second Assault on Morris Island or the Battle of Fort Wagner, Morris Island, was fought on July 18, 1863, during the American Civil War. Union Army troops commanded by Brig. Gen...

.

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 0-87021-1226.
• Wise, Stephen R. Gate of Hell: Campaign for Charleston Harbor, 1863. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1994. ISBN 0-87249-985-5.