The Battle of Fort Wagner � 18 July1863

Charleston Harbor

Map by [HWK]TimGrayson and [HWK]Stone

Fort Wagner (also called Battery Wagner) was a fortification on Morris Island, South Carolina, that covered the southern approach to Charleston harbor. It was the site of two American Civil War battles in the campaign known as Operations Against the Defenses of Charleston in 1863.

The first engagement, the Battle of Fort Wagner or the First Assault on Morris Island, occurred on July 11, 1863. Only 12 Confederate soldiers were killed, as opposed to the Union's 330 losses. The second engagement is better known. The Battle of Fort Wagner, Morris Island, was the Union attack on July 18, 1863.

The approach to the fort was constricted to a strip of beach 60 yards (55 m) wide. After a bombardment from both land and sea, the Union infantry moved in. The assault force was led by the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry regiment, the first major American military unit made up of black soldiers. Colonel Robert Gould Shaw led the 54th Massachusetts on foot while they charged and was killed in the assault. The total assault force included five other brigades, around 5,000 men in total. Unfortunately for the assault force, the prior bombardment failed to seriously damage the fighting power of the fort. Consequently, the Union infantry suffered considerable casualties in the rush towards the fort.

As the Union troops reached the parapets, the fighting proved intense. Three brigades managed to occupy a portion of the walls, but they were forced to withdraw after an hour of fierce hand-to-hand combat where almost every officer was killed. The Union forces suffered around 1,500 casualties and the Confederate garrison under 200.

Although a tactical defeat, the battle proved to be a political victory for the Union since the valor of the 54th against hopeless odds proved the worth of black soldiers. It spurred additional recruitment that gave the Union Army a further numerical advantage in troops over the South.

The Map (see tile map)

The map presents the battle at the point where the 1^st Brigade of the 1^st Division of the (Union) Department of the South � as famously led by the 54th Massachusetts - is about to launch its assault on Fort Wagner. The 2^nd brigade, which also participated in this assault, albeit delayed from joining the 1^st Brigade, is not deployed on this map. Thus, this map captures the tension of the initial assault made on Fort Wagner on 18 July 1863.

Note that, the Confederate defenders, while having numerically inferior forces to those of the Union, do have superiority in artillery. The Union forces also have access to support from a gunboat and two ironclads in this battle.

Victory Conditions

The Union forces (blue) must attack the Confederate forces (red) defending Fort Wagner, overwhelm them and take the fort.

Battle of Fort (Battery) Wagner (Second Assault)

Charleston Harbor South Carolina

18 July 1863

Union

Department of the South - MAJOR GENERAL QUINCY A. GILLMORE

1st Division - Brigadier General Truman Seymour

1st Brigade - Brigadier General George C. Strong

• 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment (Colonel Robert Gould Shaw)
• 6th Connecticut Infantry Regiment (Colonel John L. Chatfield)
• 48th New York Infantry Regiment (Colonel William B. Barton)
• 3rd New Hampshire Infantry Regiment (Colonel John H. Jackson)
• 76th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment (Zouaves) (Captain John S. Littell)
• 9th Maine Infantry Regiment--- Colonel Sabine Emery (w)

2nd Brigade - Colonel Haldimand S. Putnam

• 7th New Hampshire Infantry Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Joseph C. Abbott )
• 100th New York Infantry Regiment (Colonel George B. Dandy)
• 62nd Ohio Infantry Regiment (Colonel Francis B. Pond )
• 67th Ohio Infantry Regimen (Colonel Alvin C. Voris)

Artillery - Lieutenant Colonel Richard W. Jackson

• Seige Battery (Captain Loomis L. Langdon )
• Battery "C", 3rd Rhode Island Light Artillery (Captain Charles R. Brayton)
• Battery "E", 3rd U. S. Light Artillery (Lieutenant John R. Myrick)

STRENGTH = 5,000

Confederacy

Department Of South Carolina, Georgia, & Florida - GENERAL PIERRE GUSTAVE TOUTANT BEAUREGARD

Battery Wagner Garrison - Brigadier General William Booth Taliaferro�

• Charleston S. C. Infantry Battalion (27^th South Carolina Regiment) (Lieutenant Colonel P. C. Gillard)
• 31st North Carolina Infantry Regiment ( Lieutenant Colonel C. W. Knight)
• 51st North Carolina Infantry Regiment (Colonel Hector McKethan )
• 32nd Georgia Infantry Regiment (Colonel George P. Harrison Jr.)
• 7th South Carolina Infantry Battalion (Major J. H. Rion)

Artillery - Lieutenant Colonel J. C. Simkins

• 2 Companies, 63rd Georgia Artillery (Captain J. T. Buckner; Captain W. J. Dixon)
• 2 Companies, 1st South Carolina Artillery (Captain W. T. Tatom; Captain W. L. DePass)
• South Carolina Artillery Battery

STRENGTH = 1,800

Casualties: Total � 1689 (USA = 1,515; CSA = 174)