The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1863-07-25
lUar Nrus.
StOrining t. e Rebel Batteries on
Morris Island

A correspondent of the Philadelphia IN
q"irer gives lengthy and quite entertaining
account of General Gilmore's operations
before Charleston, S. c., from which we
make the following interesting extracts
At about quarter to FIVE, on Friday morn
ing, the 3D. inst. "A party of axmen stepped
out in front of our batteries. and cutting
away the trees and small brush in front of
them, disclosed the glistening embrazures
to the gaze of the Rebels opposite. Never
were men more astonished. They seemed
to stand paraly Zed, as it were with wonder,
as battery after battery was revealed to view,
and made no demonstration of any kind
! The embrazures having been cleared, the
+ first gun was fired by us on the right. thirty
pound Parrot, and this was the signal for all
| the batteries to open fire. This first shot,
the gun having been sighted very correctly,
struck one of the Rebel gun carriages. com
plctely disabling it, and was a credit to
Company c, First United States Artillery.
| The Rebels replied with the first shot from
their furhest battery on the right, but the
shot fell thousand yards behind our bate
ries. 1t was now five clock, and the fire
! from both sides became general. Oar forty
seven guns and the Monitors kept up the
most fearful cannonade on the Rebel bate
! rics. and the Rebels tried in vain to live
under it
General Strong forces, who had now for
some two hours been lying up the inlet,
concealed by the trees and bushes, slowly
came down into view Of the Rebels. The
Rebels tried to depress their guns in order
to sink these launches, but the launches,
preceded by the howitzcrs Shelling the bank,
safely, with the exception of one, reached
the shore to the left of the Rebel Batteries.
| | ( e 81, a.
! Connecticut, landed with twenty men as
scouts Upon his returning the entire force
| landed in the midst of this terrible cannon
AIDE. and, led by General Strong, cap in
| hand, they fankcd the Rebel rtie.pits and
then charged up to the Rebel batteries,
winch were unable any longer to reply
| to our fire. Every battery was taken,
! and our men swept M the breach, driving
the rcmn nts of the Rebel force before
them. This storming force consisted of the
! Ninth Maine, Seveuty- sixth Pennsy lvania.
torty-cighth New York, Third New lIamp-
shire, Sixth Connecticut, and four compa
MES Of the Seventh Connecticut.
| As soon as General Strong's Brigade had
charged and taken the Rebel Batteries. Gen
erals Gilmore and Seymour and Stats rode
t. the f'tn, and superintendent the crossing
of artillery and rcin!orccmcnts. Light
| artillery was thrown across Immediately.
and proceeded up the Morris Island beach.
| Generals Gilmore and Scymore and Stats.
| also crossed and took mp position on one Of
| the highest Rebel batteries which command
q full view of the entire field OF operations
| Strong force, led by the Sixth Connccti
/ cut, rapidly moved up the island and hoi,tcd
| the tnilcd States flag on large house one
| Thousand yards this side Of Fort Wagner.
! In this house they found also ono hundred
/ L., |
/ for their own wclI-used muskcts.
The Monitors opened fire at six o clock,
and although endcavering to eniiladc the
! Rebel batteries, their gunnery not being as
good as it might be, was of little practical
effect. except that the explosion of those
! tiItcen-inch shells gave additional speed to
| the Nphcl SkcdaddlerS. Some Of the Mon.
ltors shots went over not only the Rebel
batteries but our own The lronsdes did
not participate a. She could not get over the
bar. Ihe Monitors engaged were the Wee
| hawkcn Cntskill, Montauk andNahant, the
ratskill bearing Admiral Dahlgrcn. As the
Rebels retrcatcd and tried to take refuge in
the little ralics made by the sand ridges,
the Monitors succeeded in throwing shot
among them adding to their insecurity.
# was now about ten o clock. and our
men We're in possession of more than three
tourthS of Morris Island. We had taken
the Rebel batteries. driven back the Rebel
! infantry, and We're Fastening on to take the
only fort which interviewed between us and
Cummings Point. Bat upon nearing it the
| fire from it was so severe that our troops
fell back and protected themselves behind
sand ridges, about n quarter of mile this
side of it. The Monitors. however, directed
| their lire upon this fort. and from 10 0 clock
in the morning until four in the afternoon,
opened fire from her barbctte guns at ten
o clock, and fired at intervals, first at the
Monitors and then over our men.
At four o clock, the Monitors having
exhausted their ammunition, ceased firing
and retired down the channel. while our
men still rested upon their arms within a
quarter OF II mile of Wagner. This fort is
c!iScnlatcd, baSton, bomb proof fort, with
closed gorge and large moat. 1t mounts
nine guns, three bearing toward the sea and
six toward the lower end of Morris Island
Its moat is one foot deep at low water and
SIN at high. The interior slope is at an
angle OF forty degrees and il is rcyctcd with
cotton and sand bags. General Gilmore
determined to storm it at daylight the next
morning.
Saturday morning at dayhreak, the as
saulting party was formed in line. under
General Strong, aud prepared to take Wag-
ner. The force consisted Of the Seventh
Connecticut, in the advance two Compa.
mes OF the Sixth Connecticut, supported by
the Seventy sixth Pennsylvania, Third New
Hampshire and Ninth Name. The reserve
was the Forty-eighth and One hundred and
tenth New lork. The whole force was sup
ported bytwo batteries of artillery. But al
though themon charged in the face of mul.
derons FREQ grape, canister and bullets from