The record-union., 1898-07-08

ureS may do. The defense and bOE1
bardment of Wagner were enacted IT
part under the eyes of the writer. Some
of its incidents we will give as show
ing the wonderful power of earth forts.
Wagner was a very strong fort, but of
the simplest construction, sand, sand
bags and timber constituting almost
the entire material used therefor. In
area it was 236 feet by 62O feet, being
so located that it could only be attack
ed from the southern part of Morris
Island and it's sea front. 1t had bomb
proof shelter constructed wholly of tim
ber and dry sand capable of giving
cover to /, 200 men, The fort was armed
with sixteen guns.
On the eighteenth day of July, 1863.
our land batteries. situated from i 300
to 1000 yards distant, aided by five
monitors and five gunboats, lombard
ed the fort with great fury for many
hours. The monitors each were armed
with a fifteen-inch gun and a 200
pound rifle, and the gunboats with
heavy rifles. The land batteries consist
ed of thirtyseven guns of high caliber,
five of them being ten-inch mortars.
From noon until nightfall the fort ore-
ceived the combined fire of this great
force-from the land batteries nearly
all day. At first the fort returned the
naval fire. but soon the land batteries
APPARENTLY silenced the fort SO that not
a man could be seen in or about it.
The immense clouds of sand sent by
our exploding shells, and the apparent
solitude of the fort by p. m made it
appear that Wagner was disabled and
we fell into the fatal delusion that the
fort was reduced and helpless-a delu-
sion that in a few short hours cost us
so lives and a shattered and repulsed
army of 5000 men, and the fort stood
as defiant as ever. No sooner did our
attacking column start for the fort
thar the awakened energies of LOO
men and the great guns of the fort
with shot, she'll and canister crashed
on and through our ranks as If the
bombardment had never taken place.
Not gun of the fort had been dis
abled, not an offensive or defensive
part Of the fort had been seriously in
jured, and the entire garrison were
fresh and eager for action. The bomb
proof had wholly protected them. From
that date until the 1th Of September
following, when General Gilmore forced
the surrender of Wagner by siege oper-
ations, the spade, saproller and sand
bags did what human valor on land
and seaboard had been unable to ac-
complish On the morning of the 9th Of
September the bombardment of Wag-
ner was resumed by five lines of land
batteries mounting over fifty guns and
mortars, assisted by the new ironsides,
which could deliver a broadside of
eleven great guns every three minutes,
and was continued for forty-two hours
with great energy, most of the firing
being at short range.
During this bombardment only three
Of the sixteen guns of Wagner were
disabled, and the bomb proof shelter re-
mained serviceable Had not our sap
been pushed past the angle of the fort
on the sea face the problem of taking
the fort might have been prolonged.
Had it not been for the cooperation of
the land forces the navy might have
pounded away until the end of the war
and still found Wagner defiant and able
to take care of itself like Sumter. Dur
ing all the time from July 18th to Sep
tember 1th continual firing was kept
up on Wagner so as to protect our
working parties from the guns of the
fort
The garrison withdrew on the morn
ing of the 1th, before daylight. During
the month of August the walls of Sum-
ter had been battered down to q shape
less heap of ruins. but the gravel slope
OF the reduced walls offered shelter, and