Second Battle of Fort Wagner 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 . Quincy Gillmore , launched an unsuccessful assault on the Confederate fortress of Fort Wagner , which protected Morris Island , south of Charleston Harbor . The battle came one week after the First Battle of Fort Wagner . Background . Fort Wagner , or Battery Wagner as it was known to the Confederates , controlled the southern approaches to Charleston Harbor . It was commanded by Brigadier General William B . Taliaferro . An attempt was made on July 11 to assault the fort , the First Battle of Fort Wagner , but it was repulsed with heavy losses to the attackers because of artillery and musket fire . Brig . Gen . Quincy Gillmore intended to repeat his assault , but first executed feints to distract the Confederates attention , the Battle of Grimball ' s Landing on July 16 . Gillmore also ordered an artillery bombardment of the fort . The fort was on a very narrow island so the Union could only assault the fort with one regiment at a time . The approach to the fort was constricted to a strip of beach 60 yards ( 55 m ) wide with the ocean to the east and the marsh from Vincent ' s Creek to the west . Upon rounding this defile , the Union Army was presented with the 250 - yard south face of Fort Wagner , which stretched from Vincent ' s creek to the sea . Surrounding the fort was a shallow moat riveted with sharpened palmetto logs , as abatis , and the moat on the seaward side had planks with spikes positioned beneath the water . The armament of Fort Wagner on the night of July 18 consisted of one 10 - inch seacoast mortar , two 32 lb . carronade s , two 8 - inch shell guns , two 32 lb . howitzer s , a 42 lb . carronade , and an 8 - inch seacoast mortar on the land face . Company A of the 1st South Carolina Artillery also had two guns positioned outside of Wagner ' s southern face by Vincent ' s creek to provide enfilading fire . The sea face of Wagner was armed with one 32 lb . carronade , one 10 - inch Columbiad , and two 12 lb . howitzers . The garrison of Battery Wagner consisted of the 1st South Carolina Artillery , the Charleston Battalion , the 31st North Carolina , and the 51st North Carolina . Battle . Gilmore ordered his siege guns and mortars to begin a bombardment of the fort on July 18 and they were joined by the naval gunfire from six monitors that pulled to within 300 yards of the fort . The bombardment lasted eight hours , but caused little damage against the sandy walls of the fort , and in all , killed only about 8 men and wounded an additional 20 , as the defenders had taken cover in the bombproof shelter . The 54th Massachusetts , an infantry regiment composed of African - American soldiers led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw , led the Union attack at dusk . They were backed by two brigades composed of nine regiments . The first brigade was commanded by Gen . George Crockett Strong and was composed of the 54th Massachusetts , 6th Connecticut , 48th New York , 3rd New Hampshire , 76th Pennsylvania , and the 9th Maine regiments . The second brigade was commanded by Col . Haldimand S . Putnam of the 7th New Hampshire as acting brigade commander . His brigade consisted of the 7th New Hampshire , 62nd Ohio , 67th Ohio , and the 100th New York regiments . A third brigade under Gen . Stevenson was in reserve , with General Truman Seymour commanding on the field , but did not enter action . The assault began at 7 : 45 p . m . and was conducted in three movements . The 54th Massachusetts attacked to the west upon the curtain of Wagner , with the remainder of Gen . Strong ' s brigade and Col . Putnam ' s brigade attacking the seaward salient on the south face . As the assault commenced and bombardment subsided , the men of the 1st South Carolina Artillery , Charleston Battalion , and 51st North Carolina Infantry took their positions . The 31st North Carolina , which had been completely captured during the battle of Roanoke Island and later exchanged , remained in the bombproof shelter and did not take its position in the southeast bastion . When the 54th Massachusetts reached about 150 yards from the fort , the defenders opened up with cannon and small arms , tearing through their ranks . The 51st North Carolina delivered a direct fire into them , as the Charleston Battalion fired into their left . The 54th managed to reach the parapet , but after a fierce struggle , including hand - to - hand combat , they were forced back . The 6th Connecticut continued the assault at the weakest point , the southeast , where the 31st had failed to take its position . General Taliaferro quickly rounded up some soldiers to take the position , while the 51st North Carolina and Charleston Battalion fired obliquely into the assailants . Behind the 6th Connecticut , the 48th New York also successfully reached the slopes of the bastion . The remainder of Strong ' s brigade did not reach that far , as three of the defending howitzers were now in action and firing canister into their flanks , bringing them to a halt . Colonel Putnam quickly brought up his brigade , but only about 100 or 200 men from the 62nd and 67th Ohio reached the bastion . The Confederates attempted to counter - attack twice , but were beaten back after having the officers leading the charge shot down . As the Union assault continued to crumble , due to lack of reinforcements from General Stevenson , Taliaferro was reinforced by the 32nd Georgia Infantry , which had been transported to the island by Brigadier General Johnson Hagood . The fresh troops swept over the bastion , killing and capturing the rest of the Union troops that remained . By 10 p . m . the bloody struggle had concluded with heavy losses . Gen . George Crockett Strong was mortally wounded in the thigh by grape shot while trying to rally his men . Col . Haldimand S . Putnam was shot in the head and killed in the salient while giving the order to withdraw . Col . John Lyman Chatfield of the " 6th Connecticut " was mortally wounded . The 54th Massachusetts ' s colonel , Robert Gould Shaw , was killed upon the parapet early in the action . Some confederate reports claim his body was pierced seven times , with the fatal wound a rifle bullet to his chest . Aftermath . In all , about 1 , 515 Union soldiers were killed , captured , or wounded in the assault of July 18 , although this number has never been accurately ascertained . Gen . Hagood , the commander of Fort Wagner on the morning of July 19 , stated in his report to Gen . P . G . T . Beauregard that he buried 800 bodies in mass graves in front of Wagner . Only 315 men were left from the 54th after the battle . Thirty were killed in action , including Col . Shaw and Captains Russel and Simpkins , and buried together in a single grave . Twenty - four later died of wounds , fifteen were captured , and fifty - two were reported missing after the battle and never seen again . The men of the 54th Massachusetts were hailed for their valor . William Carney , an African - American sergeant with the 54th , is considered the first black recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions that day in recovering and returning the unit ' s U . S . Flag to Union lines . Their conduct improved the reputation of African Americans as soldiers , leading to greater Union recruitment of African - Americans , which strengthened the Northern states ' numerical advantage . Confederate casualties numbered 174 . The fort was reinforced by Brig . Gen . Johnson Hagood ' s brigade shortly after the assault had ended . The garrison of Fort Wagner was then changed during the night , and Gen . Hagood assumed command . He was relieved by Col . Laurence M . Keitt , who commanded the fort until it was abandoned on September 7 . Gen Hagood wrote a book titled " Memoirs of the War of Secession " , in which he states that the constant bombardment from the Union guns had unearthed such large numbers of the Union dead buried after the assault of July 18 , and the air was so sickening with the smell of death , that one could no longer stand to be in the fort . The constant bombardment caused Confederate soldiers who were killed during the siege to be buried in the walls of Wagner , and they were also constantly being unearthed . Following the Union repulse , engineers besieged the fort . The Confederates abandoned the fort on September 7 , 1863 , after resisting 60 days of shelling , it having been deemed untenable because of the damage from constant bombardment , lack of provisions , and the close proximity of the Union siege trenches to Wagner . In all , about 1 , 515 Union soldiers were killed , captured , or wounded in the assault of July 18 , although this number has never been accurately ascertained . Gen . Hagood , the commander of Fort Wagner on the morning of July 19 , stated in his report to Gen . P . G . T . Beauregard that he buried 800 bodies in mass graves in front of Wagner . Only 315 men were left from the 54th after the battle . Thirty were killed in action , including Col . Shaw and Captains Russel and Simpkins , and buried together in a single grave . Twenty - four later died of wounds , fifteen were captured , and fifty - two were reported missing after the battle and never seen again . The men of the 54th Massachusetts were hailed for their valor . William Carney , an African - American sergeant with the 54th , is considered the first black recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions that day in recovering and returning the unit ' s U . S . Flag to Union lines . [ 6 ] Their conduct improved the reputation of African Americans as soldiers , leading to greater Union recruitment of African - Americans , which strengthened the Northern states ' numerical advantage . Confederate casualties numbered 174 . The fort was reinforced by Brig . Gen . Johnson Hagood ' s brigade shortly after the assault had ended . The garrison of Fort Wagner was then changed during the night , and Gen . Hagood assumed command . He was relieved by Col . Laurence M . Keitt , who commanded the fort until it was abandoned on September 7 . Gen Hagood wrote a book titled Memoirs of the War of Secession , in which he states that the constant bombardment from the Union guns had unearthed such large numbers of the Union dead buried after the assault of July 18 , and the air was so sickening with the smell of death , that one could no longer stand to be in the fort . The constant bombardment caused Confederate soldiers who were killed during the siege to be buried in the walls of Wagner , and they were also constantly being unearthed . Following the Union repulse , engineers besieged the fort . The Confederates abandoned the fort on September 7 , 1863 , after resisting 60 days of shelling , it having been deemed untenable because of the damage from constant bombardment , lack of provisions , and the close proximity of the Union siege trenches to Wagner . Media depictions . A depiction of the battle is the climax of the 1989 film " Glory " .