Short sketch of Charleston, SC.; how it fared in two wars and an earthquake . ris Island in July, 1863,and to be enjoyed no more while the war lasted. A detailed ac-count of this descent upon Morris Island will be found elsewhereunder the head of Fort Wagner. During the Federal operations on Morris Island for the reduc-tion of Wagner in July-September, 1863, the fire from Sumter wasfound to be most effective, both in repelling assaults and in check-ing the slow advances by sap upon the former stronghold. Thiswould have been cause sufficient, but for many other reasons Sum-ters destruction was
Short sketch of Charleston, SC.; how it fared in two wars and an earthquake . ris Island in July, 1863,and to be enjoyed no more while the war lasted. A detailed ac-count of this descent upon Morris Island will be found elsewhereunder the head of Fort Wagner. During the Federal operations on Morris Island for the reduc-tion of Wagner in July-September, 1863, the fire from Sumter wasfound to be most effective, both in repelling assaults and in check-ing the slow advances by sap upon the former stronghold. Thiswould have been cause sufficient, but for many other reasons Sum-ters destruction was decreed, and General Gillmore, with every fa-cility for its accomplishment, bent himself to the task. Early in August, earthworks mounting the most powerful ar-tillery then known to warfare, were thrown up on Morris Island, inthe line of the approaches to Wagner, varying in distance fromSumter, from two to two and a half miles. About the middle ofthe month these batteries opened, delivering their fire upon Sum-ter directly over Wagner and Gregg. The weight of this fire may. FORT SUMTER, CHARLESTON HARBOR. 2 2 SKETCH OF CHARLESTON. be inferred from the fact that in less than ten days more than 5,ogomissiles—many of them rifled 30Q-pounders—weighing in the aggre-gate nearly 300 tons, were hurled at Sumter alone. Before it wallsof brick and stone went down like chaff, and by September ist,1863, Sumter may be said to have ceased to be a factor of aggressionin the defences of Charleston. Its guns that were not destroyedwere moved to other points in the harbor, its artillery garrison wasreplaced by infantry, and it could hardly be called a menace to aniron-clad ship of war; but there was no thought of abandoning thepost. As the siege went on, sand-bags took the place of stone-walls, the work of repair kept pace with that of demolition, and anearthwork in all the parts exposed to fire from Morris Island re-placed the masonry, whose very debris was utilized in defence. Nor did the
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