Second Battle of Fort Wagner

Second Battle of Fort Wagner
Frank Vizetelly · Public domain · source
Conflict	Second Battle of Fort Wagner
Partof	American Civil War
Date	July 18, 1863
Place	Morris Island, Charleston, South Carolina
Result	Confederate tactical victory; Union strategic pressure on Charleston Harbor
Combatant1	United States (Union)
Combatant2	Confederate States (Confederacy)
Commander1	Quincy A. Gillmore; Robert G. Shaw; Edward H. Hinks; John G. Foster
Commander2	William H. C. Whiting; Charles F. Mizell; P. G. T. Beauregard
Strength1	Approx. 1,800 assault troops (notably the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment)
Strength2	Fort garrison and defenders from Palmetto Guard and militia units
Casualties1	~1,515 (Union total assault and siege operations)
Casualties2	~174 (Confederate defenders)

Second Battle of Fort Wagner The Second Battle of Fort Wagner was an assault on a Confederate fortification on Morris Island protecting Charleston Harbor during the American Civil War on July 18, 1863. The attack, led by the Union Army under Quincy A. Gillmore and featuring the volunteer 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment commanded by Robert G. Shaw, became a focal point in the Union campaign against Charleston, South Carolina and in the wider struggle over the use of African American soldiers in combat roles. Though the assault failed to capture the fort, the action had significant tactical, political, and symbolic consequences for the American Civil War and for African American military service.

Background

In 1863, Union Navy and Union Army forces coordinated operations against Charleston, South Carolina, a major symbolic target tied to the start of the American Civil War at Fort Sumter. Quincy A. Gillmore conducted siege operations on Morris Island following operations at Folly Island and the Second Battle of Charleston Harbor. The capture of Fort Wagner and adjacent batteries was intended to neutralize Confederate artillery threatening Union shipping and to tighten the blockade enforced by the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron under Samuel F. Du Pont and later John A. Dahlgren. Confederate defense plans rested with P. G. T. Beauregard's overall command for the region and divisional commanders including William H. C. Whiting.

Opposing forces

Union assault forces were drawn from X Corps (Union Army) under John G. Foster and included regiments from the Department of the South such as the famed 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment commanded by Robert G. Shaw, elements of the 6th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 8th Connecticut Infantry Regiment, and other veteran units. Naval gunfire support came from monitors like USS Montauk and USS Weehawken under John L. Worden. Confederate defenders included garrison troops from the Palmetto Guard, South Carolina militia detachments, artillery batteries under officers like Charles F. Mizell, and engineering detachments experienced from prior actions at Battery Wagner (Fort Wagner), Battery Gregg, and Battery Wagner (First Battle) skirmishes. Command structure tied into Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida headquarters.

Siege and bombardment

Following the capture of positions on Morris Island, Quincy A. Gillmore established siege parallels and emplaced rifled artillery, mortars, and siege batteries drawn from the Army of the James and other Union formations. Siege works echoed techniques from the Siege of Vicksburg and the siege of Fort Pulaski, employing Parrott rifle artillery and 13-inch seacoast mortar fire. Naval bombardment from USS Keokuk and monitors provided enfilading fire, coordinated with infantry trench advances and saphead construction. Confederate engineers and artillery commanders repaired earthworks at Fort Wagner (Battery Wagner) and used sand fortifications, abatis, and artillery such as the 10-inch Columbiad to repel assaults. Night sorties, sharpshooters, and counter-battery fire characterized the days before the July assault.

Assault and aftermath

On July 18, 1863, after sustained bombardment intended to silence Confederate guns, Gillmore ordered a frontal assault. The assault column featured the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in a leading role alongside regiments from Connecticut Volunteers and other units under brigade commanders including Edward H. Hinks. The charging troops advanced over open sand and through tidal channels under heavy artillery and musket fire from Confederate positions, including sharpshooters and artillery crews in the works. Robert G. Shaw led the 54th Massachusetts in a bold but costly attack; the regiment penetrated portions of the parapet but was repelled with heavy casualties, and Shaw was killed in action. The fort remained in Confederate hands, though Union forces continued siege operations that eventually led to the evacuation of Confederate positions on Morris Island later in the campaign. The assault was widely reported in contemporary newspapers and influenced public opinion in Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Casualties and consequences

Union casualties were severe among assaulting units, with the 54th Massachusetts suffering a high proportion of killed, wounded, and captured; total Union losses for the operation numbered in the high hundreds to over a thousand when including siege attrition. Confederate casualties were markedly lower but the garrison endured material damage and depletion of supplies and manpower. Strategically, while the attack failed to take the fort, persistent Union siege pressure contributed to eventual Union control of parts of Morris Island and to the tightening of the Charleston defenses, influencing Confederate logistics and morale. Politically, the performance of the 54th Massachusetts bolstered recruitment of United States Colored Troops and informed Lincoln administration policy debates over African American soldiers and equal pay issues.

Legacy and commemoration

The bravery of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and the death of Robert G. Shaw entered American memory and influenced postwar commemoration. Monuments such as the Robert Gould Shaw and Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial in Boston Common and other memorials in Charleston and northern communities reflect the battle's symbolic role in narratives of emancipation and citizenship. The assault inspired artistic and literary representations, later dramatized in works including the film Glory (1989 film), poems, and regimental histories written by veterans. Annual observances, battlefield preservation efforts on Morris Island, and inclusion of the action in studies of African American military history and Civil War scholarship have sustained interest in the engagement and its implications for Reconstruction-era debates and military integration policies.

Category:Battles of the American Civil War Category:1863 in South Carolina Category:African American history