SC Historical Society: southcarolinahistoricalsociety.org Wire -- Morris Island,SC, and the Civil War

MORRIS ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA -- CIVIL WAR

Bomb bursting in Charleston Left: Using church spires as markers Federal forces fired thousands of shells inside the city of Charleston. | 200 dpi

Morris Island was a strategically important, sandy stretch of land where Battery Wagner, a Confederate fort, protected Fort Sumter and Charleston harbor. In July 1863, in a major attack on Charleston, S.C., Morris Island was invaded and occupied by 6000 U.S. troops, including a black regiment, the 54th Massachusetts. The U.S. forces failed to take Battery Wagner that month, but they constructed their own batteries and put in place long-range guns aimed at Fort Sumter and Charleston.

In August 1863 General Gillmore, the commander of the Union forces, sent a message to the Confederates demanding the immediate evacuation of Morris Island and Fort Sumter, or else he would fire on the city of Charleston. - and that he did. The city was heavily shelled by Union artillery, including the famous "Swamp Angel," a big gun situated in the marsh between Morris and James islands. Even though the swamp angel burst after firing off only a few dozen rounds, the bombardment went on for over a year and a half, leaving much of Charleston reduced to ruins.

Right: A section of Lt. Birchmeyer's Battery, 3rd N.Y. light infantry. This was but one of many Union batteries placed across Morris Island in 1863. | 200 dpi

Battery Wagner was the target of a prolonged assault as well. Eventually, the small, outgunned Confederate garrison was evacuated, after withstanding Union siege for over fifty-days. Colonel Charles C. Jones Jr. gives a vivid description of what conditions were like for the defenders of Battery Wagner during the final days of the siege. "The bomb-proof, in its ruinous condition was little else than a charnel house. Its polluted atmosphere almost refused to support life, and its galleries were filled with the groans of the wounded and dying. The earth was reeking with the shallow graves of the slain. Nearly every gun in fixed position had been disabled."

Above:Bombproof of Battery Wagner, called Fort Wagner by Union forces. Bombproofs were designed as shelters for troops during bombardment, when the bombardment ceased the troops would emerge from their shelter and resume their places along the walls. | 200 dpi

South Carolinian John Harleston also served with the Confederate forces defending Morris Island. He too had a harsh recollection of his tour inside Battery Wagner. When asked after the war "What was the tightest place you were in during the Civil War?" Harleston always replied "Battery Wagner on Morris Island, and I have been in many tight places: as a prisoner on U.S. vessels, in the Tombs prison in New York.the bombardment and defence of Fort Sumter, and in numerous other places, but of all, the last six days before Battery Wagner was evacuated, was the worst." Today little is left of Morris Island. Its red and white striped lighthouse which was destroyed during the war and rebuilt in the 1870s still stands defiant. This island, the site of one of the most prolonged and bloody battles of the War Between the States, has all but been reclaimed by the ocean.

The South Carolina Historical Society, founded in 1855, is dedicated to the preservation of the history of our state, as well as providing valuable resources to the past for the researchers of today, and of future generations. Our manuscript and photograph archives are built from the generous donations of those who individuals share these same goals. The SCHS can be reached via email info@southcarolinahistoricalsociety.org or by phone (843) 723-3225 or visit our website at www.southcarolinahistoricalsociety.org.

Text by Mrs. Karen Stokes and Mr. Michael Coker. Photographs selected by Mr. Coker.

Last modified: 04/23/01/PLW.

URL: http://www.southcarolinahistoricalsociety.org/wire/2001_april/CW_morris_island.html