July 18th, 1863, the Second Battle of Fort Wagner. If you havent seen the film Glory you really should. On July 18, 1863, after the heavy land and sea bombardment subsided, Gillmore sent forward his Federal regiments. The assault was led by the 54th Massachusetts regiment; a Boston regiment filled with free African-Americans, and led by the Harvard educated Col. Robert Gould Shaw. The decision to have the 54th Massachusetts lead this dangerous attack was fraught with all sorts of political and military risk, but in the end it was Shaw’s men that led the attack up the narrow beach. As the Federal soldiers neared the fort they were subjected to artillery and musket fire that shredded the exposed Yankee ranks. Despite their heavy losses, the remnants of the 54th Massachusetts reached and scaled the earthen walls of Fort Wagner. Descending into the fort, the 54th engaged in a bloody hand-to-hand struggle with the Confederate defenders. Col. Shaw, shouting “Onward boys! Onward boys!” was quickly shredded by a number of Confederate bullets and died on the sandy ramparts.Facts 54th Subsequent assaults by the 6th Connecticut, 48th New York, 3rd New Hampshire, 9th Maine, 76th Pennsylvania, 7th New Hampshire, 100th New York, 62nd Ohio, and 67th Ohio pressed the hard fighting Confederate defenders to their limits, but failed to take the fort. Faced with a stinging defeat, the surviving Federal soldiers streamed back to their positions south of the fort late in the evening of July 18th. Federal casualties reached 1,515, with the 54th Massachusetts losing 42% of its ranks in the attack. General Strong and Colonels Shaw, Putnam, and Chatfield all were killed or mortally wounded in the attack. Light by comparison, Confederate losses numbered 174 men. After this bloody repulse, Gillmore’s settled into their Morris Island positions for a lengthy and costly siege that finally led to the Confederate abandonment of Fort Wagner on September 7, 1863 – far later than he had hoped.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 13:48:03 +0000
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