Fort Pulaski under fire on April 10–11, 1862 from the Union's innovative Parrott rifle cannon and percussion shells.[1]
Date
April 10–11, 1862
Location
Chatham County, Georgia
Result
Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)
CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Samuel F. DuPont (Navy) David Hunter (Army) Quincy A. Gillmore (Siege)
Robert E. Lee (Army) Josiah Tattnall III (Navy) Charles H. Olmstead (Fort)
Units involved
Department of the South South Atlantic Squadron 15 warships, 36 transports[2]
Tybee Island besiegers 10,000 officers and men 36 guns of all calibers 5 Parrotts, 5 James rifles[3][4]
Dept. of SC, Ga., Florida Savannah River Sqdrn[5] 3 warships, 2 transports[6]
Fort Pulaski garrison 385 officers and men 48 guns of all calibers 2 Blakely rifled cannons[7]
Casualties and losses
1 killed Several wounded
Several mortally wounded 363 captured
v
t
e
Operations Against Fort Pulaski
Fort Pulaski
The siege of Fort Pulaski (or the Siege and Reduction of Fort Pulaski) concluded with the Battle of Fort Pulaski fought April 10–11, 1862, during the American Civil War. Union forces on Tybee Island and naval operations conducted a 112-day siege, then captured the Confederate-held Fort Pulaski after a 30-hour bombardment. The siege and battle are important for innovative use of rifled guns which made existing coastal defenses obsolete. The Union initiated large-scale amphibious operations under fire.
The fort's surrender strategically closed Savannah as a port. The Union extended its blockade and aids to navigation down the Atlantic coast, then redeployed most of its 10,000 troops. The Confederate army-navy defense blocked Federal advance for over three months, secured the city, and prevented any subsequent Union advance from seaward during the war. Coastal rail connections were extended to blockaded Charleston, South Carolina.
Fort Pulaski is located on Cockspur Island, Georgia, near the mouth of the Savannah River. The fort commanded seaward approaches to the City of Savannah. The city was commercially and industrially important as a cotton exporting port, railroad center and the largest manufacturing center in the state, including a state arsenal and private shipyards.[8] Two southerly estuaries led to the Savannah River behind the fort. Immediately east of Pulaski, and in sight of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, lay Tybee Island with a lighthouse station.
^Fort Pulaski under fire April 10–12, 1862. Viewed from northeast, North Channel, Savannah River. Union batteries bombard from Tybee Island. Brick thrown into the air is off the southeast corner of the fort by new Parrott Rifle cannon using percussion projectiles, making 7-foot penetrations. (Leslie's Weekly Magazine)
^CSS Georgia: Archival Study Archived 2011-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Swanson, Mark and Robert Holcombe. January 31, 2007, p.30
^New York Times, 04/20/1862 “Other official documents”. Fort Pulaski surrender.
^Gillmore, p. 62
^CSS Georgia: Archival Study Archived 2011-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Swanson, Mark and Robert Holcombe. Jan 31, 2007, p.30. On March 30, 1861, the vessels and crews of the Navy of Georgia were turned over to confederate authorities
^Swanson, M. and Holcombe, R., op.cit. p.30
^Jones, Charles C., Jr., chief of artillery of the Confederate Department of Georgia "Seizure and reduction of fort Pulaski" article in “The Magazine of American history with notes and queries, Volume 14”, 1885 edited by John Austin Stevens, et al. p. 56. Fort 48 guns of all calibers: five 10-inch and nine 8-inch columbiads unchambered, three 42-pounder and twenty 32-pounder guns, two 24-Blakely rifle guns, one 24-pounder iron howitzer, two 12-pounder bronze howitzers, two 12-inch iron mortars, three 10-inch sea-coast mortars, and one 6-pounder bronze field piece.
^Savannah boasted a roundhouse repair facility. Three railroads at the time of the Civil War were (1) Central of Georgia Railroad, 1843, to cotton center of the state: Macon and Milledgeville; (2) Savannah, Albany and Gulf Railroad to the south central part of Georgia; and (3) the Savannah Charleston Railroad in 1860 (later the "Charleston Savannah Railway"). The value of 38 manufacturing establishments of all kinds totaled near $1 million, more than any other county in the state. CSS Georgia: Archival Study Archived 2011-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Swanson, Mark and Robert Holcombe. January 31, 2007, p.13
and 25 Related for: Siege of Fort Pulaski information
The siegeofFortPulaski (or the Siege and Reduction ofFortPulaski) concluded with the Battle ofFortPulaski fought April 10–11, 1862, during the American...
FortPulaski National Monument is located on Cockspur Island between Savannah and Tybee Island, Georgia. It preserves FortPulaski, the place where the...
for the reduction ofFortPulaski were landed on Tybee Island on February 21. The siege batteries were ready by April 9. FortPulaski was then armed with...
the siegeof Savannah, while leading a cavalry charge against British forces, he was fatally wounded by grapeshot and died shortly after. Pulaski is remembered...
for his actions in the Union victory at FortPulaski, where his modern rifled artillery readily pounded the fort's exterior stone walls, an action that essentially...
Fort McHenry which played a crucial role in the Battle of Baltimore FortPulaski National Monument preserves FortPulaski, site of the SiegeofFort Pulaski...
Swift Battle of Olustee SiegeofFortPulaski Battle of James Island Battery Wagner Battle of Drewry's Bluff Siegeof Petersburg Battle of Chaffin's Farm...
the 97th fought at the SiegeofFortPulaski, the occupation ofFort Clinch, the Battle of Grimball's Landing and the Battle of Secessionville. He tendered...
Battle of Hampton Roads Bahia incident Battle of the Head of Passes SiegeofFortPulaski Battle of Plum Point Bend Action off Galveston Light By 1862 regulations...
Battle of Ezra Church Battle ofFort McAllister (1863) Battle ofFort McAllister (1864) Battle ofFortPulaski Battle of Griswoldville Battle of Jonesborough...
general of the Department of the Gulf. Hunter was a strong advocate of arming black men as soldiers for the Union cause. After the Battle ofFortPulaski, where...
key engagements of the American Civil War, including the SiegeofFortPulaski, Bermuda Hundred Campaign, Battle of Cold Harbor, Siegeof Petersburg, and...
a major assault against the British siege works failed. During the attack, Polish nobleman Count Casimir Pulaski, leading the combined cavalry forces...
beside his wife. Two ships have been named USS Tattnall for him. SiegeofFortPulaski The Civil War Naval Encyclopedia. Tucker, Spencer, 1937-, Pierpaoli...
NPS.gov, National Park Service Summary SiegeofFortPulaski NPS.gov, National Park Service Summary Battle ofForts Jackson and St. Philips "Amphibious Warfare:...
Ford, Virginia Siegeof Port Hudson Forts near Alexandria, Virginia Fort Lyon Diagram SiegeofFortPulaskiSiegeof Charleston Plan of Andersonville Prison...
colonel in the American Civil War. He was mortally wounded while assaulting Fort Wagner, South Carolina on July 18, 1863, and died on August 9, 1863. Chatfield...
commanded forces on the Savannah River during the SiegeofFortPulaski and was appointed Military Governor of Norfolk, Virginia, in 1862. He resigned from...
Blakely "siege" rifles were used in the Confederate defense ofFortPulaski in 1862. The Confederate commander ofFortPulaski near the coast outside of Savannah...
part in the attack on and capture ofFortPulaski, one of the defenses of Savannah. From this time until the spring of 1864, the regiment was employed for...
Bombardment and capture ofFortPulaski, Ga., April 10–11. Expedition to James Island June 1–28. Action at James Island June 8. Battle of Secessionville June...
The Second Battle of Charleston Harbor, also known as the Siegeof Charleston Harbor, the SiegeofFort Wagner, or the Battle of Morris Island, took place...
the war are not included in this list. The siegeofFortPulaski in April 1862 showed that masonry forts were vulnerable to modern rifled cannon, though...