Morris Island

[NH Civil War Gal]

From FB - Civil War Photos, posted by WF Hill

OTD - July 18, 1863
The 54th Massachusetts Infantry, a unit comprised of African American soldiers, made it's heroic assault on Fort Wagner located on Morris Island at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, SC.

The 54th Massachusetts numbered 600 men at the time of the assault. Of these, 270 were killed, wounded, or captured during the engagement. Col. Shaw was killed, along with 29 of his men; 24 more later died of wounds, 15 were captured, 52 were missing in action and never accounted for, and 149 were wounded. These casualties represented the highest in the history of the regiment during a single engagement. Two company commanders were killed during the attack.

The Union forces were never able to take the fort using Infantry assaults, but instead undertook a prolonged bombardment by ships and shore batteries which lasted almost two months. Finally, on the evenings of September 6th and 7th, the Confederate Garrison was forced to withdraw it's remaining force and functioning artillery.

In 1885, three veterans returned to Morris Island to visit the site and discovered that erosion had literally washed away any physical evidence of the fierce combat that had taken place there.

And what it looks like today - Amazing how nature has taken it all back.

https://emergingcivilwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/MORRIS-ISLAND-A.jpg

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

Why are the Morris Island and Sullivan’s Island Shoreline Changing?

After the Civil War things changed along the shoreline once again in 1878 when construction was begun on the Charleston harbor entrance. The north and south jetties which are two parallel rock wall…

civilwartraveler.blog

On this page, scroll down to the image labeled "Assault on Fort Wagner" and be sure to note the caption below it:

Morris Island Walking Tour

I took the Coastal Expeditions Morris Island Beach drop tour to the island (link). From their website- “Hop aboard for a family-friendly adventure that takes you straight to the sandy shores of a w…

civilwartraveler.blog

When the present Morris Island Lighthouse was built in 1876, it was 1200 feet (almost a 1/4 mile) from the ocean beach. It is now roughly 2500 feet (1/2 mile) from the nearest ocean beach on the remnant of Morris Island.

 

[gary]

The jettys promoted erosion of the battlefield site.

I wonder if the attack would have been more successful if it was during the daylight.

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

I wonder if the attack would have been more successful if it was during the daylight.

I think the crucial mistake was not coordinating the assault with a naval bombardment. That would have kept the defenders in their bombproofs until it was too late, based on subsequent bombardments of Wagner.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

If there were any burials there, they must have washed out to sea. Am I right for thinking that?

 

[gary]

If there were any burials there, they must have washed out to sea. Am I right for thinking that?

Post-Civil War yes. A lot of bodies were exumed during the siege. Some of the bodies were from people who died at the lazaretto that was on Morris Island.

I think the crucial mistake was not coordinating the assault with a naval bombardment. That would have kept the defenders in their bombproofs until it was too late, based on subsequent bombardments of Wagner.

There was naval gunfire support, but it stopped when the Union forces closed the distance. Then the 51st North Carolina and the artillerists came out to man their posts. The Charleston Battalion remained at their post throughout the bombardment. The 31st North Carolina refused to leave the bombproof (never figured out what happened to their commanding officer or the men).

 

[gary]

BTW, I've never found out if the officers of the 31st North Carolina were court martialed for their men's cowardice. In Ancient Rome punishment would be decimation.

 

[gary]

From page 141 of Johnson Hagood's Memoirs of the War of Secession:

At 10 a. m. four of the enemy's vessels were in action. At 12:10 the frigate 'Ironsides' and one monitor moved abreast of Wagner, and at 12:30 were joined by two other monitors, when they opened fire on the work. At 1 p. m. the Ironsides, five monitors, a large wooden frigate, six mortar boats (these last could get the range without exposing themselves) and land batteries mounting five guns, concentrated their fire on Battery Wagner and continued till dark. The enemy's fire throughout the day was very rapid, averaging fourteen shots per miute, and unparalleled until this epoch of the siege in the weight of the projectiles thrown.

From page 142:

"At a quarter past 8 p. m. the assaulting lines of the enemy were seen advancing from their works, and the bombardment from the fleet and land batteries subsided."

I'm just speculating, but what if Gillmore attacked two hours earlier? Daylight meant that other Confederate forts like Johnson or Sumter could bombard the advancing column, but the Union Navy and the Army could have maintained a curtain of fire for their own men to advance behind (thinking of WW I technique of advancing under cover of fire).