Above- Period illustration of artist's conception of attack. The maps indicate the ships were not in these positions.
After the Confederates took possession of Ft. Sumter in 1861 the 60 foot tall fort's six foot thick brick walls were regarded as impregnable to sea attack. Most of the guns used against it during the 1861 bombardment did little damage except for setting fire to the buildings. There were no casualties. For the next two years Sumter was a symbol of the South's first victory. It was a popular site with visitors and balls were held there with the women of Charleston coming out to the Fort by steamer to dance.
Events elsewhere indicated this massive brick fort might not be as impregnable as thought. In 1862 the Confederate Ironclad Virginia (Merrimack) and the Federal Ironclad Monitor dueled at Hampton Roads and the smaller, more technically advanced federal vessel barely saved Washington from coming under direct bombardment. In fall of 1863 Gen. Quincy Gilmore brought the North's new rifled canon to bear against Ft. Pulaski, a massive brick fort outside of Savannah, GA and forced the Fort's surrender in 2 days.
In March of 1863 the largest fleet of ironclads the world had ever seen began to concentrate at Charleston off Beaufort and Folly Island, both occupied by the Federal Army and Navy. This fleet included six monitors of improved design, a massive iron ship, The New Ironsides, most powerful in the Federal Fleet and the double turret tinclad, Keokuk. These vessels carried larger, more powerful canon and their iron protection could allow them to come closer to their targets and accept a pounding while they delivered one.
The Confederates were not unprepared. They had two ironclads of their own at Charleston, the Chicora and The Palmetto State, both badly underpowered but bearing powerful guns. The artillery in the harbor forts was improved. The harbor was blocked with obstructions, most importantly mines. Additional forts on Morris Island were constructed and the existing batteries around the harbor were improved. Most importantly a system of signals, markers, charts and indicator marks on the gun carriages were developed that allowed the Confederate artillerists to fire their more accurate land based guns at predetermined locations. With all calculations worked out in advance, the Confederate Batteries would wait for a ship to move into a predetermined position marked with flag and buoys and when it was in the targeted location, fire. The guns would then be set to the next location up or down the channel. Batteries were arranged and prepared to present a gauntlet of precisely controlled fire to any ship moving up the narrow harbor channel.
While the ironclads were powerful ships, it was nearly impossible for the crew to escape if they were holed in deep water by a mine. Temperatures inside the Monitors often exceeded 140 degrees. Plunging fire from Sumter could pierce their decks. This attack would test their capabilities.
When the Federal fleet went into line of battle on the afternoon of April 7, the Confederate Garrison at Sumter met it with the chivalry which was still part of the war at that time. The Fort ran up all its flags and the band was sent to the parapet to play the national airs.
The details on the attack itself can be best determined from the official reports and records found linked below. The Federal Navy was unable or unwilling to come close in to Sumter and operated near the limit of its weapons. The tinclad Keokuk, whose master protested her unfitness for the work, came in closest, took the worst pounding, was disabled and sank the next day. Several of the monitors were damaged and had to go to the Federal Navy Yard at Beaufort for repairs. The powerful Ironsides kept her distance. The Ironsides paused for twenty minutes over a Confederate electrical mine packed with 1000 pounds of gunpowder but the operators on the shore could not detonate it. Ultimately the iron fleet withdrew under pressure from the more accurate Confederate Fire, which had the advantage of fixed and stable positions on the land.
There is also some indication that the Navy might have been worse off had they won the battle. If the ironclad fleet had managed to pass Sumter and entered the Harbor, it would have been completely surrounded by powerful land batteries and possibly trapped by the Confederate Ironclads, which though slow and unfit for pursuit and engagement, could have effectively blacked the escape channel behind them. The Federal Ironclads could have been attacked by fleets of smaller vessels and their crews overwhelmed. Some of the Federal Captains believed a victory at the harbor mouth might have become a disaster inside. As it was, the Confederates could claim a defensive victory at Charleston and the Federal Fleet joined the Army in land operations against Charleston that summer on Folly, Morris and James Islands.
Map of Charleston Harbor showing actions and batteries involved in battle.
Report of Gen. Roswell Ripley, CSA - From the Official Records
Report of Alfred Rhett, 1st. SC Artillery, from the Official Records. He greeted the attack with flags and a band playing patriotic songs.
Federal Reports - Now Being Coded
Main Ft. Sumter Page - Charleston's Famous Fort and its role throughout the war.
Return to Civil War @ Charleston
