The week of July 10-18, 1863, marked some of the bloodiest days in Charleston's history, highlighted by the Civil War battles of Battery Wagner at the southern tip of Morris Island. This critical battery was a primary target for the Union Army, as controlling the harbor was essential for taking Charleston, with the key to the harbor being Fort Sumter, strategically positioned in its center.
To capture Fort Sumter, Union troops first needed to take Battery Gregg, located just a stone's throw away on Morris Island. However, to seize Battery Gregg, they had to conquer Battery Wagner, approximately 1,000 yards to the south. This site was chosen due to its narrowest width, ranging from 25 to 60 feet, depending on the tides.
On July 10, U.S. forces launched an assault from their base at Folly Beach, attacking Confederate positions in the southernmost part of Morris Island and advancing toward Battery Wagner before being forced to retreat. Although this initial attack was inconclusive, it marked the start of the 587-day Siege of Charleston, the longest siege operation of the Civil War.
The following day, July 11, approximately 1,200 Union soldiers charged head-on at Battery Wagner. Despite being outnumbered, the conditions favored the Confederates, who successfully repelled the attack, resulting in the loss of only 12 Confederate soldiers, while 339 Union soldiers were either killed, wounded, captured, or reported missing.
Throughout the next week, Union naval and ground forces continued to bombard both Battery Wagner and Fort Sumter, planning a second assault for July 18. This battle gained notoriety due to the 1989 film "Glory," which depicted the courageous charge of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, one of America's first African American regiments, against the Confederate battery.
During the second battle, around 5,000 Union soldiers faced off against approximately 1,600 Confederates. Unfortunately, this engagement turned disastrous for the Union troops, who advanced along a narrow strip of beach bordered by marshes on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.
While exact casualty numbers vary, reports indicate that about 36 Confederates were killed and 190 wounded. In contrast, Union losses were staggering: 246 dead, 880 wounded, and 389 missing or captured. Confederate General Johnson Hagood reported burying around 800 bodies in mass graves behind the beach.
Despite these severe defeats, the bravery demonstrated by the all-Black regiment proved to critics in both the North and South that African Americans possessed the strength and capability to be effective soldiers.
After enduring two catastrophic losses, U.S. forces relentlessly bombarded Battery Wagner until Confederate forces ultimately evacuated it and Battery Gregg on September 5.
The Stories Behind the History
An even deeper history lies in the narratives of those who lived through these events—stories that provide context and impart valuable lessons. One notable account is that of Clara Barton, a Union army nurse whose experiences at Battery Wagner motivated her to establish the American Red Cross.
Barton found herself amidst the chaos during the second assault on Battery Wagner. Reflecting on her experience, she recounted,
“… in utter silence, … and whenever I met one who was giving his life out with his blood, I could not forbear hastening to tell him lest he die in ignorance of the truth, that he was the soldier of Freedom he had sought to be, and that the world, as well as Heaven, would so record it.”
Barton later wrote,
“We have captured one fort – Gregg – and one charnel house – Wagner – and we have built one cemetery, Morris Island. The thousand little sand-hills that in the pale moonlight are a thousand headstones, and the restless ocean waves that roll and breakup on the whitened beach sing an eternal requiem to the toll-worn gallant dead who sleep beside.”
In the years following the war, Union General Quincy A. Gillmore, an engineer, spearheaded an initiative to deepen Charleston Harbor’s shipping channel by constructing jetties at its mouth. This alteration in coastal dynamics led to the erosion of Morris Island, causing the remnants of the bloody assaults on Battery Wagner to gradually submerge beneath the ocean's surface, including the “thousand little sand-hills” that held the remains of the fallen.
Although the battery itself is now submerged, preservation efforts began in 2008 when a coalition that included the American Battlefield Trust acquired 118 acres of high ground and marsh adjacent to the fort's site, thwarting a developer's plans to build a resort community there. These preservation initiatives, coupled with the personal stories of survivors, offer a profound understanding of the deeper history that transcends mere statistics.
Credit: Library of Congress
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