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Fort Wagner

 
Fort Wagner

 
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Fort Wagner
 
 
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Fort Wagner (also called Battery Wagner) was a fortification
Fortification

Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defense in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs....
 on Morris Island
Morris Island

Morris Island is an 840 acre uninhabited island in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, accessible only by boat. The island lies in the outer reaches of the harbor, and was thus a strategic location in the American Civil War....
, South Carolina
South Carolina

South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
, that covered the southern approach to Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County....
 harbor. It was the site of two American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
 battles in the campaign known as Operations Against the Defenses of Charleston in 1863.

d for deceased Lt. Col. Thomas M. Wagner
Thomas M. Wagner

Thomas M. Wagner was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He is the namesake of Fort Wagner, site of the First Battle of Fort Wagner and Battle of Fort Wagner, Morris Island....
, Fort Wagner measured 250 by , and spanned an area between the Atlantic on the east and an impassable swamp on the west.






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Fort Wagner (also called Battery Wagner) was a fortification
Fortification

Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defense in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs....
 on Morris Island
Morris Island

Morris Island is an 840 acre uninhabited island in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, accessible only by boat. The island lies in the outer reaches of the harbor, and was thus a strategic location in the American Civil War....
, South Carolina
South Carolina

South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
, that covered the southern approach to Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County....
 harbor. It was the site of two American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
 battles in the campaign known as Operations Against the Defenses of Charleston in 1863.

Construction

Named for deceased Lt. Col. Thomas M. Wagner
Thomas M. Wagner

Thomas M. Wagner was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He is the namesake of Fort Wagner, site of the First Battle of Fort Wagner and Battle of Fort Wagner, Morris Island....
, Fort Wagner measured 250 by , and spanned an area between the Atlantic on the east and an impassable swamp on the west. Its walls, composed of sand and earth, rose above the level beach and were supported by palmetto logs and sandbags. The fort's arsenal included fourteen cannons, the largest a Columbiad
Columbiad

The Columbiad was a large caliber, smoothbore, muzzle loading cannon able to fire heavy projectiles at both high and low trajectory. This feature enabled the columbiad to fire solid shot or Shell to long ranges, making it an excellent seacoast defense weapon for its day....
 that fired a 128-pound shell. A large structure capable of sheltering nearly 1,000 of the fort's 1700-man garrison provided substantial protection against naval shelling. The fort's land face was protected by a water-filled ditch, wide and deep, surrounded by buried land mines and sharpened palmetto
Palmetto

Palmetto may refer to the following:...
 stakes.

History

The First Battle of Fort Wagner, occurred on July 11, 1863. Only 12 Confederate soldiers were killed, as opposed to the Union's 330 losses.

The Second Battle of Fort Wagner, a week later, is better known. This was the Union
Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the Federal government of the United States of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that formed the Confederate States of America....
 attack on July 18, 1863, led by the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry

The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that saw extensive federal service in the Union Army during the American Civil War....
, one of the first major American military units made up of black soldiers. Colonel Robert Gould Shaw
Robert Gould Shaw

Robert Gould Shaw was the Colonel in command of the all-African American 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, which entered the American Civil War in 1863....
 led the 54th Regiment on foot while they charged and was killed in the assault. Although a tactical defeat, the battle proved to be a political victory for the Union since the valor of the 54th against hopeless odds proved the worth of black soldiers. It spurred additional recruitment that gave the Union Army
Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
 a further numerical advantage in troops over the South.

The Union besieged the fort after the unsuccessful assault. After enduring almost 60 days of heavy shelling, the Confederates abandoned it on September 7, 1863.This was one of the bloodiest battles due to the ammount of men lost in the charge.

In popular culture

The Second Battle of Fort Wagner is depicted in the climax of the movie Glory
Glory (film)

Glory is a 1989 in film drama film war film based on the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry as told from the point of view of its commanding officer, Robert Gould Shaw during the American Civil War....
.