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Fort Pulaski
Civil War Georgia American Civil War
April 10-11, 1862
Fort Pulaski, built by the U.S. Army before the war, is located near the mouth of the Savannah River, blocking upriver access to Savannah. Fortifications such as Pulaski, called third system forts, were considered invincible, but the new technology of rifled artillery changed that.
On February 19, 1862, Brigadier General Thomas W. Sherman ordered Captain Quincy A. Gillmore, an engineer officer, to take charge of the investment force and begin the bombardment and capture of the fort. Gillmore emplaced artillery on the mainland southeast of the fort and began the bombardment on April 10 after Colonel Charles H. Olmstead refused to surrender the fort.
Within hours, Gillmore's rifled artillery had breached the southeast scarp of the fort, and he continued to exploit it. Some of his shells began to damage the traverse shielding the magazine in the northwest bastion. Realizing that if the magazine exploded the fort would be seriously damaged and the garrison would suffer severe casualties, Olmstead surrendered after 2:00 pm on April 11.
Result(s): Union victory
Location: Chatham County
Campaign: Operations against Fort Pulaski (1862) only battle in campaign Campaigns
Date(s): April 10-11, 1862
Principal Commanders: Major General David Hunter and Capt. Quincy A. Gillmore [US]; Colonel Charles H. Olmstead [CS]
Forces Engaged: The Port Royal Expeditionary Force's Fort Pulaski investment troops [US]; Fort Pulaski Garrison [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 365 total (US 1; CS 364)
Fort Pulaski after it's capture by the Union.
 American Civil War Artillery 1861-65: Field and Heavy Artillery Perhaps
the most influential arm of either army in the prosecution of the American Civil War, the artillery of both sides grew to be highly professional organizations. Because of the length of the coastline of the United States, from the beginning American ordnance placed an emphasis on its `Heavy Artillery' mounted in coastal defenses
 Savannah A large Union army led by Sherman leaves Chattanooga and northern Georgia
camps and marches south to Atlanta and ultimately arrives at the coastal city of Savannah, laying waste to the territory through which it passes
 The Atlanta Campaign of 1864 The operations of the Union and Confederate armies from
the perspective of the soldiers and the top generals. He offers new accounts and analyses of the major events of the campaign, and, in the process, corrects many long-standing myths, misconceptions, and mistakes. He challenges the standard view of Sherman's performance.
Kindle Available
 Southern Storm: Sherman's March to the Sea The
destruction spanned more than sixty miles in width and virtually cut the South in two, disabling the flow of supplies to the Confederate army. He led more than 60,000 Union troops to blaze a path from Atlanta to Savannah, ordering his men to burn crops, kill livestock, and decimate everything that fed the Rebel war machine
 American Civil War Fortifications
Coastal Brick and Stone Forts
The design, construction and operational history of fortifications, such as Fort Sumter, Fort Morgan and Fort Pulaski. Stone and brick forts stretched from New England to the Florida Keys, and as far as the Mississippi River. A handful of key sites remained in Union hands throughout the war, the remainder had to be won back through
bombardment or assault.
 Guide to the Atlanta Campaign: Rocky Face Ridge to Kennesaw Mountain Following the
capture of Chattanooga, the Union initiated battles and operations that took it from the Tennessee border to the outskirts of Atlanta. Bloody confrontations at places such as Resaca and New Hope Church. Grant had ordered Sherman to penetrate the enemy's interior and inflict "all the damage you can against their War resources,"
 Cracker Cavaliers: The 2nd Georgia Cavalry Under Wheeler and Forrest The Second
Georgia fought in such famous campaigns as Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Knoxville, Resaca, Atlanta, and Bentonville, they also participated in deadly encounters at Farmington, Mossy Creek, Noonday Creek, Sunshine Church, and Waynesboro
 The Battle of Resaca:
Atlanta Campaign, 1864
Ideal book for a Civil War buff. Take it with you if you visit the site. Written accounts from the soldiers that stormed across the hills put you in the moment. Several good maps and even pictures taken a few days after the battle help take you out of your living room and into the past
Source:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress
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