Gate of Hell: Campaign for Charleston Harbor, 1863
Study of the Union's Campaign for Charleston. The many attacks the Union attempted that summer to capture the cradle of the Confederacy. Overview of the campaign, focusing on the relationships between the Army and the Navy of the United States

Charleston Harbor
Fort Sumter
Civil War South Carolina


American Civil War
April 7, 1863

Kindle Available
South Carolina

Charlestonians in War
The Charleston Battalion

The history of a Confederate unit that was central to the defense of Charleston: the 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Battalion, usually known simply as the Charleston Battalion

In April, Major General David Hunter prepared his land forces on Folly, Cole's, and North Edisto Islands to cooperate with a naval bombardment of Fort Sumter.

On April 7, the South Atlantic Squadron under Rear Admiral S.F. Du Pont bombarded Fort Sumter, having little impact on the Confederate defenses of Charleston Harbor.

Although several of Hunter's units had embarked on transports, the infantry were not landed, and the joint operation was abandoned.

The ironclad warships Keokuk, Weehawken, Passaic, Montauk, Patapsco, New Ironsides, Catskill, Nantucket, and Nahant participated in the bombardment. 

Keokuk, struck more than 90 times by the accurate Confederate fire, sunk the next day.

Result(s): Confederate victory (Warships were repulsed.)

Location: Charleston County

Campaign: Operations against Defenses of Charleston (1863) next battle in campaign   Campaigns

Date(s): April 7, 1863

Principal Commanders:  Rear Admiral S.F. Du Pont [US]; General P.G.T. Beauregard [CS]

Forces Engaged: 9 warships

Estimated Casualties: 36 total (US 22; CS 14)

Beauregard
P.G.T. Beauregard
Napoleon in Gray

Beauregard often gets overlooked, he was never as beloved as Lee or Stonewall Jackson, but he was capable, the man had a sharp mind and Lee understood this, even if Jefferson Davis did not

Kindle Available
Civil War Firearms

Standard Catalog of
Civil War Firearms

Over 700 photographs and a rarity scale for each gun, this comprehensive guide to the thousands of weapons used by Billy Yank and Johnny Reb will be indispensable for historians and collectors.
Union Fleet Bombarding Fort Sumter to Retake Charleston Harbor from the Confederates, c.1863
Union Fleet Bombarding Fort Sumter to Retake Charleston Harbor
from the Confederates, c.1863

24 in. x 18 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Framed   Mounted

"Panoramic View of Charleston Harbor. -- Advance of Ironclads to the Attack, April 7th, 1863"
Line engraving published in "The Soldier in our Civil War", Volume II, page 172, with a key to individual ships and land features shown.
U.S. Navy ships present are (from left to center): Keokuk , Nahant , Nantucket , Catskill , New Ironsides , Patapsco , Montauk , Passaic and Weehawken .

Civil War Revolver Pistol
Civil War Model 1851 Naval Pistol
Engraved Silver Tone / Gold Tone Finish and Wooden Grips - Replica of Revolver Used by Both USA / Union and CSA / Confederate Forces
South Carolina State Battle Map
State Battle Maps
American Civil War Exhibits
Civil War Submarines
Ships and Naval Battles
Confederate Naval History
Civil War Summary
Civil War Timeline
Women Civil War Soldiers
Reenactors Row Supplies
Civil War Nurse Barbie
Civil War Nurse Barbie

Part of the American Stories Collection.

American Civil War Book Titles
Harpers Ferry
The Perfect Steel Trap
Harpers Ferry 1859

Eye-witness accounts of the John Brown insurrection from people like Lee, Brown's family, and ordinary citizens. The information has been gathered by two of the raiders who escaped and live to tell about it Owen Brown and Osborne Anderson. The preparations, the raid, the trials, the executions and the aftermath of the event
Confederate Charleston
Confederate Charleston: An Illustrated History of the City and the People During the Civil War
This book has so many facts that I had never read and pictures I'd never seen. The author really went into detail about the city and pictures that I haven't found in any other book.
Siege Train
Siege Train: The Journal of a Confederate Artilleryman in the Defense of Charleston
Major Edward Manigault, one of the commanding officers ordered by General P. G. T. Beauregard to document his unit's daily operations, began a diary in July 1863 that would become one of the most informative records to survive the Civil War.
Kindle Available
South Carolina

Charlestonians in War
The Charleston Battalion

The history of a Confederate unit that was central to the defense of Charleston: the 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Battalion, usually known simply as the Charleston Battalion

Grant's Secret Service: The Intelligence War from Belmont to Appomattox
The first scholarly examination of the use of military intelligence under Ulysses S. Grant's command during the Civil War. Feis makes the new and provocative argument that Grant's use of the Army of the Potomac's Bureau of Military Information played a significant role in Lee's defeat
Kindle Available

Wolf of the Deep: Raphael Semmes and the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama
In July 1862, the Confederate captain Raphael Semmes received orders to report to Liverpool, where he would take command of a secret new British-built steam warship. His mission: to prey on Union commercial vessels and undermine the North's ability to continue the war
Dual on the Roanoke CSS Albemarle
Duel on the Roanoke - The True Story of the CSS Albemarle
A 158-foot Confederate ironclad ship built in a cornfield 90 miles up North Carolina's Roanoke River, under the direction of an 18-year-old boy, and the deadly cat-and-mouse game between the two opposing captains.

Ironclad of the Roanoke
Gilbert Elliott's Albemarle

The story of a Confederate Ironcald that was a powerful force until sunk by a Union Torpedo Boat after its brief stormy life. Ironic in the fact it was built in a Cornfield. Confederate Ingenunity at it finest!

Civil War Video Games

Wargame Construction
Age of Rifles 1846 - 1905

Game lets you design and play turn-based strategic battles. You can create scenarios betwen years 1846 and 1905. You have complete control over all the units, and can customize their firepower, movement points, strength, aggressiveness, etc. Supports 1 or 2 players
Nation Divided
History Channel
Civil War A Nation Divided

Rally the troops and organize a counterattack -- Your strategic decision and talent as a commander will decide if the Union is preserved or if Dixie wins its independence
Sid Meiers
Sid Meier's Civil War Collection
Take command of either Confederate or Union troops and command them to attack from the trees, rally around the general, or do any number of other realistic military actions. The AI reacts to your commands as if it was a real Civil War general, and offers infinite replayability. The random-scenario generator provides endless variations on the battles
video game
Campaign Gettysburg:
Civil War Battles

Campaign Gettysburg is simply the best of all the HPS Civil War games. While all of those are very good in their own right they simply do not compete with the level of detail presented here.
Hundreds of scenarios and multiple OOBs are only the start, the best thing is the campaign game

Civil War History Documentary DVD Movie Titles
       
       

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.

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