Siege of Fort Pulaski

Battle of Fort Pulaski
	Part of the American Civil War
	; Fort Pulaski under fire on April 10–11, 1862 from the Union's innovative Parrott rifle cannon and percussion shells
Date	April 10–11, 1862
Location	Chatham County, Georgia
Result	Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Samuel F. DuPont ; David Hunter ; Quincy A. Gillmore	Robert E. Lee ; Josiah Tattnall III ; Charles H. Olmstead
Units involved
Department of the South; South Atlantic Squadron; 15 warships, 36 transports; Tybee Island besiegers; 10,000 officers and men; 36 guns of all calibers; 5 Parrotts, 5 James rifles	Dept. of SC, Ga., Florida; Savannah River Sqdrn; 3 warships, 2 transports; Fort Pulaski garrison; 385 officers and men; 48 guns of all calibers; 2 Blakely rifled cannons
Casualties and losses
1 killed; Several wounded	Several mortally wounded; 363 captured

The siege of Fort Pulaski (or the siege and reduction of Fort Pulaski) concluded with the battle of Fort Pulaski fought April 10–11, 1862, during the American Civil War. Union forces on Tybee Island and naval operations conducted a 112-day siege, then captured the Confederate-held Fort Pulaski after a 30-hour bombardment. The siege and battle are important for innovative use of rifled guns which made existing coastal defenses obsolete. The Union initiated large-scale amphibious operations under fire.

The fort's surrender strategically closed Savannah as a port. The Union extended its blockade and aids to navigation down the Atlantic coast, then redeployed most of its 10,000 troops. The Confederate army-navy defense blocked Federal advance for over three months, secured the city, and prevented any subsequent Union advance from seaward during the war. Coastal rail connections were extended to blockaded Charleston, South Carolina.

Fort Pulaski is located on Cockspur Island, Georgia, near the mouth of the Savannah River. The fort commanded seaward approaches to the City of Savannah. The city was commercially and industrially important as a cotton exporting port, railroad center and the largest manufacturing center in the state, including a state arsenal and private shipyards.^[8] Two southerly estuaries led to the Savannah River behind the fort. Immediately east of Pulaski, and in sight of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, lay Tybee Island with a lighthouse station.

^ Fort Pulaski under fire April 10–12, 1862. Viewed from northeast, North Channel, Savannah River. Union batteries bombard from Tybee Island. Brick thrown into the air is off the southeast corner of the fort by new Parrott Rifle cannon using percussion projectiles, making 7-foot penetrations. (Leslie's Weekly Magazine)
^ CSS Georgia: Archival Study Archived 2011-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Swanson, Mark and Robert Holcombe. January 31, 2007, p.30
^ New York Times, 04/20/1862 “Other official documents”. Fort Pulaski surrender.
^ Gillmore, p. 62
^ CSS Georgia: Archival Study Archived 2011-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Swanson, Mark and Robert Holcombe. Jan 31, 2007, p.30. On March 30, 1861, the vessels and crews of the Navy of Georgia were turned over to confederate authorities
^ Swanson, M. and Holcombe, R., op.cit. p.30
^ Jones, Charles C., Jr., chief of artillery of the Confederate Department of Georgia "Seizure and reduction of fort Pulaski" article in “The Magazine of American history with notes and queries, Volume 14”, 1885 edited by John Austin Stevens, et al. p. 56. Fort 48 guns of all calibers: five 10-inch and nine 8-inch columbiads unchambered, three 42-pounder and twenty 32-pounder guns, two 24-Blakely rifle guns, one 24-pounder iron howitzer, two 12-pounder bronze howitzers, two 12-inch iron mortars, three 10-inch sea-coast mortars, and one 6-pounder bronze field piece.
^ Savannah boasted a roundhouse repair facility. Three railroads at the time of the Civil War were (1) Central of Georgia Railroad, 1843, to cotton center of the state: Macon and Milledgeville; (2) Savannah, Albany and Gulf Railroad to the south central part of Georgia; and (3) the Savannah Charleston Railroad in 1860 (later the "Charleston Savannah Railway"). The value of 38 manufacturing establishments of all kinds totaled near $1 million, more than any other county in the state. CSS Georgia: Archival Study Archived 2011-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Swanson, Mark and Robert Holcombe. January 31, 2007, p.13

[1] Fort Pulaski under fire April 10–12, 1862. Viewed from northeast, North Channel, Savannah River. Union batteries bombard from Tybee Island. Brick thrown into the air is off the southeast corner of the fort by new Parrott Rifle cannon using percussion projectiles, making 7-foot penetrations. (Leslie's Weekly Magazine)

[2] CSS Georgia: Archival Study Archived 2011-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Swanson, Mark and Robert Holcombe. January 31, 2007, p.30

[nytimes.com-3] New York Times, 04/20/1862 “Other official documents”. Fort Pulaski surrender.

[4] Gillmore, p. 62

[5] CSS Georgia: Archival Study Archived 2011-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Swanson, Mark and Robert Holcombe. Jan 31, 2007, p.30. On March 30, 1861, the vessels and crews of the Navy of Georgia were turned over to confederate authorities

[6] Swanson, M. and Holcombe, R., op.cit. p.30

[7] Jones, Charles C., Jr., chief of artillery of the Confederate Department of Georgia "Seizure and reduction of fort Pulaski" article in “The Magazine of American history with notes and queries, Volume 14”, 1885 edited by John Austin Stevens, et al. p. 56. Fort 48 guns of all calibers: five 10-inch and nine 8-inch columbiads unchambered, three 42-pounder and twenty 32-pounder guns, two 24-Blakely rifle guns, one 24-pounder iron howitzer, two 12-pounder bronze howitzers, two 12-inch iron mortars, three 10-inch sea-coast mortars, and one 6-pounder bronze field piece.

[8] Savannah boasted a roundhouse repair facility. Three railroads at the time of the Civil War were (1) Central of Georgia Railroad, 1843, to cotton center of the state: Macon and Milledgeville; (2) Savannah, Albany and Gulf Railroad to the south central part of Georgia; and (3) the Savannah Charleston Railroad in 1860 (later the "Charleston Savannah Railway"). The value of 38 manufacturing establishments of all kinds totaled near $1 million, more than any other county in the state. CSS Georgia: Archival Study Archived 2011-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Swanson, Mark and Robert Holcombe. January 31, 2007, p.13

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Siege of Fort Pulaski

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