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Second Battle Of Fort Wagner Essay

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The 2nd Battle of Fort Wagner took place on July 18, 1863, and served as a cornerstone of Union offensive actions against the Confederate forces positioned in and around Charleston, South Carolina. The location of Fort Wagner would help secure Charles Bay and be a staging point for future actions against the area of Charleston. The battle also brought forward the capable abilities of colored soldiers in the face of adversity. Location and Engineering of Fort Wagner played a crucial part to the success of the defense of the fort by confederate forces. In the end, effects of war lead to the abandonment of the fort by units positioned there. A Defense Minded Position Fort Wagner was located on the northern end of Morris Island to the southeast …show more content…

The purpose of this was to loosen the defensive positions of an opposing position or an objective to lessen opposition towards ground forces and mitigate the risk to loss of life. Although the ammunition and delivery methods have changed throughout the evolution of war, the premise of this strategy has not changed. BG Strong and COL Haldimand positioned forces approximately 200 yards away from the objective in preparation for the inevitable assault. Union naval and artillery forces bombarded Fort Wagner for eleven hours to weaken the forces inside. The 54th Massachusetts Infantry(Colored), commanded by COL Robert G. Shaw, was chosen to lead the attack on Fort Wagner. While not the first major engagement by a colored regiment, the decision to push the 54th as the lead advance unit was a first time this happened since the formation of all-colored units. The heart and effort showed by the 54th proved inspirational to friendly units and positively affected the efforts of Union forces. The Union forces suffered substantial casualties during the initial charge on the fort, but did not let that deter them and they eventually scaling the slopes and breaching the fort walls. As forces continued to move into the fort, and many hand-to-hand battles ensued, the numbers pointed towards a sure victory for the Union forces. BG Taliaferro organized a counter fire of several artillery pieces and issued orders for them to lay siege to the flanks of the advancing attack forces, a decision that would delay and ultimately force the withdrawal of the attacking elements. The confederate elements received reinforcements from BG Johnson Hagood who proceeded to fight back and capture Union forces who remained inside the fort as all other forces retreated away from the fort. At the end of the day, around 1,500 Union

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