Naturally the desire was strong in the North to humble Charleston, where the baleful secession sentiment was born and brought all the woe upon the country. General Beauregard was in command of that department, and he made every preparation for the attack, which he knew would soon come. In a proclamation he urged the removal of all non-combatants, and called upon the citizens to rally to the defense of the city.
A fleet of ironclads was always lying outside of Charleston, watching for an opportunity to give its attention to the forts or city. One tempestuous night in January a couple of rams dashed out of the harbor, and, in a ferociously vicious attack, scattered the ironclads, and compelled a gunboat to surrender. Thereupon the Confederates claimed that the blockade had been raised, but no one paid any attention to the claim.
An expedition was carefully organized for the capture of Charleston, and placed in command of Admiral Samuel F. Dupont. The fleet, numbering a hundred vessels, left the mouth of the North Edisto River on the 6th of April, and on the same day crossed the bar and entered the main channel on the coast of Morris Island.
A dense haze delayed operations until the following day, when a line of battle was formed by the ironclads, the wooden vessels remaining outside the bar. A raft was fastened to the front of the Weehawken, with which it was intended to explode the torpedoes. The cumbrous contrivance greatly delayed the progress of the fleet, which advanced slowly until the Weehawken had passed the outer batteries and was close to the entrance to the inner harbor. Then Fort Moultrie fired a gun, instantly followed by that of Fort Sumter, and the batteries on Sullivan and on Morris Island. Then a hawser, which the Confederates had stretched across the channel with the purpose of clogging the screws of the propellers, was encountered, the Weehawken was compelled to grope around for a better passage, and everything went wrong. The New Ironsides made an attempt to turn but became unmanageable, two other ironclads ran afoul of her, and matters were in a bad way when Admiral Dupont signaled for each one to do the best it could.
After a time, eight ironclads secured position in front of Fort Sumter, at distances varying from a third to half a mile. This placed them in direct range of 300 heavy guns which concentrated their appalling fire upon them, the shots following one another as rapidly as the ticking of a watch. The Keokuk, which ran close to Fort Sumter, was struck ninety times, in the course of half an hour, in the hull and turrets, and nineteen shots pierced her sides close to and below the water-line. Her commander with great difficulty extricated her from her perilous position, and she sank the next day.
The fight was another proof of the fact that, in all such engagements, the preponderating advantage is with the land batteries. The ships of the squadron were severely injured, but they inflicted no perceptible damage upon the forts. Admiral Dupont had gone into the battle against his judgment, and he now signaled for the ships to withdraw. All with the exception of the New Ironsides returned to Port Royal on the 12th of April.
This failure caused great disappointment in the North and to the government. Admiral Dupont was ordered to hold his position inside of Charleston bar, and to prevent the enemy from erecting any new defenses on Morris Island. The admiral replied that he was ready to obey all orders, but, in his judgment, he was directed to take an unwise and dangerous step. Thereupon he was superseded by Rear-Admiral Dahlgren, and preparations were begun for a combined land and naval attack upon Charleston.
ATTACK ON CHARLESTON, AUGUST 23D TO SEPTEMBER 29, 1863
"After a time eight ironclads secured position in front of Fort Sumpter, at a distance varying from a third to half a mile. This placed them in direct range of 300 heavy guns, which concentrated their appalling fire upon them, the shots following one another as rapidly as the ticking of a watch."