During the assault upon the fort, a column of forty companies of infantry, two batteries of artillery and a squadron of cavalry, about 2,500 strong, under Brigadier-General Wright, advanced along the Battery Island road and up the west side of Lighthouse creek, as a covering force for the protection of the left and rear of the troops assaulting Secessionville. This force was made up of the Third New Hampshire, and companies of the Third Rhode Island, Ninety-seventh Pennsylvania, Sixth Connecticut, Forty-seventh New York, Forty-fifth Pennsylvania, and First New York engineers. The advance of Hagood down the Battery Island road, with a portion of the First and Twenty-fourth South Carolina and the Eutaw battalion, brought him in contact with General Wright's advance, which he checked and repelled. The Eutaw battalion was placed behind an obstruction of felled timber on the east of the road, and four companies of the Twenty-fourth still further to the left and immediately in front of the enemy's advance. One piece of Boyce's battery, under Lieutenant Jeter, was put in position immediately on the right of the Twenty-fourth and the four companies of the First south of the road. Jeter opened fire on the enemy, in full view at Hill's place, and immediately Wright's artillery replied, shelling the whole front of Hagood's force and throwing solid shot at Jeter's gun. The Third Rhode Island advanced to charge the position, but was handsomely repulsed by Colonels Stevens and Simonton and the effective fire of Jeter. By this time the contest in front of Secessionville having been determined, General Wright retired his troops to their intrenched positions, and the battle of Secessionville was ended.
After the first repulse, the fort was again in danger from the fire of infantry and artillery in its rear and right flank by a portion of Wright's column, which had marched up the west bank of Lighthouse creek and were in position south and east of Hill's negro houses. It was this force that McEnery attacked as he came up, firing at short range across the creek. They were ultimately driven off by the fire of the 24-pounders in front of Clark's house, above alluded to, and by Hagood's troops. The latter were well posted, and when assaulted easily repulsed the attack. Lieutenant Jeter with his guns did good service in this affair; indeed, the position of General Wright's column at Hill's houses, though for a short time it took the work at Secessionville in flank and rear, was between the infantry fire of McEnery at the fort and Hagood's force and the 24-pounder battery at Clark's house. If Colonel Hagood had had his whole advance guard under his command, with Boyce's entire battery, he could have moved immediately against General Wright's column, striking him in flank and rear. On the contrary, if Wright had known that Hagood had with him only the total strength of a good regiment, with one piece of artillery, he would doubtless have attacked with his entire force instead of with a portion of the Rhode Island regiment only.
The force assaulting the fort numbered, of all arms, 3,562. It was defended by two companies of artillery, three battalions of infantry, and 100 picked men under Captain Jamison, a total of less than 1,000 men. Wright's column could not have been less than 2,500 to 3,000 of all arms. Hagood's force did not exceed 700 men, with one piece of artillery. The Confederate troops actually engaged did not exceed 1,800.
General Stevens reported a loss of 529 men and officers in his assaulting column; General Wright, 129; making an aggregate of 658. Colonel Hagood took 12 prisoners and counted 12 dead in front of Colonel Stevens' four companies, and 8 in front of the Eutaw battalion. More than the number reported by General Stevens were buried on the field, and while that general reports 1 officer and 30 men made prisoners, by actual count the Confederates took 65 wounded and 42 unwounded prisoners. The total Federal loss could not have been less than 750 to 800.
The Confederates lost in killed, wounded and missing, 204 officers and men, as follows: Forty-seventh Georgia, 1 killed; Fourth Louisiana, 6 killed, 22 wounded; Lamar's artillery, 15 killed, 39 wounded, 1 missing; Charleston battalion, 10 killed, 40 wounded, 2 missing; Pee Dee battalion, 3 killed, 23 wounded, 3 missing; First volunteers, 1 wounded; Twenty-second volunteers, 10 killed, 8 wounded; Twenty-fourth volunteers, 3 killed, 7 wounded, 2 missing; Eutaw battalion, 4 killed, 14 wounded; total, 5 officers and 47 men killed, 12 officers and 132 men wounded, 8 missing; aggregate 204.
Among the gallant dead were Capt. Henry C. King and Lieut. John J. Edwards, of the Charleston battalion; Capt. Samuel J. Reed, of Lamar's artillery; Lieut. Richard W. Greer, of the Eutaw battalion, and Lieut. B. A. Graham, of the Forty-seventh Georgia. Colonel Lamar and Lieutenant-Colonel Gaillard were both wounded severely. Also among the wounded were Captain Walker, of the Fourth Louisiana; Capts. J. A. Blake, F. T. Miles and R. P. Smith, and Lieuts. J. W. Axson, George Brown, John Burke and F. R. Lynch of the Charleston battalion; Lieut. J. G. Beatty of the Pee Dee battalion; Lieut. F. W. Andrews of the Twenty-fourth, and Lieut. Samuel J. Berger of the Eutaw battalion.
It was a gallant assault on the part of the Federals and came near being a complete surprise. But for the heroic conduct of the garrison in standing to their guns, and the persistent and gallant support of the Charleston and Pee Dee battalions and Jamison's men, who fought on the parapet and on the flanks, the Michigan and New York regiments and the Seventh Connecticut would have swarmed over the work at the first assault, closely followed by their supports.
The news of the victory at Secessionville was heralded to every quarter of the State and the Confederacy, and filled the hearts of soldiers and people with joy and thanksgiving. General Pemberton congratulated the troops engaged in orders, and especially acknowledged the heroism and ability of Lamar and his garrison. In published orders, the following officers and soldiers were specially mentioned for good conduct: Col. T. G. Lamar, Lieut.-Cols. P. C. Gaillard, A. D. Smith, John McEnery and Ellison Capers; Majs. David Ramsay and J. H. Hudson; Capts. Samuel J. Reed, Henry C. King, F. T. Miles, G. D. Keitt, W. W. McCreery, F. N. Bonneau, R. E. Elliott, S. J. Corrie, H. W. Carr, Joshua Jamison, Samuel S. Tompkins and W. H. Ryan; Asst. Surg. James Evans; Lieutenants Hall and Matthews, C. S. N.; Adjt. E. J. Frederick; Lieuts. W. H. Rodgers, J. B. Kitching, J. B. Humbert, W. S. Barton, J. W. Moseley, T. P. Oliver, John A. Bellinger, W. M. Johnson, J. W. Lancaster, L. S. Hill, H. H. Sally, J. B. Cobb, William Beckham, George Brown, A. A. Allemand, James Campbell and R. A. Blum; Sergt. W. H. Hendricks, and Privates Joseph Tennent, J. Campbell Martin, and T. Grange Simons, Jr.
Maj. David Ramsay, who succeeded to the command of the Charleston battalion on the wounding of Lieutenant-Colonel Gaillard, closes his brief report with this appropriate and just tribute, applicable to each of the commands engaged in the battle of Secessionville. "I have mentioned those especially noticeable, but can only repeat that I refrain from enumerating others because it would be to furnish a roll of those engaged."
Signally repulsed at Secessionville, and convinced of the strength of the line of defense across the island, the Federal commander-in-chief abandoned the campaign, evacuated James island the last of June, and aggregated the main portion of his troops at Hilton Head, Beaufort and North Edisto. There were left only the gunboats in the lower Stono, and the blockading fleet off the bar to menace Charleston. The troops which had reinforced the command of General Gist on James island were returned to their former stations on the coast and at Savannah, and the heroes of Secessionville were toasted on every hand.