PERILOUS ADVENTURE Al
BY TUDGE H. D. D
3ATTERY WAGNER. TWIGGS.
The incident above referred to took place during the siege of Battery Wagner, S. C., ment and assault on the 16th of July, 1863, resulting in the complete repulse
a short time prior to the bombardhistoric fortress, which occurred
upon tl of the Federal forces, and one of the most signal defeats of
ers engaged considered.
the war, the num
Although the writer hz full ac
count of this great siege, bombardment, and assault in several
is heretofore given a very
addresses which have been printed, no reference was made to the episode hereinafter described, for the reason that he was one of the participants in the same. At the special request, however, of some of his comrades in arms, he has consented to send it to the CONFEDERATE Veteran, being largely induced to do this because of the pleasure it gives him to make public the conduct of his gallant associates upon the occasion referred to
Wagner was situated on Morris Island, about six Charleston. Its that city, and the possession of the island was liad effected a landing on the southern end of the island, and, moving up
Battery
miles from commanded the channel
guns approach to considered the key to the The
city. enemy
their forces, had erected heavy batteries about sixteen hundred
yards in front of Wagner. The latter, which was occupied by ot * troops, was a large bastioned earthwork, inclosed on all sides, and situated upon a neck of the island, so narrow
that the battery (more properly fort) extended across its full width two hundred and fifty yards at that point from the sea or ship channel on one side to Vincent Creek, a deep and salt
long, low, sandy, sea island, almost denuded of growth, save
narrow water creck, on the other. This island was a
a few palmetto trees, a number of which grew along the banks of Vincent Creek.
creek an abandoned two-story wooden house, much nearer thz
There was situated near the banks of this enemy's works than ours, of which a small body of the enemy took possession; in fact, it was the headquarters of their night outpost picket.
From the upper windows of this house a band of sharpshooters had been constantly harassing the garrison at Wagner by firing plunging shots in their elevated positions from their long-range rifles, and scarcely a day passed without some soidier in the open parade of the fort being killed or wounded. Of course, the could not perpetually under cover in the stifling bomb proofs, and they were necessarily exposed to the rifle fire of this unseen, pitiless foe, who were dealing death day after day in their ranks. They could not be dislodged by infantry, as they had the near support of
troops remain
ten thousand troops in their own works (our force in the fort being less than fifteen hundred men). They could not be shelled by artillery, because we were day and night strengthening our works, and any artillery demonstration from our fort would have resulted in drawing upon us the concentrated fire of all the enemy's siege guns, which were of the heaviest caliber.
In the daytime the enemy's pickets were withdrawn from the house, leaving only the sharpshooters to do their daily, deadly work. No feasible expedient could be adopted to burn this house-and abate this intolerable nuisance, and night only brought relief to the harassed garrison.
It was possible for a very few men, under the shelter of the creek bank in places, and the scant growth of shrubbery, to approach the house in the daytime, but no considerable number could do so without being seen at once, and it was, of
course, impracticable to do so at night. At the time mentioned I was a captain of infantry, but detached from my regiment in Virginia, and was temporarily assigned to staf® duty as inspector general with Gen. William B. Taliaferro, who commanded Fort Wagner. One morning in July, 1863, about a week or ten days before the bombardment and assault on the 18th of July, described in my address, Lieut. J. 7. Doughty, of Augusta, Ga., who is still living in that city, received a box of eatables from home, and invited the writer,