Southern Historical Society Papers

Report of Brigadier-General J. H. Trapier of the Fight of 7th of April, 1863, in Charleston Harbor

Volume VI, 1878, pages 125–127

Trapier's report from Sullivan's Island of the repulse of Du Pont's ironclads, printed from a manuscript never before published.

Cite as

Brigadier-General J. H. Trapier, “Report of Brigadier-General J. H. Trapier of the Fight of 7th of April, 1863, in Charleston Harbor,” Southern Historical Society Papers 6 (1878): 125–27.

The page in the scanned volume The whole volume at the Internet Archive

Published: 1878September number
Volume: 6
Pages: 125–127
Author: Brigadier-General J. H. Trapier

Eeport of BrigadierGeneral J. H. Trapier of the Fight of 7th of April, 1863, in Charleston Harbor.

[From original MS. never before published.]

Sullivan's Island, April 8th, 1863.

Captain W. F. Nance, A. A. G., Charleston, S. C:

Dear Sir — I have the honor to submit the following report of the action of the 7th instant, between the enemy's fleet of ironclad war vessels and the fort and batteries on this island.

At about two o'clock P. M. on that day, it was reported to me that the movements of the fleet — which had been for some hours anchored within the "bar" — were suspicious, and that some of the vessels appeared to be advancing. So stealthily did they approach, however, that not until two and a half o'clock did I become convinced that the intentions of the enemy were serious, and that the long threatened attack was about to begin. I immediately repaired to Fort Moultrie, where I had previously determined to make my headquarters during the action. Slowly but steadily the ironclads approached, coming by the Middle or Swash channel in single file — the Passaic (it is believed) in the van, followed by the rest (eight in number) at equal distances — the flagship New Ironsides occupying the centre.

/ $ three o'clock, Colonel William Butler, commanding the fort, reported to me that the leading vessel was in range. • I ordered him immediately to open his batteries upon her, which was done promptly, and the action began.

Fearing that the range was rather long for effective work, the firing, after a few rounds, was suspended for a short time; but finding that the enemy refused closer quarters, there was no alternative but to engage him at long range or not at all. We decided upon the former, and Fort Moultrie again opened her batteries. Batteries Bee and Beauregard had also by this time opened fire, and the action had become general. It soon became obvious that the enemy's intention was to fight and not to run by, and orders were given to "train" on vessels nearest in, and to fire by battery. Volley after volley was delivered in this way, but although it was plain that our shot repeatedly took effect— the impact against the iron casings of the enemy been distinctly heard — yet we could not discover but that the foe was indeed invulnerable.

At about five and a half o'clock P. M., or after the action had lasted about two hours and a half, the enemy slowly— as he had advanced — withdrew from the contest, apparently unharmed, so far at least as his powers of locomotion went. Subsequent eyents have happily revealed the fact that one, at least, of our enemy's invulnerables has given proof that brick walls and earthen parapets still hold the mastery. The nearest that the enemy ventured at any time to Fort Moultrie was estimated at one thousand yards.

Fort Moultrie was garrisoned by a detachment from the First regiment of South Carolina regular infantry, Colonel William Butler commanding, assisted by Major T. M. Baker, and consisting of the following companies :

Company A — Captain T. A. Huguenin. • Company E — Captain R. Press Smith.

Company F — Captain B. S. Burnett.

Company G — First Lieutenant E. A. Erwin commanding.

Company K — Captain C. H. Rivers.

Battery Bee was garrisoned by another detachment from the same regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel J.' C. Simkins, and consisting of the following companies :

Company C — Captain Robert De Treville.

Company H — Captain Warren Adams.

Company I— W. T. Tatom.

Colonel L. M. Keitt, Twentieth regiment South Carolina volunteers, commanding post, had his headquarters at this battery, by my orders.

Battery Beauregard was under the command of Captain T. A. Sitgreaves, First South Carolina regular artillery, and >fas garrisoned by the following companies :

Company K — First South Carolina regiment artillery — First Lieutenant W. E. Erwin commanding.

Company B — First South Carolina regiment infantry — Captain J. H. Warley.

. It gives me pleasure to have it in my power to report that not a single casualty occurred among any of these troops, with the exception only of one in Fort Moultrie.

Early in the action our nag-staff was shot away, and in falling, struck Private J. S. Lusby, of Company F, inflicting a severe wound, from which he died in a short time. Neither the fort itself nor its material was in the least injured.

It is due to the garrison at Fort Moultrie and their accomplished

commander, Colonel Butler, that I should not close this report without bearing testimony to the admirable skill, coolness and deliberation with which they served their guns. They went all — men as well as officers — to their work cheerfully and with alacrity, showing that their hearts were in it. There was enthusiasm, but no excitement; they lost no time in loading their guns, but never fired hastily or without aim. The reports of Colonel Keitt and Lieutenant-Colonel Simkins and Captain Sitgreaves, give me every reason to believe that the garrisons of Batteries Bee and Beauregard acquitted themselves equally well, and are equally entitled to the thanks of their commander and their country.

Colonel Butler makes honorable mention of the following officers: Captain W. H. Wigg, A. C. S., when the flag-staff was shot away, promptly mounted a traverse and placed the regimental flag in a conspicuous place upon it. Captain G. A. Wardlaw, A. Q. M., and Lieutenant and Adjutant Mitchell King, and First Lieutenant Duff G. Calhoun, were likewise prompt in placing the battle and garrison

flags in conspicuous places. Lieutenant W , ordnance officer,

is also favorably mentioned.

I have the honor to transmit herewith a statement, in tabular form, showing the expenditure of ammunition b}^ Fort Moultrie and the batteries during the action.

To Captains W. S. Greene and B. G. Pinckney, of my staff, and First Lieutenant A. H. Lucas, my Aid-de-Camp, I am indebted for valuable assistance.

All which is respectfully submitted.

J. JL Trapier, BrigadierGeneral Commanding.

The scan

What the scanner made of this page, and what it is in the printed original.

The heading is scanned “Eeport of BrigadierGeneral J. H. Trapier”; the page prints “Report of Brigadier-General J. H. Trapier.” The signature at the end is scanned “J. JL Trapier” for “J. H. Trapier.”

Editorial notes

Statements in this article that are wrong, doubtful, or worth setting beside another account. The article’s own text is left as printed.

“the Passaic (it is believed) in the van”
Trapier's hedge is well placed: the leading ship was the Weehawken, pushing ahead of her a raft rigged with grapnels to catch torpedoes and obstructions. The Passaic followed her. From Sullivan's Island, two miles off and end-on, one Passaic-class monitor was not to be told from another.
“followed by the rest (eight in number) at equal distances — the flagship New Ironsides occupying the centre”
Nine ironclads in all: seven monitors, the broadside ironclad New Ironsides carrying Rear-Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont's flag, and the experimental twin-turret Keokuk. The New Ironsides handled so badly in the channel that she anchored twice and never got properly into the fight — a fact the Confederate gunners could not have known.
“Subsequent eyents have happily revealed the fact that one, at least, of our enemy's invulnerables has given proof that brick walls and earthen parapets still hold the mastery.”
The Keokuk, which took some ninety hits at close range and sank the next morning off Morris Island. She was not a monitor but a one-off design with two fixed towers, and much the thinnest-skinned ship in the line. Her guns were afterwards raised by the Confederates in a series of night operations and mounted in the Charleston defences.
“the enemy slowly— as he had advanced — withdrew from the contest, apparently unharmed”
The withdrawal was final. Du Pont called off the attack after about two hours and did not renew it the next day, judging the harbor unforceable by ships alone. The decision cost him his command — Dahlgren relieved him on 6 July 1863 — and settled that Charleston would be attacked by siege from Morris Island instead. Beauregard's account of the same afternoon is at volume 5, page 145.
“The nearest that the enemy ventured at any time to Fort Moultrie was estimated at one thousand yards.”
Consistent with the Federal accounts, which put the monitors between six hundred and a thousand yards from Moultrie and rather closer to Sumter. It is worth setting beside the claim, corrected in the Confederate Veteran and repeated for years, that Gillmore's breaching batteries later stood four hundred yards from Sumter.
“not a single casualty occurred among any of these troops, with the exception only of one in Fort Moultrie”
One man killed on Sullivan's Island against nine ironclads in a two-and-a-half-hour action, and he was killed by his own flagstaff. Fort Sumter, which took the weight of the fire, lost none killed either.
“Early in the action our nag-staff was shot away, and in falling, struck Private J. S. Lusby, of Company F, inflicting a severe wound, from which he died in a short time.”
"nag-staff" is the scan; the word is flag-staff. Private Lusby is the only man named as killed in this report, and the officers named immediately after him are those who went out under fire to replace the colours he was killed by.
“Colonel L. M. Keitt, Twentieth regiment South Carolina volunteers, commanding post”
Lawrence Massillon Keitt, one of the congressmen who had walked out of Washington in 1860. He commanded on Sullivan's Island through 1863, took charge of Battery Wagner for its evacuation on the night of 6–7 September 1863, and was mortally wounded at Cold Harbor on 1 June 1864.
“commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel J.' C. Simkins”
John Calhoun Simkins of the First South Carolina Artillery, killed three months later in the second assault on Battery Wagner, 18 July 1863. Charles C. Jones names him among the dead of that night at volume 20, page 166.
“Company A — Captain T. A. Huguenin.”
Thomas A. Huguenin, a Citadel graduate, who was the last Confederate commander of Fort Sumter and brought its garrison out on the night of 17 February 1865.
“Neither the fort itself nor its material was in the least injured.”
True of Moultrie, which was barely engaged at that range; it was Fort Sumter that took the fire, and Sumter was struck some thirty-four times without being disabled. Trapier is reporting his own island and should not be read as describing the harbor.