This day in Charleston
2 entries · 1863
The USS Pawnee’s launch was destroyed by a torpedo. Charleston’s harbor and creeks had by now been sown with enough explosives that no boat operation was routine — a lesson the navy re-learned at intervals until the Patapsco went down in January 1865.
Official Records of the Navies, Series I, Vol. 14
From Battery Wagner: “I ordered our mortars to open yesterday afternoon upon a large force of the enemy engaged in erecting a battery on Thomas Island, and kept up the fire steadily until dark.” That battery, out in the marsh, became the Swamp Angel.
Official Records, Series I, Vol. 28, Pt. 2
Entries are dated from the War of the Rebellion official records, the naval official records and contemporary Charleston sources. Browse the whole year.