THE ARMY BEFORE CHARLESTON IN 1863.

53

^lajor Anderson’s command early in 1861, and were left in that conditionWntil destroyed by our fire from Morris Island. When this fort fell into theenemy’s hands, April 14th, 1861, it contained seventy-eight pieces of service-able ordnance, all smooth-bores, ranging from 24-pounders to 10-incli Colum-Iriads. (2) Fort Moultrie, a brick work located on Sullivan’s Island about oneniile from Fort Sumter, mounting one tier of guns en barbette. Before theoutbreak of the war its armament consisted of fifty-two pieces, of which theheaviest were 10 and 8 inch Columbiads and the lightest a battery of field-guns.(3) Castle Pinckney, an old brick fort one mile east of the city on Shutes FollyIsland. Its armament at the beginning of the war comprised twenty-eightPieces of rather small calibers.

At the outbreak of the war the Confederates began to add largely to thestrength of the existing defenses by constructing strong and well-armedearth-works at the upper and lower ends, as well as at intermediate points, ofb°th Sullivan’s and Morris islands; by reenforcing the walls of Fort Sumtera( Ijacent to the magazine; by increasing the armament of that work and ofhort Moultrie with heavier calibers, including large rifles; by rebuildingail d rearming old Fort Johnson, on Janies Island, on the south side of the11111 er harbor west of Fort Sumter; by constructing several batteries onIh© shell beach south-east of Fort Johnson; by mounting some heavy rifles,111 eluding 13-inch Blakely guns, upon the lower water-front of the city; bybuilding a new battery at Mount Pleasant, and by the construction of iron-e bu] rams.

Ample preparations against a land attack were also made. On JamesIsland strong works were built to close the approach from Stono River.Stono inlet and harbor were occupied by an inclosed fort on Cole’s Island,w bieh held under control all the anchorage ground and landing-place1 Uside the Stono bar. This advanced position was abandoned by the enemyPi'ior to the naval attack on Fort Sumter, giving us the possession of Follyisland and the lower Stono and inlet. The upper Stono was held by a heav-by armed earth-work called Fort Pemberton, and the water approach toCharleston hy Wappoo Cut, west of James Island Creek, was defended byPowerful earth-works, while strong batteries on the eastern shore of Jamessland swept all the practicable water routes from Morris and Folly islands.1Ni orth-east of the city aline of intrenchments reaching from Copaliee Sound1° Wandoo River guarded the land approaches from Bull’s Bay. SuitableVVoi ’ks were also built on the peninsula in the rear of the city, covering the|°ads from the interior. Indeed, no avenue of attack, by land or water, was. t without ample means of protection. General R. S. Ripley, who had11 Unrediate command of the defense, recently stated that he had under hise °utrol 385 pieces of artillery of all calibers, including field-batteries, and anai uple force of skilled men to serve them. When the position was evacuatedy the Confederates, February 18th, 1865, 246 guns were left behind in thes ©ver a l Works .

r bbe James Island defenses were especially strong. They had repulsed a

bold

and spirited assault upon them from the Stono River side, made by