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Secessionville

Written by John P. D'Innocenzi

Monday, 30 April 2007

SECESSIONVILLE The 8th Michigan and 79th New York at Tower Battery By John P. D'Innocenzi On the morning of June 16, 1862, the weather on James Island, just southeast and across the harbor from Charleston, South Carolina, was cool and drizzly. The weather was probably the last thing on the minds of the Union soldiers who belonged to Brigadier-General Isaac Stevens’ Second Division, part of the Northern District of the Department of the South. General Stevens’ men were about to take part in one of the few land assaults against Charleston during the Civil War. Against direct orders, Northern District Commander Brigadier-General Henry Benham ordered the 2nd Division to execute a frontal attack against a Confederate earthen fort called Tower Battery, part of Charleston’s outer defenses on James Island. The formidable work - built in the shape of the letter M and flanked on both sides by muddy, impassable marshlands - had walls as high as 16 feet with a fronting ditch. Eight hundred yards to the rear of the fort was the summer hamlet of Secessionville. The front of the fortification faced west. The Federals would have no choice but to attack head-on, beginning their assault from half a mile away. As they approached from the west, the open ground - bordered on each side by marshland - narrowed to a mere 175 feet, the length of the front wall of the work. The men of the 2nd Division would be forced to advance into a “funnel of death” as they weathered the lethal artillery storm of shotgun-type canister and shell. The Confederate battery included two 24-lb. rifled cannons, several 18-lb. guns and a giant 8-in. Columbiad cannon. At around 4:30 AM the first of Stevens’ division began advancing towards the Confederate fort, just visible in the dim light of the low, gray morning sky. The 8th Michigan, commanded by Lt. Colonel Frank Graves, led the attack across the uneven terrain of cotton rows. Leading the regiment of Midwesterners were companies C and H. Their orders were to charge the fort with the bayonet, and hold the enemies attention long enough for the full weight of the division’s 1st Brigade to reach the fortification. Soldiers who were given this unenviable assignment were commonly referred to as the “forlorn hope.” As the Michigan men advanced some reported hearing “the long roll in the enemy’s camp”- hopes of a surprise attack were dashed. With a loud, ringing cheer the 8th pressed their assault. In the pre-dawn gloom a Confederate sentinel noticed movement in the fields west of the battery. Shortly after, he saw the Federals forming for attack a half mile away, and another smaller group already charging across the open ground. The sentinel quickly woke Colonel Thomas Lamar Commander of the 1st South Carolina Artillery. Lamar immediately called for Confederate infantry camped near Secessionville to come forward in support of the battery. Within seconds a 24-lb. artillery piece followed by the giant Columbiad were the first to roar into action, sending a nightmare of canister and shell into the advancing 8th Michigan. The center of the main Michigan line simply melted away. As the Union assault progressed many from the “forlorn hope” companies made it to the fort and scaled the right wall of the parapet (the fort's left flank). Some stood atop the earthwork and fired their rifles while others tumbled into the fortification and engaged in hand-to-hand combat, desperately attempting to quiet the deadly Rebel artillery. Their efforts were sorely needed; Confederate cannon fire was devastating the remaining Michigan companies advancing in the open field. As the center of their battle line began to vaporize in the storm of shot and shell, many of the Michiganders decided enough was enough, and broke right and left for the cover of bushes lining the field. Others continued on through the bloody storm, struck the left flank of the Rebel work, and joined their “forlorn hope” fellows in the fort. Private Benjamin Pease of Co. G was grazed by a bullet as he made it to the ditch fronting the battery. Once in the trench he noticed none of his comrades were with him; looking back over his shoulder he could see them heading for the cover of myrtle bushes and logs along the edge of the swamp, on the north side of the field. The young man from Michigan decided he’d better stick with his comrades. With blood running down his face and into his eyes, Pease ran back to the northern edge of the open terrain, and eventually came across his captain lying face down behind some bushes. The private asked the officer if he was hurt. The captain said he was not and then, glued to the ground with his own head down, told Pease to keep him informed of how the battle was progressing. Pease obediently complied. Despite the Southerners’ best efforts, the 8th Michigan men who had scaled the parapet were driving the Confederates from the fortification. Suddenly a wall of musket fire from the rear of the battery tore into the exposed Federals. Swirling into the fort and firing on the run was the 9th South Carolina Battalion, also known as the Pee Dee Battalion, the first of the infantry support Colonel Lamar had called for when the attack began. While the men of the 9th South Carolina were concentrating their efforts on the left side of the fort, Confederate gunners on the right were taking a terrible beating until the 1st South Carolina Battalion arrived on the scene. They were directed to the center and right flank of the parapet where they joined the battle. Fighting with the 1st South Carolina was Confederate Scotsman Lt. James Campbell. He was frantically looking for a weapon; in the rush to reach the fort he had forgotten his rifle. Campbell suddenly saw a group of Federals scaling the wall and about to storm his position. He still hadn't found a rifle, but he did find a log on top of the parapet and sent it rolling down on the hapless group of Billy Yanks, inflicting considerable hurt on the boys in blue. The next regiment from Stevens’ division to assault the fort was the 7th Connecticut. Unfortunately, the Connecticut Federals were unaware of the narrowing “funnel shape” of the ground. They pushed left in an effort to align with the 8th Michigan and nearly half the regiment, in the confusion of battle and the dim morning light, marched through the bushes lining the north marshland and right into the thick, sticky mud - all the while being blown apart by canister and grapeshot. Efforts to extricate and realign the mud-cursed Connecticut companies came to a slimy halt when the Irish of the 28th Massachusetts, the next regiment following on the heels of the 7th, also plunged into the quagmire. The 28th had very little combat experience and immediately their effectiveness as a unit, for this fight anyway, was over. Many of the Massachusetts men who were not mired in the mud laid low in the cotton furrows of the field to avoid the deadly artillery fire. By now Confederate reinforcements in the fort were forcing the Michigan men to retreat back over the earthen walls where they were in danger of being hit by friendly fire. The men of the 8th looked for the other regiments in their brigade - where was their support? The commander of the 7th Connecticut Lt. Colonel Joseph Hawely frantically worked to reorganize his men. The air was thick with Rebel lead as he began to form a new line with the remaining half of the regiment. Hawely then led his men to the right of the field directly behind the 8th Michigan who were still on the walls of the fort fighting for their lives. With the regiment reformed it seemed as if the 7th had finally gotten their act together. Just then without warning a charging mass of blue heading for the Confederate rampart hit them from behind - plowing into and through their newly formed line. Once again the Connecticut Federals were in disarray. To say the least, the men of the 7th were having a bad day. Who were these charging men in blue who plowed through the Connecticut men? The 79th New York Highlanders was a volunteer regiment from New York City composed mostly of men of Scottish decent. The 2nd Division Commander Isaac Stevens was once their Colonel and had molded them into a first-rate unit that “was always ready for a fight.” The 79th referred to Stevens as “our friend and our counselor.” The men of the 79th New York arrived on the scene this day eager to join the fight. They formed their battle line in full view of General Stevens, but the presence of their beloved general wasn't what motivated the Highlanders on this fateful morning. Looking east towards the Confederate work, the lead companies of the 79th could easily see the 8th Michigan’s trail of broken and dead bodies. While serving together in the 2nd Division the men from New York and Michigan had developed a very close friendship. Earlier in May part of the 8th became involved in a particularly nasty skirmish in which 11 Michiganders were killed and 33 wounded. In response, the 79th gave a concert for the benefit of the families of those who had been lost in battle. Now their close friends were involved in fitful hand-to-hand combat, and it seemed to the Highlanders that the Connecticut and Massachusetts men were doing precious little to help their Michigan comrades. The 79th advanced in line and were halted at a ditch running across the length of the field. They begged their officers “to be allowed to advance to the help of those in the fort.” William Todd wrote in his regimental history: “At last the word was given, and over the ditch we went, on the jump, and without waiting for any line formation, struck out on the run for the fort… In our rush we encountered the right flank of the Seventh Connecticut, whose center had been broken by the enemy’s fire, and whose commander was endeavoring to re-form its line; we hurried past them in pell-mell, in our eagerness to arrive at the fort and assist our storming party.” As the 79th approached the fort, Confederate fire forced the left most companies towards the right flank of the work. The commander of the 79th New York Lt. Colonel David Morrison led the remaining companies up the parapet on the fort’s south side (left flank). They were joined by men from the 8th Michigan who were still able and willing to fight. Morrison was the first to gain the top and emptied his pistol into the Southern defenders. The Tower Battery was again a whirling horror of point blank firing and hand-to-hand combat. Southern rifle fire was intense and many of the Highlanders were forced to hug the outside of the walls. Morrison then ordered a bayonet charge. Over the top went the gallant Highlanders doing considerable damage to the fort’s occupants, but Confederate gunfire began to take its toll on the Scotsmen. The last two regiments of Stevens’ 2nd Division, the 100th Pennsylvania (known as the Roundheads) and the 46th New York, joined the attack. The Pennsylvania men came within 30 yards of the fort where Confederate canister and grapeshot brought them to a bloody halt. The 46th New York advanced to about where the mud-stricken companies of the 7th Connecticut and 28th Massachusetts were located. There many of the 46th broke for the rear. Brigadier-General Horatio Wright’s 1st Division attempted an attack on Tower Battery from the north but was unsuccessful. With his last two regiments used up, Stevens ordered his forces to withdraw - the assault was over. Word of the retreat quickly spread to the men of the 79th who were still on the earthworks of the fort. As one Highlander, Pvt. Van Horsen of Co. E, began to fallback a Confederate soldier attempted to take him prisoner. Instead, Van Horsen grabbed the hapless "prisoner-to-be" by the scalp and pulled him down off the parapet. In the midst of the Union retreat Van Horsen’s new prisoner was approached by Alexander Campbell, the color bearer for the 79th New York. Campbell was looking for information about his brother, Lt. James Campbell of the 1st South Carolina Battalion. Alexander wanted to know if his brother James was fighting inside the breast work. The Rebel captive informed Alexander that his Confederate brother was indeed inside the fort. Two days after the battle during a called truce Alexander received a note from his brother James. The Confederate Campbell wrote, “I was in the Brest work during the whole engagement doing my Best to Beat you, but I hope that you and I will never again meet face to face Bitter enemies in the battlefield.” They never did, and both brothers survived the war. The Battle of Secessionville was an utter defeat for the Federal forces belonging to the Department of the South (Northern District). Tower Battery was renamed Fort Lamar and remained in southern control until Sherman flanked Charleston from the rear in 1865. General Henry Benham was relieved of command and put under arrest for disobeying orders. Brigadier-General Isaac Stevens, who opposed the attack, was promoted to Major-General. He was killed in Virginia on September 1, 1862 while personally leading the 79th New York in a charge against Stonewall Jackson’s forces at the Battle of Chantilly. Most of the regiments in the 2nd Division eventually became part of General Ambrose Burnside’s 9th Corps; many fought in both the eastern and western theaters. Later in the war the 28th Massachusetts served with honor in the infamous Irish Brigade. Sources: Secessionville Assault on Charleston by Patrick Brennan; Campbell, California; Savas Publishing Co.; 1996 The Seventy-Ninth Highlanders, New York Volunteers in the War of Rebellion, 1861-1865 by William Todd; Albany, NY; Press of Brandow, Barton & Co.; 1886; Reprint (Salem, MA; Higginson Book Co.; 1998)

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