Today in History:

157 Series I Volume VI- Serial 6 - Fort Pulaski - New Orleans

Page 157 Chapter XV. FORT PULASKI.

elevation, 45 degrees; charge of mortar and length of fuse to be fixed to suit the range, as determined from Battery Grant. The shells should drop over the arches of the north and northeast faces.

Battery Scott (three 10-inch and one 8-inch columbiads, 1,740 yards distant) firing solid shot, and commencing immediately after the barbette fire of the work has ceased. Charge of 10-inch columbiads, 20 pounds; elevation, 4 1/2 degrees. Charge of 8-inch columbiad, 10 pounds; elevation, 5 degrees. This battery should breach the pancoupe between the south and southeast faces, and the embrasure next to it, in the southeast face, the elevation to be varied accordingly; the charge to remain the same. Until the elevation is accurately determined each gun should fire once in ten minutes; after that every six or eight minutes.

Battery Sigel (five 30-pounder Parrotts and one 48-pounder James, old 24-pounder rifled, 1,670 yards (distant) to open with 4 3/4 seconds fuses on the barbette guns of the fort at the second discharge from Battery Sherman. Charge for 30-pounder, 3 1/2 pounds; charge for 45-pounder, 5 pounds; elevation, 4 degrees for both calibers. As soon as the barbette fire of the work has been silenced this battery will be directed with percussion shells upon the walls, to breach the pan-coupe between the south and southeast faces, the elevation to be varied accordingly, the charge to remain the same. Until the elevation is accurately determined each gun should fire once in six or eight minutes; after that every four or five minutes.

Battery McClellan (two 84 and two 64-pounders James, old 42 and 32 pounders rifled, 1,650 yards distant) opens fire immediately after Battery Scott. Charge for 84-pounder, 8 pounds; charge for 64-pounder, 6 pounds; elevation for 84-pounder, 4 1/2 degrees, and for the 64-pounder, 4 degrees. Each piece should fire once every five or six minutes after the elevation has been established. Charge to remain the same. This battery should breach the work in the pan-coupe between the south and southeast faces and the embrasure next to it in the southeast face. The steel scraper for the grooves should be used after every fifth or sixth discharge.

Battery Totten (four 10-inch siege mortars, 1,650 yards distant) opens fire immediately after Battery Sigel, firing each piece about once in five minutes. Charge of mortar, 3 1/2 pounds; charge of shell, 3 pounds; elevation, 45 degrees, and length of fuse, 18 1/2 seconds. The charge of mortar and length of fuse to vary so as to explode the shells over the northeast and southeast faces of the work. If any battery should be unmasked outside the work, Battery Totten will direct its fire upon it, varying the charge and length of fuse accordingly. The fire from each battery will cease at dark, except especial directions be given to the contrary. A signal officer at Battery Scott, to observe the effect of the 13-inch shells, will be in communication with other signal officers stationed near Batteries Stanton, Grant, and Sherman, in order to determine the range for these batteries in succession.

By order of Brigadier General Q. A. Gillmore:

W. L. M. BURGER,

First Lieutenant, Volunteer Engineers, and Actg. Adjt. General

Just after sunrise, on the morning of the 10th, Major General David Hunter, commanding the department, dispatched Lieutenant J. H. Wilson, of the Topographical Engineers, to Fort Pulaski, bearing a flag of truce and a simmonds to surrender. To this demand a negative answer was returned.

The order was given to open fire, commencing with the mortar batteries, agreeably to the foregoing instructions.

The first shell was fired at a quarter past 8 o'clock a. m. from Battery Halleck. The other mortar batteries opened one after the other, as rapidly in succession as it was found practicable to determine the approximate ranges by the use of signals. The guns and columbiads soon followed, so that before half past 9 a. m. all the batteries were in operation, it having been deemed expedient not to wait for the barbette fire of the work to be silenced before opening with Breaching Batteries Scott and McClellan.

The three 10-inch columbiads in Battery Scott were dismounted by their own recoil at the first discharge, and one of those in Battery Lyon, from the same cause, at the third discharge. The gun-carriages were the new iron pattern, while the pintles and pintle-crosses belonged to the old wooden carriages, and were unsuitable. They were all, except one in Battery Scott, subsequently remounted and served.

As the several batteries along our line, which was 2,550 yards in


Page 157 Chapter XV. FORT PULASKI.