Battle of Fort McAllister I

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Fort McAllister
partof=the American Civil War


caption=
date=March 3, 1863
place=Bryan County, Georgia
result=Confederate victory
combatant1= flagicon|USA|1861 United States (Union)
combatant2= flagicon|CSA|1861 CSA (Confederacy)
commander1=P. Drayton
commander2=George A. Anderson
strength1=U.S.S. "Patapsco", U.S.S. "Passaic", and US.S. "Nahant"
strength2=Fort McAllister Garrison
casualties1=3
casualties2=6The First Battle of Fort McAllister took place March 3, 1863, in Bryan County, Georgia, during the American Civil War.

Rear Adm. Samuel F. Du Pont ordered three ironclads—USS "Patapsco", "Passaic", and "Nahant"— to test their guns and mechanical appliances and practice artillery firing by attacking the Confederate defenses at Fort McAllister, then a small three-gun earthwork battery. One of his goals was to determine how effective fire from the monitors' big guns would be against an earthen shore battery.

On March 3, 1863, the three ironclads conducted an eight-hour bombardment. The bombardment did not destroy the battery, but it did some damage, while the three ironclads received some scratches and dents from return fire from the fort. The tests were helpful for knowledge and experience gained, but Fort McAllister did not fall, showing that the ironclads’ firepower alone could not destroy an earthen fort.

ee also

* Second Battle of Fort McAllister

References

* [http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/ga002.htm National Park Service battle description]

External links

* [http://www.gastateparks.org/info/ftmcallister/ Fort McAllister Historic Park]