Impenetrability But No Corresponding Destructiveness

Rear Admiral Samuel F DuPont

The First Battle of Fort McAllister in Bryan County, Georgia was on March 3^rd 1863.

Union Rear Admiral Samuel F DuPont ordered four ironclads, the USS Montauk, Nahant, Passaic, and Patapsco to fire on the small three gun earthworks battery located within the Confederate defenses of Fort McAllister.  The goal of this firing was to test the ships guns and determine their effectiveness against an earthen shore battery.

Fort McAllister was ordered to be built on July 7^th 1861, using available materials, mostly sand and mud.  It was armed with one rifled 32 pounder a 42 pounder and an eight inch Columbiad.

On March 3^rd 1863 at about 8:30 in the morning, the four ironclads opened fire with an eight hour long bombardment.  The shelling did some damage to the battery, but did not destroy it.  Two Confederates in the Fort were slightly wounded. The ships held up well under the return fire from the fort, suffering only a few minor dents.  It also showed that the Fort wouldn't fall to a strictly naval attack, as most the damage was repaired by the next day.  DuPont, reported that, "Whatever degree of impenetrability the monitors might have, there was no corresponding quality of destructiveness against forts."

Fort McAllister would finally fall into Union hand on December 13^th 1864, when Union General William Tecumseh Sherman captured the Fort by land. 

Five Hours Of Shelling

The Union Navy attacked Fort McAllister along the coast of Georgia on January 27^th 1863, with several gun boats.

Fort McAllister was under the command of Confederate Major John B Gallie, who before the war was a merchant in Savannah, Georgia.

On January 26^th 1863 the Union ironclad the USS Montauk along with the USS Wissahickon, USS Dawn and USS Seneca approached Fort McAllister.  The Montauk set anchor within an effective firing range of the Fort’s guns.  On January 27^th 1863 the Montauk with support of the other ships opened fire on the Fort which they continued for 5 hours.  The Fort was reported to have been hit by over 450 cannon rounds.  The ironclad was hit about 15 times by fire from the Fort but wasn’t seriously damaged, nor where there any casualties.  The Union ship withdrew after the five hours, because the Montauk was running short of ammunition.  There were no reported casualties from Fort McAllister, nor was there much damage.

This battle would mark the first use of an ironclad ship against a land base.  The Commander of the Montauk was John Worden, who had been the commander of the USS Monitor when she fought the CSS Virginia for the first time.