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.

The Loss Of A Ship

The Confederate ship the CSS Georgiana, a iron hulled steamer, was lost to the Confederacy March 19th 1863.

The CSS Georgiana was an iron hulled propeller steamer. She could hold fourteen guns and four hundred tons of cargo. Built in 1862 in Glasgow Scotland, she was a very swift vessel. She was outfitted in Charleston, South Carolinia with guns, officers and 140 men.

The Georgiana was attempting a run past the Union Blockading Squadron and into Charleston, South Carolina. She was spotted by the USS America the yacht of America’s Cup racing fame. As the Georgiana was chased she came so close to the USS Wissahickon that her crew could hear orders being given. She was hit with solid shot which did damage to her rudder and propeller, the shot passing through her hull. The Georgiana’s Captain A B Davidson signaled for a surrender, then used the time to beach the ship, scuttle her, and give the crew time to escape.

The commandeer of the USS Wissahickon, Lieutenant Commander John L Davis had the wreck of the Georgiana set a fire, to keep the Confederates from salvaging any of her cargo. She burned for days, complemented by explosions of powder.