Fort Wagner (also called Battery Fort) was a
fortification on
Morris Island,
South Carolina, that covered the southern approach to
Charleston harbor. It was the site of two
American Civil War battles in the campaign known as Operations Against the Defenses of Charleston in
1863.The first engagement, the
Battle of Fort Wagner or the First Assault on Morris Island, occurred on
July 11,
1863. Only 12 Confederate soldiers were killed, as opposed to the Union's 330 losses. The second engagement is better known. The
Battle of Fort Wagner, Morris Island, was the
Union attack on
July 18,
1863, led by the
54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first major American military units made up of black soldiers. Colonel
Robert Gould Shaw led the 54th Regiment on foot while they charged and was killed in the assault.
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