These three pictures speak eloquently of the ruin wrought by the combined efforts of the army and navy to gain possession of
Fort Pulaski.
At the left an 8-inch smooth-bore points upward as the
Confederates swung it for use as a mortar against the
Federal batteries.
Beside it lies one of the mortars, dismounted and rendered useless by the fire from the
Federal batteries, while in the lower picture the huge breaches made in the walls of the
Fort are vividly apparent.
It was no easy task to accomplish all this.
Without part of the land expedition; floundering through mud, they protected the troops from
Tattnall's flotilla while guns were dragged with difficulty over the marshy surface of
Jones Island and placed in position.
The doomed garrison refused to surrender on April 10, 1862, and for two days withstood a terrible bombardment from the thirty-six heavy-rifled cannon and mortars.
Only when the battered Fort became utterly untenable was it surrendered on April 12th to the besiegers that surrounded it, ready to open fire again.
Fort became utterly untenable was it surrendered on April 12th to the besiegers that surrounded it, ready to open fire again.
