Sumter is Avenged

About this book

The fall of Fort Pulaski changed warfare forever. In just thirty-six hours, Union forces shattered its walls - proving that rifled artillery had made traditional masonry fortresses obsolete overnight. This book tells the dramatic story of that revolutionary siege which eliminated Savannah, Georgia, as a Confederate seaport, and the new weapons that reshaped military history. It is essential reading for fans of Stephen W. Sears, Noah Andre Trudeau, and Craig L. Symonds. Fort Pulaski was a massive, modern fortress built with twenty-five million bricks between 1829 and 1847 on Cockspur Island in the Savannah River. Occupied by Georgia state troops in January 1861, the Union, in early 1862, decided to capture the fort to prevent blockade runners from reaching Savannah. A West Point engineer who had supervised its construction was doubtful that this could be accomplished: "You might as well bombard the Rocky Mountains as Fort Pulaski . . . The fort could not be reduced in a month's firing with any number of guns of manageable caliber." He was wrong. Under the guidance of Brigadier General Quincy Gillmore, eleven batteries - including the new rifled artillery - breached the walls in under thirty-six hours and forced the Confederates to surrender. Why were these rifled cannons so much more effective than traditional round shot? How had Gillmore so successfully utilized their power, even in difficult terrain and terrible conditions? And what impact would these technologically innovative weapons have on the rest of the Civil War and future warfare? Herbert M. Schiller draws on numerous published articles, books, and memoirs, as well as a wealth of unpublished manuscripts, to develop a thorough account of an event that ranks alongside the rise of ironclads as one of the most important military developments of the American Civil War. "The story of the siege and reduction of Fort Pulaski has never before been told in such detail. ... This book is recommended for students of American military history and the Civil War." - Civil War History "As this meticulous study makes clear, the new artillery revolutionized siege warfare, and masonry forts became as obsolete as wooden warships." - U.S. Naval Institute "Herbert Schiller ... has done a first-class job in describing the Union assault on Fort Pulaski." - Roanoke Times