ing guns upon the work. There was imminent danger, indeed, that our most efficient, because most advanced, batteries would be hopelessly disabled before the work should be accomplished. Nothing of the kind, however, happened. A heavy northeasterly storm set in on the 18th, and raged for two days, very materially diminishing the accuracy and effect of our fire.

133. Soon after midnight on the night of August 21, the Marsh Battery opened on the city of Charleston, firing only a few shots. Firing was resumed the second night thereafter, but the piece (an 8-inch Parrott rifle) burst at the 36th discharge, blowing out the entire breach in rear of the vent. Copies of the correspondence with General Beauregard upon the subject of this firing on the city are given in Appendix I.*

134. On the 24th of August, I reported to the General-in-Chief-

The practical demolition of Fort Sumter as the result of our seven days' bombardment of that work.+

Firing from the breaching batteries ceased, for the time, on the evening of the 23rd.

Tabular statement of firing at Fort Sumter during the seven days'

bombardment, from the 17th to the 23rd of August, 1863.

Name of Number Caliber Distance from Whole number

battery battery to of projecti-

center of les thrown

gorge wall

Strong 1 30-pounder 4,290 76

Brown 2 200-pounder 3,516 542

Hays 1 200-pounder 4,172 531

1 200-pounder 4,272 333

Reno 2 100-pounder 4,272 784

Rosecrans 3 100-pounder 3,447 1,173

Meade 2 100-pounder 3,428 1,004

Setevens 2 100-pounder 4,278 566

Total ..... .......... .......... 5,009

Name of Total wight Number of Number Weight of

battery of metal projectiles which metal

thrown which struck which

struck fort gorge wall formed

and helped breach

to form

breach

Strong 19,142 46 22 5,500

Brown 82,070 299 198 32,670

Hays 86,129 225 196 33,320

115,171 480 316 38,940

Reno .......... .......... ......... ..........

Rosecrans 105,807 587 392 37,240

Meade 98,282 502 336 98,392

Stevens 46,082 340 208 43,924

Total 552,683 2,479 1,668 289,986

The barbette tier of the work was entirely destroyed. A few unserviceable pieces, still remaining on their carriages, were dismounted a week later. The casemates of the channel fronts were more or less thoroughly searched by our fire. We had reliable information that but one serviceable gun remained in them, and that pointed up the harbor toward the city. The fort was reduced to the condition of a mere infantry outpost, alike incapable of annoying our approaches to Fort Wagner or of inflicting injury upon the iron-clads. The enemy soon after commenced removing the dismounted guns by night, and not many weeks elapsed before several of them wee mounted in other parts of the harbor. The period during which the weakness of the enemy's interior defenses was most palpably apparent was during the ten days subsequent to the 23rd of August.

135. Meanwhile, on the night of August 18, active operations were

---------------

*Printed in "Correspondence, etc.," post.

---------------

+See Bombardment of Fort Sumter, post.