yards. Wherever the shot struck light masonry, it did serious damage; the heavy masonry of concrete and the revetments of sand were not materially damaged. The fort was struck seventeen times. The transport steamer Hibben, lying at the wharf of Fort Sumter, was shot through her boiler, scalding and injuring 9 negro hands on board.

The enemy was observed from Battery Wagner building a work at their extreme left. Colonel Rhett, commanding Fort Sumter; Captain [John C.] Mitchel, commanding Battery Simkins, and Captain [Henry R.] Lesesne, commanding Battery Gregg, directed their fire upon his parties, which were dispersed and the work stopped.

At dark Battery Wagner opened on the enemy's works immediately in its front, with eight guns, and kept a steady fire at intervals throughout the night. Sumter and Simkins also kept up a steady fire, and no progress in advance was made by the enemy. His rearmost batteries, however, were in progress, and a continual reply was kept to the fire of Battery Wagner, with shots at Battery Gregg, to interrupt communication. The effect was to kill 1 and wound 4 of the garrison of Battery Wagner; and I regret to add that of the latter Captain J. H. Gary, of Lucas' battalion of artillery, a gallant and accomplished young officer of high promise, was mortally injured. He has since died.

On the 13th, the enemy several times undertook to repair the damage to his advances, but was repulsed by a fire skillfully directed against him from Battery Wagner. Finding that it was difficult to proceed with his approached, he fell back to his rear batteries, and with his naval force opened fire on Battery Wagner and Battery Gregg. Fort Sumter and Battery Simkins replied, and the sharpshooters at Battery Wagner kept those of the enemy quiet during the day. One man was mortally wounded at Battery Gregg.

During the afternoon, the heavy Parrott guns of the enemy opened on Fort Sumter, of which several struck the gorge wall and the re-enforce to the western magazine, injuring the brick work to a considerable extent, but not sufficiently to cause any serious apprehension of a speedy penetration of the defenses on that side. One, falling in the interior of the work, injured temporarily a mortar platform.

The Twelfth Georgia Battalion was relieved from Morris Island during the night, bringing the garrison to the strength of about 1,100, as ordered by the commanding general.

During the 14th, the enemy remained remarkably quiet, firing only occasionally; replied to by our batteries. At night Fort Sumter was struck five times by land batteries and once from a gunboat, with slight damage. Battery Wagner opened fire first, at intervals, to which the enemy replied with all the guns which he could bring to bear. Our guns were allowed to remain quiet for a time, to permit him to bring up his working parties, when they were reopened with vigor, putting a stop to his operations, and from the reports of our advanced picket it is believed that serious loss was inflicted upon him. His operations against other points consisted only in occasional shots, which were replied to from our batteries.

On the 15th, the enemy fired occasionally at Battery Wagner, but was at work principally on his long-range batteries at the southern part of Morris Island. A few shots were directed at Fort Sumter during the evening. Colonel L. M. Keitt, of the Twentieth South Carolina Regiment, relieved Colonel Harrison in command of the troops on Morris Island. The Twentieth South Carolina Volunteers