Civil War

This Week in the Civil War

00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.

This Week in the Civil War - 633

Texas Public Radio | By Texas Public Radio

Published August 12, 2013 at 3:40 PM CDT

On Tuesday, August 11, 1863 at Charlestown, South Carolina, Confederate artillery units at Fortress Wagner, Fort Sumter, and on James Island bombarded Federal trenches and gun emplacements on Morris Island, only temporarily halting Union working parties.

Confederate General Pierre Beauregard, commanding the Charlestown area, ordered that his artillery take all steps necessary to impede the construction of Union artillery batteries and also directed that the defensive lines on James Island shortened.

The Confederates knew that, if the Union artillery positions were completed, their own fixed positions around and in the harbor of Charlestown would be vulnerable to destruction. Even with Confederate batteries keeping up a relentless barrage on Union forces on Morris Island, Union troops began to install heavy Parrott, rifled artillery on the sand batteries at Morris Island.