NOVEMBER
3, 1863:
After months of
‘round-the-clock shelling by the Union, Fort Sumter is nothing but a huge heap
of rubble. The Union’s Admiral John Dahlgren, however, is dissatisfied: “[S]till, this mass of ruin [Sumter] is
capable of harboring a number of the enemy, who may retain their hold until
expelled by the bayonet.” Amidst the wreckage is a warren of dugouts and
tunnels, and Confederates are using the ruined redoubt effectively to fire upon
Union ships even as the Fort itself is reduced to blasted bits.
