Battle of Fort McAllister (1863)

Battle of Fort McAllister
Part of the American Civil War
Date March 3, 1863 (1863-03-03) Location Bryan County, Georgia Result Confederate victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Percival Drayton	George A. Anderson
Units involved
U.S.S. Patapsco U.S.S. Passaic and US.S. Nahant	Fort McAllister Garrison
Casualties and losses
3	6

The First Battle of Fort McAllister took place March 3, 1863, in Bryan County, Georgia, during the American Civil War.

Rear Adm. Samuel F. Du Pont ordered three ironclads—USS Patapsco, Passaic, and Nahant— to test their guns and mechanical appliances and practice artillery firing by attacking the Confederate defenses at Fort McAllister, then a small three-gun earthwork battery. One of his goals was to determine how effective fire from the monitors' big guns would be against an earthen shore battery.

On March 3, 1863, the three ironclads conducted an eight-hour bombardment. The bombardment did not destroy the battery, but it did some damage, while the three ironclads received some scratches and dents from return fire from the fort. The tests were helpful for knowledge and experience gained, but Fort McAllister did not fall, showing that the ironclads’ firepower alone could not destroy an earthen fort.

See also

• Battle of Fort McAllister (1864)

References

• National Park Service battle description

External links

• Fort McAllister Historic Park