Fort Wagner stands on Morris Island, guarding the approach to Charleston. Early this morning fresh federal troops land on the island, sizing up the fort. The only approach to the beach fort is over a narrow strip of sand bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on one side and swamp marshland on the other. Prospects are…
Today the African Baptist Church of Darien, Georgia, the oldest black church in the county, is destroyed by the Union 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Colored Regiment and the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers. Most of the town, in fact, is looted and destroyed by the Union troops, under the orders of the 2nd’s commander, Colonel James Montgomery.…
Today crowds line Boston’s Beacon Street in celebration of the deployment of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. Massachusetts governor John A. Andrew presents the unit’s colors, after which the regiment parades down the street and to the waiting steamer De Molay for transport to Port Royal, South Carolina. Port Royal and environs, under Union control,…