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 - 493

Texas Public Radio | By Texas Public Radio

Published January 28, 2013 at 11:36 AM CST

On January 27, 1863, the Union launched a major naval assault against Ft. McAllister, Georgia. With control of the fort, the Union navy would be able to interdict commerce from the interior to the coast. It would also be able to threaten the critical, Confederate port of Savannah.

The attack represented the first time in history that an ironclad ship, the Montauk*, was used against a fortified position on land. The exchange of fire between ironclad and fort would last five hours before the Montauk withdrew.

The Union Navy would continue to harass Ft. McAllister for the next several months. Nonetheless, the fort withstood the Union barrage until General William Tecumseh Sherman reached nearby Savannah on December 10, 1864.