Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 5.djvu/43

Rh whole fleet suffered and was delayed until the 7th, before Admiral DuPont was ready to move in to the attack of the forts defending this great harbor.

Port Royal harbor was defended by two forts, Walker and Beauregard, the former on Hilton Head island, and the latter on Bay point opposite. The distance across the harbor, from fort to fort, is nearly 3 miles, the harbor ample and deep, and the water on the bar allowing the largest vessels to enter without risk. A fleet of 100 sail could maneuver between Forts Walker and Beauregard and keep out of range of all but their heaviest guns. To defend such a point required guns of the longest range and the heaviest weight of metal.

In planning the defense of Port Royal, General Beauregard designed that batteries of 10-inch columbiads and rifled guns should be placed on the water fronts of both forts, and so directed; but the guns were not to be had, and the engineers, Maj. Francis D. Lee and Capt. J. W. Gregory, were obliged to mount the batteries of the forts with such guns as the Confederate government and the governor of South Carolina could command. The forts were admirably planned and built, the planters in the vicinity of the forts supplying all the labor necessary, so that by September 1, 1861, they were ready for the guns.

Fort Walker mounted twenty guns and Fort Beauregard nineteen, but of this armament Walker could use but thirteen, and Beauregard but seven against a fleet attacking from the front. The rest of the guns were placed for defense against attack by land, or were too light to be of any use. The twenty guns of Walker and Beauregard that were used in the battle with the fleet, were wholly insufficient, both in weight of metal and number. The heaviest of the guns in Walker were two columbiads, lo-inch and 8-inch, and a Q-inch rifled Dahlgren. The rest of the thirteen were 42, 32 and 24 pounders. Of the seven guns in Beauregard, one was a 10-inch colum-