290 The American Civil WarThe Battle of Fort Fisher
the arrival of Schofield's
command
Although the Union blockade had reduced
much of the traffic flow on the high seas,
the Confederacy continued to bring in goods
and military supplies through Wilmington,
North Carolina. A massive Rebel bastion
called Fort Fisher protected the mouth of the
Cape Fear River, with Wilmington just
20 miles (32km) upriver. After the debacle on
the Red River, Admiral Porter, the new
commander of a flying squadron on the
Atlantic, suggested to his old friend Grant a
joint expedition to knock Fort Fisher and
Wilmington out of the war. Grant assigned
Major-General Godfrey Weitzel, a clever
engineer, to work with Porter, but Fort Fisher
was part of Major-General Benjamin Butler's
department, and Butler took over direction
of the project. Butler proposed a scheme to
explode a ship loaded with gunpowder under
the fort, which he thought would demolish
it. When the ship explosion failed to damage
the fort, Butler sent only 2,500 men ashore
and then canceled the attack.
En route through South Carolina, Sherman's army sought
revenge against the hotbed of secession, the state that, in
their opinion, initiated this unnecessary war; Here, sketch
artist William Waud, an eyewitness, depicted the burning
of McPhersonville, South Carolina. Sherman's troops
burned part of 18 different towns in South Carolina.
(Author's collection)As Porter fumed. Grant dispatched a
more capable officer, Major-General Alfred
Terry, and an additional brigade. Porter and
Terry cooperated brilliantly. After heavy
naval gunfire softened the defenses, Terry's
troops and 1,000 sailors and marines landed
on the beach. The next day, 14 January
1865, again under cover from naval gunfire,
Terry's men stormed the timber and sand
bastion. By nightfall, Fort Fisher had fallen
into Union hands.
To assist Sherman and secure the fall of
Wilmington, Grant pulled Schofield and his
XXIII Corps from Thomas's army and injected
them into North Carolina with Terry's men.
The combined force captured Wilmington,
and in late March, Schofield rendezvoused
with Sherman's army at Goldsboro. North
Carolina, bringing 40,000 troops and ready
access to some much-needed supplies.