Confederate Victories?

[Vuhginyuh]

I am familiar with the engagement and outcome at Fort Pillow.
Are there any other wartime incidences of forts that were assaulted and carried by Confederate forces and not recaptured or reoccupied by the Federals?

I posted this under ''Sinks" and got no response.

Anybody out there know?

[nmilbury]

Re: Confederate Victories?

I believe that there was a federal fort that was captured in the bermuda hundred area in a spontaneous night raid, but was abandoned the next morning. Ill try and find which one it was and post it here.
Nathan Milbury

[RJSamp]

Re: Confederate Victories?

Well they got the snot kicked out of them at Ironton, Missouri/ Pilot's Knob.

Took the stuffing right out of them and left them with a bad taste for intensive combat. Fort was abandoned and CSA occupied it the next day.

Seems to me that CSA won most of the earlier in the war battles....before they routinely built earth works... later on in the war they were largely on the defensive, and rarely attacked a fort or fortification.


they did capture a blockhouse at Monacacy River in July 1864...

RJ Samp

[nmilbury]

Re: Confederate Victories?

Byron,
I was erroneous, it was not a federal fort, just a section of earthworks captured by Field's and Pickett's division's on June 17, 1864 on the Clay farm in Bermuda Hundred, where they withdrew the next day. Apart from obviously Fort Sumter(which was held until Charleston was abandoned), Fort Stedman (held for 4 hours I think), and Ft Sander at Knoxville, I cannot think of any forts the Confederates attacked. Does anyone know of anymore?
Sincerely,
Nathan Milbury

[Kevin O'Beirne]

Re: Confederate Victories?

Apart from obviously Fort Sumter(which was held until Charleston was abandoned), Fort Stedman (held for 4 hours I think), and Ft Sander at Knoxville, I cannot think of any forts the Confederates attacked. Does anyone know of anymore?

Well, these don't qualify on the original premise of this thread--US forts (which I presume means, substantial fortifications, not fieldworks) that were taken by CS forces and not re-taken or re-occupied by US forces--here's some forts that the Confederates assaulted, albeit unsuccessfully:

* Fort _____ (dang, name escapes me) on the Nansemond River near Suffolk VA, mid- to late-April, 1863. Hood's Texas Brigade were the guys who tried unsuccessfully to take this fort. This was part of the siege of Suffolk, which caused Longstreet to be absent from the ANV during Chancellorsville.

* Fort Stevens, near Washington DC in mid-July, 1864. Attacked (if you want to grandly call it that) by Jube Early's "Army of the Valley". In reality it was a spirited skirmish rather than an all-out assault.

* Fort Stedman, near Petersburg VA on March 25, 1865. Taken by John Gordon's 2nd Corps but of course they were driven out by Hartranft's 9th Corps Yankees a few hours later.

Those come quickly to my mind. I'd suspect that some of the actions around Atlanta may have involved assaults on forts as opposed to "fieldworks".

Early in the war the Confederates took a number of Federal forts and, if they didn't hold them forever, they held onto them for a good period of time. The first that comes to mind is Fort Pulaski, at the mouth of the Savannah River. This was taken in early 1861 by Georgia militia and they held onto it for about a year or more.

These are just a set of scattered thoughts. I'm sure others can offer better info and additional info on those I listed above.

[GrumpyDave]

Re: Confederate Victories?

There was that fort in Charleston Harbor, now what was the name.....

[shubal]

Re: Confederate Victories?

Wasn't a fort or two taken in both the Valley campaign of '62 and '63?
The latter by Jubal Early around Winchester?
The former either near Winchester or near Front Royal?
Peter Koch

[nmilbury]

Re: Confederate Victories?

I don't think that any "forts" were taken in the Shenandoah camapigns of 62 and 64. I believe they were just heavy entrenchments, especially in 1864 when soldiers would throw up breastworks whenever they got the chance-but I may be wrong, I will look into it, maybe someone else can too? I did remember one other fort that was assaulted by Confederate forces--Fort Harrison (renamed Fort Burnham later for the general killed there on Sept.29). On September 30, Robert E. Lee personally organized a major effort to recapture the lost fort, but was unsuccesful because of prepared Federal resistance and multiple shot firearms.

"* Fort _____ (dang, name escapes me) on the Nansemond River near Suffolk VA, mid- to late-April, 1863. Hood's Texas Brigade were the guys who tried unsuccessfully to take this fort. This was part of the siege of Suffolk, which caused Longstreet to be absent from the ANV during Chancellorsville."
--I believe I know what Fort you mean Mr. O'Beirne, but I wasn't aware that they actually attacked. I remember reading that they were in the planning stages when the attack was called off.
Thanks for mentioning Ft Stevens. I forgot about it, and agree that it was more of a skirmish :confused_ .

Sincerely,
Nathan Milbury