Letter

Quincy A. Gillmore to Rear-Admiral JoHn A. DAHLGREN, August 21, 1863

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH,

Rear-Admiral JoHn A. DAHLGREN, Comdg. S. A. B. Squadron, off Morris Island, 8. C.:

My Dear Sir: In reply to your letter of this date, I have to say that I consider the present service of the monitors against Fort Wagner much less important than their efficient service against Fort Sumter and the interior defenses.of Charleston Harbor. I will try to get along without them now.

The barbette fire of Fort Sumter is very much impaired, and by to-morrow noon there will be nothing there to interfere with the near approach of the monitors to that place. I will write you again this evening or to-morrow on this subject.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

Q. A. GILLMORE,
Brigadier-General, Commanding.
Editor's Notes
From: Operations on the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and Middle and East Florida, Pt. 1. Location: Morris Island, S. C.. Summary: Brigadier-General Q. A. Gillmore informs Rear-Admiral Dahlgren that monitors should shift focus from Fort Wagner to attacking Fort Sumter and Charleston Harbor's interior defenses for greater strategic impact.
Sources
The War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 28, Part 1 View original source ↗