November 7th, 1861 - The Battle of Port Royal

Conflict: American Civil War

Combatants: Confederates vs. Federals

Location: South Carolina (USA)

Outcome: Federal victory

On this day in 1861, a Federal squadron of ships commanded by Flag Officer Samuel F. Du Pont sailed into Port Royal Sound and exchanged fire with the Confederate Forts Beauregard and Walker. The Southerners are in time forced to retreat before the Union attack. Port Royal becomes a refueling station for Federal vessels participating in the naval blockade of the South.

Union Fleet at Port Royal from a book by Robert Underwood Johnson and Clarence Clough Buel

Points of Interest:

• Du Pont was promoted to Rear Admiral the following year.

• The Federals lost 8 men killed and 23 wounded to the Confederates 11 killed and 48 wounded.

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Sources:

Bowman, John S. (Ed.) (1983). The Civil War Almanac. New York: World Almanac.

Catton, Bruce (1955). This Hallowed Ground. Kingsport, Tennessee: Kingsport Press, Inc.

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

Hogue, James M. & McPherson, James M. (2009). Ordeal By Fire. New York: MaGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Long, E.B & Long, Barbara (1971). The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. New York: De Capo Press, Inc.