Thirteen-Inch Mortar
Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina
Marker Inscription
Thirteen Inch Mortar 1863-1865 Used by Union Army - Siege of Charleston
The Story
This heavy artillery piece recalls the long Union effort to capture Charleston, the very city where the Civil War began with the bombardment of Fort Sumter in 1861. A thirteen-inch mortar was among the largest siege weapons of its day, lobbing massive explosive shells in a high arc to reach fortifications that ordinary field guns could not touch. From 1863 to 1865, Federal forces pressed a grinding campaign against the harbor's defenses, and weapons like this one hammered the batteries ringing the city until Charleston finally fell in early 1865.
Why it matters
Charleston held immense symbolic weight as the birthplace of secession, and its prolonged siege marked the slow tightening of the Union grip on the Confederacy's Atlantic coast. This mortar stands as a tangible reminder of the industrial firepower that helped decide the war.
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Related events
- · Siege of Charleston
- · American Civil War
Themes & tags
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