Fort Sumter Goes From 44 Guns to 3

From the To the Sound of Guns blog.

Guns were transferred from Fort Sumter following the big ironclad attacks on the fort. At the time of the attacks, the fort mounted 44 guns. At one time, it had shrunk to just one gun in late summer.

By November, it had increased to three guns: two 10-inch Columbiads and a 42-pdr. rifle. These guns were in what was called the "three gun battery" on the east face of the fort. This was the only part of Sumter that still looked like a fort after the terrific pounding it experienced.

This allowed a crossfire across the main channel with Fort Moultrie. Mr. Swain included a picture of the three gun battery. I knew there were more batteries by Fort Moultrie, but nothing at all about the removal of the guns from Fort Sumter.

--Old B-R'er