Fort Fisher had not been taken without considerable losses. The Union forces--Army and Navy--sustained some 1000 casualties, more than twice what the defenders suffered. Porter wrote: "Men, it seems, must die that this Union may live, and the Constitution under which we have gained our prosperity must be maintained."
More than 35 sailors and Marines were awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroism in this action that closed the Confederacy's last supply line from Europe.
The second federal assault on Fort Fisher revealed the inherent ability of a fleet-supported amphibious force to capitalize on te superior mobility conferred by command of the sea, forcing defenders to spread their forces thinly in a vain effort to be strong at all threatened points simultaneously.
--Old B-Runner
No comments:
Post a Comment