January 14, 1865-- Part 1: A Second Day of Bombardment, Only One Serviceable Gun on the Land Face

JANAUARY 14TH, 1865:  The monitors remained at station and had maintained a harassing fire during the night of January 12-14; then at daylight of the second day of the attack the fleet's big guns reopened the bombardment in full fury.

General W.H.C. Whiting who had come to the fort to "counsel" with Colonel Lamb and share his fate, remarked:  It was beyond description, no language can describe that terrific bombardment."

The Confederates were hardly able to bury their dead, much less repair the works, as the fleet poured in, according to one estimate, 100 shells a minute.

The defenders suffered some 300 casualties from the naval bombardment and had but one gun serviceable on the land face.

--Old B-Runner