| Fort Sumter fell to the Confederates on April 13, 1861. | | | | of Confederate posts on Morris Island and Fort |
| By the summer of 1863, Fort Sumter had been | | | | Sumter, or else shelling of Charleston would start. The |
| bombarded by Federal artillery for two years, but it still | | | | Yankees had sighted the Swamp Angel in on the |
| stood and guarded Charleston, South Carolina. At the | | | | steeple of St. Michael's Church. |
| entrance to Charleston Harbor is Morris Island, and | | | | Beauregard gave no reply to Gillmore's demands. At |
| Union General Quincy A. Gillmore and his troops were | | | | 1:30 in the morning on August 22, the Swamp Angel |
| stationed there. Gillmore wanted to construct a battery | | | | began to roar with its first shot at Charleston. Following |
| on Morris Island so he could bombard Charleston | | | | the first shot, bells, whistles, and alarms from |
| directly, and force the city's surrender, thus bypassing | | | | Charleston could be heard on Morris Island. Before |
| troublesome Fort Sumter and other forts in the harbor. | | | | daylight came, fifteen more shots rained down on |
| A big gun with the range to reach Charleston would | | | | Charleston from the big gun, 12 of the shots filled with |
| allow General Gillmore to get to the meat of the | | | | Greek Fire. |
| matter, which was to force the Rebel stronghold of | | | | Charleston was receiving the wrath of the Union in the |
| Charleston to surrender. The Swamp Angel is exactly | | | | form of horrible huge shells filled with fire, shot from a |
| what Gillmore needed. | | | | huge monster of a cannon 7,900 yards away. On |
| This gun was huge. It was made at New York's West | | | | August 23, the Swamp Angel belched out 20 more |
| Point Foundry and it weighed 16,700 pounds. With an | | | | shells into Charleston. It looked like the Confederacy |
| 8-inch bore, its barrel had an 11-foot bore depth. Even | | | | would lose Charleston to surrender as the terrible gun |
| the construction of the battery and parapet needed | | | | rained its hellish shells full of fire down on the city. |
| for the big gun was impressive. Merely getting this gun | | | | But when the Swamp Angel fired its 36th shell on |
| into place on the swampy, mushy, ground of Morris | | | | August 23rd, it did something cast-iron Parrott guns |
| Island (with mud sometimes twenty-feet deep) in | | | | were known for, despite their distinctive wrought iron |
| Charleston Harbor was a challenging engineering job. | | | | reinforcing bands placed around their breeches. On the |
| Construction began on August 2, 1863 and included: | | | | 36th shot the Swamp Angel's breech blew out and |
| - 13,000 sandbags weighing greater than 800 tons total | | | | the gun's barrel flew on top of the sandbag parapet. |
| - 123 pine timbers, 45-55 feet in length and 15-18 inches | | | | Although it had suffered some damage and a few |
| in diameter | | | | fires were set by the Swamp Angel, Charleston was |
| - 5,000 feet of 1-inch thick board | | | | now safe. The great big gun was dead. No further |
| - 9,500 feet of 3-inch thick planking | | | | huge guns like the Swamp Angel were placed on the |
| - The spikes, nails, and iron required to hold it all | | | | Union's Morris Island battery. |
| together weighed 1,200 pounds | | | | The Swamp Angel's military career was over, the fate |
| - 75 fathoms (450 feet) of rope, 3 inches thick | | | | of the great gun was for it to be sold as scrap iron. |
| All this would allow the Swamp Angel to use a | | | | However, instead of being used as scrap iron and |
| 17-pound powder charge to fire a 200-pound projectile | | | | physically lost to history, the citizens of Trenton, New |
| 7,900 yards into the heart of Charleston. To top it all | | | | Jersey bought the Swamp Angel and made it into a |
| off, the projectiles could be filled with "Greek Fire" an | | | | monument. |
| incendiary fluid, that would set Charleston ablaze. On | | | | If you visit Trenton today, you will find the Swamp |
| August 17, it arrived at Morris Island. An awesome | | | | Angel at Perry and Clinton streets. Even if it could still |
| weapon of war was about to go to work. | | | | fire, and despite its might, the Civil War Swamp Angel |
| Gillmore sent a message on August 21, to | | | | could not reach Charleston from Trenton. People of |
| Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard, the | | | | Charleston, you may rest easy because the Swamp |
| commander at Charleston, demanding the evacuation | | | | Angel is no longer a threat to you. |