Union troops land on Morris Island and fail in a dawn attack on Fort Wagner

After a naval bombardment, a Union infantry brigade under General George C. Strong made a landing on Morris Island situated just south of the entrance to Charleston Bay in South Carolina.  Much of the island was quickly occupied but the ramparts at the northern end, named Fort Wagner after a deceased Confederate artillery officer, held a garrison of more than 1,500 defenders and proved much more difficult to take. A ground attack at dusk on July 15, 1863 was beaten back and reinforcements began a siege of the fort.  (By John Osborne)