Episode 11: 2LT Frederick Tomlinson Peet and the USMC at the Siege of Fort Wagner.

First Person Civil War Podcast

At the Siege of Fort Wagner, 2LT Frederick Tomlinson Peet and a Battalion of Marines arrive at Morris Island after two assaults by the Union Army failed to take Fort Wagner. As Army Engineers begin digging Sap trenches, 2LT Peet and the Marines prepare for an amphibious assault to take Fort Wagner, but is eventually called off. The Marines join the Union Army in digging five total Sap trenches, and the Army brings in 300 pound, 200 pound and 100 pound Parrott Rifles to bombard Forts Wagner, Sumter and surrounding Confederate fortifications. On the morning of 7 September 1863, 2LT Peet and the Marine Battalion advance upon Fort Wagner after two days of heavy bombardment only to find it abandoned.

Sources used for this episode:

Peet, Frederick Tomlinson. Personal Experiences in the Civil War. New York, 1905. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t2z327m8n&seq=9.

Peet, Frederick Tomlinson. Civil War Letters and Documents of Frederick Tomlinson Peet. Newport, 1917. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433081764031&seq=7.

Scott, Robert N. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Ser. 1, Vol. 28, Pt. 1: Reports. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1886. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924079609594&view=1up&seq=3.

“Frederick T. Peet Dies.” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 28, 1925, Newspapers.com.