Charles Robert Woods (February 19, 1827 – February 26, 1885) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War . He is noted for commanding the relief troops that first attempted to resupply Fort Sumter prior to the start of the conflict, and served with distinction during the war.
45-542: General Woods may refer to: Charles R. Woods (1827–1885), Union Army brigadier general and brevet major general Henry Woods (British Army officer) (1924–2019), British Army major general Louis E. Woods (1895–1971), U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant general William Burnham Woods (1824–1887), Union Army brigadier general and brevet major general See also [ edit ] General Wood (disambiguation) Attorney General Woods (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
90-740: A South Carolina officer of the Revolutionary War. Battery Logan was named for Captain William Logan, killed fighting the Nez Perce in 1877. Battery Bingham was named for 2nd Lieutenant Horatio Bingham, killed fighting the Sioux in 1866. Battery McCorkle was named for 1st Lieutenant Henry McCorkle of the 25th US Infantry Regiment , killed in the Battle of El Caney in the Spanish–American War. Battery Lord
135-410: A forcewide partial disarmament of the coast defense system. Battery Bingham's two 4.7-inch Armstrong guns and Battery McCorkle's three 3-inch M1898 guns were removed in 1919–20 as part of a general removal from service of some gun types. Eight of Battery Capron-Butler's mortars were removed and the remaining eight replaced with M1890 mortars on M1896 carriages in 1920. The removal of half the mortars
180-614: A pair of 12-inch guns at Fort Sumter. Forts Moultrie and Sumter constituted the Coast Defenses of Charleston , as the Charleston Coast Artillery District was designated in 1913. Battery Capron was named for Captain Allyn K. Capron of the 1st US Volunteer Cavalry, the famous " Rough Riders ", who was the first US Army officer killed in the Spanish–American War. Battery Butler was named for Colonel Pierce M. Butler of
225-478: A rubble pile and pounded Fort Moultrie below a sand hill, which protected it against further bombardment. The rifled cannon proved its superiority to brickwork fortifications but not to the endurance of the Confederate artillerymen who continued to man Fort Moultrie. In February 1865, as General Sherman marched through South Carolina, the Confederate soldiers finally abandoned the rubble of Fort Moultrie and evacuated
270-442: Is a series of fortifications on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina , built to protect the city of Charleston , South Carolina . The first fort, formerly named Fort Sullivan , built of palmetto logs, inspired the flag and nickname of South Carolina , as "The Palmetto State". The fort was renamed for the U.S. patriot commander in the Battle of Sullivan's Island , General William Moultrie . During British occupation, in 1780–1782,
315-536: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Charles R. Woods Charles Woods was born in the city of Newark in Licking County, Ohio , the younger brother of William Burnham Woods and the brother-in-law of Willard Warner , both future Union generals. He grew up on his family's farm in Ohio, where he received a minimal education from tutoring. Woods entered
360-703: The America the Beautiful quarter for South Carolina featured Fort Moultrie. In 1999, the construction of a 38-foot (12 m) tall private home next to the fort that blocked the sightline to Fort Sumter led to a successful campaign to eliminate the problem. The American Battlefield Trust , then known as the Civil War Preservation Trust, was assisted by the National Park Service, the Trust for Public Land, and
405-720: The Army of the Tennessee shortly before the Siege of Corinth on April 29, which lasted until June 10. He then took charge of his prior regiment during the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou that December. Woods fought well during rest of the Vicksburg Campaign and the Siege of Vicksburg , and for his performance during the siege Woods was appointed a brevet lieutenant colonel in the Regular Army as of July 4, 1863. Woods fought with distinction at
450-541: The Palmetto Regiment , killed in the Battle of Churubusco in the 1847 Mexican–American War . Battery Jasper was named for Sergeant William Jasper of the 2nd South Carolina Regiment, a hero of the 1776 attack on the fort. Battery Thomson was named for Colonel William Thomson of the 3rd South Carolina Regiment, commended for defending Charleston in June 1776. Battery Gadsden was named for Brigadier General Christopher Gadsden ,
495-629: The Third Battle of Chattanooga in November 1863, and was made a brevet colonel in the Regular Army as of November 24 for his efforts there. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in the Union Army on August 4, and by January 1864 was given divisional command. He was promoted to major in the Regular Army in the 18th U.S. Infantry on April 20, 1864, and was appointed a brevet major general in
SECTION 10
#1732851149705540-525: The United States Military Academy at West Point in July 1848, and graduated four years later, standing 20th out of 43 cadets. He was appointed a brevet second lieutenant on July 1, 1852, and ordered to join the 1st U.S. Infantry Regiment . On July 31 of that year Woods was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. During 1855 he was transferred to the 9th U.S. Infantry as of March 3, and
585-509: The 263rd Coast Artillery Regiment of the South Carolina National Guard . The Marshall Military Reservation, a sub-post of Fort Moultrie, was established in the northeast part of Sullivan's Island to accommodate the new batteries. The batteries built during World War II at and near Fort Moultrie were: Additionally, a battery of two 16-inch guns designated BCN 125 was proposed for James Island , south of Charleston Harbor, but
630-582: The Patriots won the war, and British troops departed in 1782, at which time the flag was presented in Charleston, by General Nathanael Greene , commander of the southern Regulars. Great Britain and France began another war in 1793, heightening tensions. The United States of America thence embarked on a significant fortification program for important harbors, later called the First System of fortifications . Atop
675-587: The Second System fort was demolished to make room for batteries Bingham, McCorkle, and Lord. The fort also had a mine casemate to control a naval minefield. In 1901 Coast Artillery units were designated from heavy artillery units, and in 1907 the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps was formed to garrison the new coast defenses. The Endicott Program batteries at Fort Moultrie were: Battery Capron, with sixteen 12-inch mortars,
720-510: The Union Army for his actions during the Battle of Griswoldville on November 22, the first engagement of Sherman's March to the Sea . Woods was then appointed a regular brevet brigadier general and quickly then to brevet major general on March 13, 1865, both in the Regular Army. Woods chose to continue his military career and remain in the U.S. Army after the end of the American Civil War. He
765-586: The beginning of the American Revolutionary War . The soft palmetto logs did not crack under bombardment but rather absorbed the shot; cannonballs reportedly even bounced off the walls of the structure. William Moultrie , commander of the 2nd South Carolina Regiment, and his four hundred men fought a day-long battle that ended with Parker's heavily damaged fleet being driven from the area. The fort hence took its name, as Fort Moultrie, in his honor. Charleston locals celebrate " Carolina Day " to commemorate
810-552: The bravery of the defenders of the fort. During this battle, Moultrie flew a flag of his own design, authorized by the colonial government. It was later called the Moultrie flag , or Liberty flag, and became iconic to the Revolution in the South. The British eventually captured Fort Moultrie, as part of the Siege of Charleston in spring 1780, and renamed it as Fort Arbuthnot. Nevertheless,
855-497: The city of Charleston. The U.S. Army modernized Fort Moultrie in the 1870s with new weapons and deep concrete bunkers. Weapons of this period included 15-inch and 10-inch Rodman guns (380 and 250 mm), which were smoothbores , and 8-inch converted rifles , lined down from 10-inch Rodmans. Beginning in 1897, Fort Moultrie's armament was modernized under the large-scale Endicott Program of coast defenses. Eight new reinforced-concrete batteries were completed by 1906, and part of
900-713: The decayed original Fort Moultrie, the Army completed a new fort in 1798; the Army also built nineteen other new forts along the Atlantic coast. The fort was garrisoned by Captain Jonathan Robeson's company of the Regiment of Artillerists in 1802. However, after years of neglect, the Antigua–Charleston hurricane destroyed Fort Moultrie in 1804. Fort Moultrie was rebuilt as part of the Second System of fortifications in 1808–09, under
945-737: The direction of Army engineer Alexander Macomb . A report by the Secretary of War , on fortifications in December 1811, describes Fort Moultrie as: Fort Moultrie's main design did not change much over the next five decades. The Army altered the parapet and modernized the armament, but defense of Charleston centered increasingly around newly created Fort Sumter . By the time of the American Civil War , Fort Moultrie, Fort Sumter, Fort Johnson, and Castle Pinckney surrounded and defended Charleston. Fort Moultrie began to record meteorological observations in
SECTION 20
#1732851149705990-519: The early 1820s. For fifty years the Army detained Native American prisoners at Fort Moultrie. Seminole Indian fighter Osceola and some fellow Seminoles were captured in late 1837 and transferred to the fort. Osceola died of malaria in January 1838; the Army buried his corpse at the front gate of Fort Moultrie and thereafter maintained his grave. In the months leading up to the Civil War, John L. Gardner
1035-509: The first election of President Abraham Lincoln. Around this time a Federal garrison from the 1st US Artillery was sent to Fort Moultrie. Unlike the state militia at the other forts, the U.S. Regular Army defenders of Fort Moultrie chose not to surrender to the South Carolina forces. On December 26, 1860, Union Major Robert Anderson moved his garrison from Fort Moultrie to the stronger Fort Sumter . On February 8, 1861, South Carolina joined
1080-468: The five other seceded Deep Southern states to form the Confederate States of America . In April 1861, Confederate troops shelled Fort Sumter into submission, and the American Civil War began. In April 1863, Federal ironclads and shore batteries began a bombardment of Fort Moultrie and the other forts around Charleston harbor. Over the ensuing twenty months, Union bombardment reduced Fort Sumter to
1125-475: The fort as a tour backward in time from its defenses from World War II to the original palmetto log fort constructed by William Moultrie. The preserved Harbor Entrance Control Post and BCN 520 (now a private residence) are the main relics of the World War II era. The National Register of Historic Places listed Fort Moultrie Quartermaster and Support Facilities Historic District on September 6, 2007. In 2016,
1170-416: The fort was known as Fort Arbuthnot . Col. Moultrie took command of Sullivan's Island on March 2, 1776, which included a garrison of 413 men of the 2nd South Carolina Regiment of Infantry and 22 men of the 4th South Carolina Regiment, artillery. The island included a fort, still under construction at the southern tip, which was being supervised by Capt. De Brahm. The square design, with corner bastions ,
1215-461: The fort, mostly equipped with weapons purchased from the United Kingdom. In 1901 Battery McCorkle was added to defend the minefield against minesweepers with three 3-inch guns on retractable masking parapet carriages. In 1905 Battery Lord was added with two 3-inch guns, and in 1906 Battery Gadsden provided four 6-inch rapid-fire disappearing guns. These batteries were supplemented in 1899 by
1260-738: The fort. Records show the guns arrived in France, but a history of the Coast Artillery in World War I states that none of the regiments in France equipped with 6-inch guns completed training in time to see action before the Armistice . Two of Battery Jasper's four 10-inch guns were similarly removed in 1918 for potential use as railway guns ; they were never returned to the fort but were replaced with guns from Fort Washington in 1919. Following World War I there were several changes at Fort Moultrie as part of
1305-601: The last time and ended 171 years of service. After the war, due to changes in military technology, including submarines and nuclear weapons, seacoast defense of the United States ceased to be a viable strategy. In 1960, the Department of Defense transferred Fort Moultrie to the National Park Service . NPS manages the historic fort as a unit of Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park . NPS has interpreted
1350-552: The northern end of Morris Island . Woods described in his report what occurred next: We kept on, still under the fire of the battery, most of the balls passing over us, one just missing the machinery, another striking but a few feet from the rudder, while a ricochet shot struck us in the fore-chains, about two feet above the water line... The American flag Was flying at Fort Sumter, but we saw no flag at Fort Moultrie, and there were no guns fired from either of these fortifications. Finding it impossible to take my command to Fort Sumter, I
1395-453: The rank of colonel . Woods' first assignment with his regiment was briefly in what is now West Virginia in the fall of 1861. In 1862, Woods began his Western Theater service. His regiment participated in the capture of Fort Donelson in Tennessee on February 16, 1862, as well as the Battle of Shiloh on April 6. Woods was promoted to brigade command, replacing Charles Whittlesey in
General Woods - Misplaced Pages Continue
1440-466: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title General Woods . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=General_Woods&oldid=1224386979 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Title and name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
1485-476: The steamer SS Star of the West , escorted by the sloop USS Brooklyn , for Fort Sumter. On January 8 at dark Woods arrived off Charleston Harbor, and when it was light enough on January 9 they entered the bay. Woods and the steamer weren't fired upon until they arrived within one and three-quarter miles (about three kilometers) of both Sumter and Fort Moultrie , when they were fired on by an artillery battery near
1530-506: The word "Liberty" on it. A total of 31 guns commanded the approach from Five Fathom Hole offshore, past the island and the Middle Ground shoal , before ships could enter the harbor. South Carolina patriots began to build a fort to guard Charleston, South Carolina , harbor in 1776. Royal Navy Admiral Sir Peter Parker led a fleet of nine warships in an attack against the fort —known as Fort Sullivan and incomplete—on June 28, 1776, near
1575-511: Was a forcewide measure to increase the rate of fire by reducing overcrowding of mortar pits during reloading. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939 and the Fall of France in 1940, a comprehensive upgrade of US coastal fortifications was implemented. In the early part of the war the Harbor Defenses of Charleston were garrisoned by the 13th Coast Artillery Regiment of the Regular Army and
1620-426: Was assigned to command the Department of Alabama from June 27, 1865, to May 19, 1866, and then commanded the Department of the South until August 6. He was promoted in the Regular Army to lieutenant colonel on July 28 in the 33rd U.S. Infantry , and was mustered out of the volunteer service on September 1. On September 24, 1866, Woods was transferred to the 27th U.S. Infantry , lasting until March 15, 1869, when he
1665-589: Was in command at Fort Moultrie. With secession growing more imminent, Gardner had made several requests to Secretary of War John B. Floyd for more troops to garrison and defend the undermanned fortress. Each time his requests were ignored, as Floyd (who joined the Confederacy) was planning to hand the forts in Charleston Harbor over to the secessionists. South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860, after
1710-630: Was named for Assistant Surgeon George Edwin Lord , killed at the Battle of the Little Big Horn , also called "Custer's Last Stand", in 1876. In 1904 Battery Logan's 6-inch Armstrong gun was removed and most likely transferred to Fort Adams . After the US entered World War I , Battery Gadsden's four 6-inch guns were removed for service on field carriages on the Western Front in 1917 and were never returned to
1755-451: Was never built. The unnamed battery of four 155 mm M1918 towed guns on concrete Panama mounts was established in 1941 to quickly augment Charleston's harbor defenses. The construction of the long-range BCN 520 with 12-inch guns rendered all previous gun defenses in the Charleston area obsolete. BCN 520 was armed with guns removed from Battery Kimble at Fort Travis , Galveston, Texas . Almost all of Fort Moultrie's previous armament
1800-477: Was obliged most reluctantly to turn about, and try to make my way out of the harbor before my retreat should be cut off by vessels then in sight... Woods and the Star of the West returned to New York Harbor on January 12, 1861, and he filed his full report the next day from Fort Columbus . On April 1 he was promoted to the rank of captain , and on October 13 he was given command of the 76th Ohio Infantry Regiment with
1845-648: Was promoted to first lieutenant on October 16. Woods' pre-war military career consisted of "routine duty" in Texas as well as in the Washington Territory until 1860. In early 1861, Woods was ordered by the U.S. Army to lead reinforcements to Fort Sumter, located in Charleston Harbor , South Carolina . On January 5 his command of 200 officers and men left from Governors Island in New York Harbor aboard
General Woods - Misplaced Pages Continue
1890-414: Was scrapped in 1942, except Battery Thomson's pair of 10-inch guns and Battery Lord's pair of 3-inch guns. The two fixed emplacements of AMTB 2A were built on the former 10-inch Battery Jasper. A Harbor Entrance Control Post (HECP) to coordinate Army and Navy harbor defenses was established at the old fort and has been refurbished as an exhibit. On August 15, 1947, the Army lowered Fort Moultrie's flag for
1935-420: Was supposed to have parallel rows of palmetto logs 10 feet high (3.0 m), filled in with 16 feet of sand (4.9 m). However, by June 28, only the front (the southeast and southeast curtain walls and bastions) was complete. The northern portion of the fort was unfinished, standing at only 7 ft (2.1 m). Cavaliers were constructed along the rear walls. The blue flag on the southeast bastion had
1980-498: Was the largest component of the new defenses. In 1906 it was organizationally split into two batteries, Capron and Butler, each with eight mortars. Batteries Jasper and Thomson provided longer-range weapons with a total of six 10-inch disappearing guns . In April 1898 the Spanish–American War broke out, with Fort Moultrie's smaller, rapid-fire batteries still years from completion. Batteries Logan and Bingham were added to
2025-581: Was unassigned for 19 days. On March 24 he was assigned to the 5th U.S. Infantry , and on February 18, 1874, he was promoted to colonel and given command of the 2nd U.S. Infantry . He held this post until retiring on December 15 due to his failing health. Woods died at the age of 58 at his estate named "Woodside" in Newark, Ohio. He was buried there in Cedar Hill Cemetery, as would be his brother and brother-in-law. Fort Moultrie Fort Moultrie
#704295