| Sunday February 1, 1863 |
attempt to silence Fort McAllister. From her position 1,000 yards from the fort, the
Montauk begins a five hour cannonade. McAllister's commanding officer Major Gallie,
decapitated by a shell fragment, is the only casualty of the engagement. One Rebel
gunner reports, "The firing from the fleet was good. My men were frequently covered by
sand, and shell and fragments of shell....My practice was at first bad, owing to the mist,
but toward midday it improved, the shells bursting over or falling near the vessels." After
absorbing forty-six hits, the Montauk steams away, once again unable to silence the
Confederate fort.
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