We walked around the outside of the fort and observed the damage to the wall by the Union Army's barrage. The fort was thought at the time to be invincible. Because of the swampy surroundings the closest a cannon assault could be mounted was on Tybee Island about a mile away. The distance made conventional cannons ineffective against the strong fort walls.
When the Union army landed to the north at Hilton Head Island, the Confederate troops fled their occupation of Tybee Island. The Union army quickly setup eleven artillery batteries there, one of which had ten experimental rifled cannons. Because of the distance from the fort, it was unconcerned and refused to surrender. By noon on the second day of the Union cannon assault, the rifled cannons had destroyed the south east corner of the wall and threaten to go through to the powder storeroom and the fort was surrendered.
In a closer look you can see a cannon ball still lodged in the wall. There are several of these still in the wall and a few of the rifled shells.
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