Comte de Paris, History of the Civil War in America. Vol. 1.
Henry Coppee , LL.D., Ed.

A few days after, the navy extended its conquests still farther south. The group of islands to which Tybee belongs is separated from another group, called Warsaw Islands, by a deep entrance which bears that name. A navigable channel connects this pass with the estuary of the Savannah River above Fort Pulaski. The Federal gun-boats ran into it, putting to flight on their approach the Georgia militia occupying the works erected on Warsaw Islands, and thus opening a passage for future operations, which would enable them to reach Savannah by turning Fort Pulaski.

Finally, on the 12th of December, Captain Rodgers, who commanded the naval squadron operating along this part of the coast, entered Ossabaw Bay, but, doubting his ability to establish himself there, merely exchanged a few cannon-shots with a fort situated at the extremity, and retired after making a thorough reconnaissance of the bay.

In the mean time, similar enterprises were progressing on the other side of Hilton Head. The group of St. Helena Islands is bounded on the north by a deep bay bearing the same name, and on the south by that of Port Royal. This bay, which was destined to be of great use to the navy, was occupied at the end of November. The vessels which were sent to make a reconnaissance of it found the works erected upon its borders without defenders, and they penetrated as far as the river Coosaw, which empties its waters into it, without any difficulty. A few weeks after, the Federal ships made their appearance in the estuary called North Edisto River, situated between St. Helena Sound and Charleston. On Edisto Island, which separates that estuary from the bay of St. Helena, there were several fortifications and a camp of considerable size, all of which were evacuated after an insignificant cannonade.

Thus, at the end of the year, Dupont's fleet, supported by detachments from Sherman's army, was in possession of the five large bays of North Edisto, St. Helena, Port Royal, Tybee, Warsaw, and the whole chain of islands which forms the coast of Carolina and Georgia between those bays. After the battle of Hilton