Despite that lucky shot, the Rebels’ guns were not long effective. Although the cannoneers slowed the Federal advance, Union marksmen shot down the Rebels operating the guns. Confederate soldier S.F. Power recalled, ‘The cannon in the fort was silenced about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, every gunner having been either killed or wounded.’

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Union artillery had stopped dropping shells into Fort Tyler earlier, at about 1:30. One Confederate wrote, ‘every ball hit the mark, that is, every few minutes while squatting against the parapet when loading my gun, I could feel the jar’ of the shells landing inside the fort. While the Rebels slowly reloaded their muzzleloaders and attempted to avoid the shelling, the Federal cavalrymen fired rapidly into the fort with their repeating carbines. The firing covered the dismounted cavalrymen as they moved toward the fort. One Kentuckian wrote, ‘Our regiment was then directed to get up as close to the fort as possible — behind buildings, fences, posts, and anything affording the slightest cover, and act as sharpshooters to silence the fire of the fort.’

It was then that McFarland noticed a number of Yankees sniping from one of the cottages he had previously wanted to burn, one owned by Dr. A.W. Griggs. Finding Tyler, McFarland suggested that the Confederates direct artillery fire against that position to silence the sharpshooters. Tyler hobbled up to the wall and raised his field glasses to get a better view. Immediately, he attracted several shots from the building.

‘The first shot,’ Confederate S.F. Power wrote, ‘though fatal, was followed by a second, which cut his crutch in two and precipitated him to the ground. He was tenderly borne to the foot of the flagstaff, where he died an hour later, beneath the flag he had sworn to protect with his life, which had been presented by the noble ladies of West Point and vicinity.’ As the fort was situated on the Georgia-Alabama state line, Tyler was wounded in Alabama but died in Georgia. McFarland dourly noted that Tyler had given ‘his own life rather than destroy the homes of others. This was a noble prompting, but was not war.’

The Federal troopers eventually reached the ditch around the fort, as the slow-loading smoothbores proved no match for the fire available from repeating rifles. With only a few feet separating the contending troops, a stalemate developed. McFarland recalled ‘neither [side] could expose themselves to the other’ and that the Federal’sharpshooters made it too hot and dangerous for our men to put their heads up, as it was almost certain death.’ Instead, a number of men lifted their hats up on their ramrods to draw enemy fire.

Casualties began to mount in the fort, as Union troops attempted to breach the parapet. Major W.A. Camp, a militia member who owned the local hotel, had both his eyes shot out during this stage of the struggle. Another Rebel, a man named McNight from New Orleans, was struck by a Union bullet. Although carried to the nearby home of Mrs. Ann Wilson, he never received medical attention and died. Mrs. Wilson buried the soldier in her flower garden.

The stalemate lasted two hours. During this time, some Confederates used ignited shells as hand grenades, throwing them over the parapet into the ditch where the Federal troops huddled. Most did not explode. During any lull in the firing, the two sides exchanged ‘many a compliment, banter, and threat.’

On Tyler’s death, command devolved to a Captain Gonzales, who was also killed within the fort. Colonel J.H. Fannin then led the garrison. After Tyler died, one soldier reportedly raised a white handkerchief in surrender, but McFarland snatched it away and vowed to shoot the next man who attempted to give up. By the time he made that threat, many of the Confederates had already run out of ammunition and were hurling stones and empty rifles at the attackers.

Although the Federals had the garrison surrounded, they were still pinned down in the ditch that surrounded the fort. LaGrange ordered the sharpshooters to continue firing while other troops constructed bridges. To build them, the Union troops ripped planks from the homes that Tyler had spared from the torch. When the bridges were completed, a bugler sounded the charge, and LaGrange’s regiments hurtled forward. Throwing their bridges to span the ditch, they then ran into the fort.One Wisconsin officer described the attack:

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