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A series of artillery battles took place during late 1861 and early 1862, in which the Union guns generally prevailed, causing substantial damage to Confederate fortifications.  At 10:00 AM on the morning of [[November 22]], the Union batteries at Fort Pickens opened fire on the Confederate steamers docked at the Navy Yard wharf. The steamers escaped the line of fire with minimal damage, but the Confederate guns returned fire. The Union ships ''[[Wikipedia:USS Richmond (1860)|USS Richmond]]'' and ''[[Wikipedia:USS Niagara (1855)|USS Niagara]]'' soon moved closer to shore and joined the Union barrage, firing primarily at [[Fort McRee]]. Union guns shot off the flagstaffs at both McRee and [[Fort Barrancas]]. Confederate general Braxton Bragg called the artillery battle "grand and sublime," and wrote that "the houses in Pensacola, ten miles off, trembled from the effect; and immense quantities of dead fish floated on the surface of the lagoon, stunned by the concussion."<ref>Davis, William Watson. ''The Civil War and Reconstruction in Florida.'' New York: Columbia University, 1913.</ref> On [[November 22]] and [[Novemner 23|23]], 1861, Union and Confederate positions exchanged artillery fire over Pensacola Bay; Union troops expended 5,000 rounds of ammunition while Confederate troops returned some 1,000 shots. Fort Pickens on the Union side sustained little damage, but Confederate-held [[Fort McRee]], its water battery, as well as the navy yard and the village of [[Warrington]] all sustained extensive damage. Federal troops did sustain two deaths and 13 wounded. Federal artillery inflicted even more damage on [[January 1]] and [[January 2|2]], 1862, causing extensive fire damage at the Navy Yard and exploding the powder magazine at [[Fort McRee]].<ref name="PICW" />