on the night of 24–25 may, the inbound steamer "kate" dashed past the union blockaders off charleston but ran ashore under the protection of confederate guns. in the morning, "augusta" and "pocahontas" tried to destroy the blockade runner by gunfire; but heavy seas and fire from southern shore batteries prevented their succeeding. during the half-hour the union ships were under fire, confederate shells passed overhead and between "augusta" and "pocahontas" but none scored. on the other hand, although raised to their maximum elevation, the union guns were unable to reach shore. this failure dramatically demonstrated "augusta"s need for heavier guns.