The Battle of Grand Gulf was fought on April 29, 1863, during th: Although Pittsburgh, Louisville, Carondelet, and Mound City each carried 13 guns, the positioning of the guns on the ships allowed a maximum of four guns at a time to be aimed at the Confederate fortifications, reducing the Union firepower.  By 10:00 a.m., Fort Wade was knocked out of action.  One of the large cannons in Fort Wade had exploded, the fortifications themselves had been severely damaged, and Colonel William F. Wade, commanding the post, had been decapitated by Union fire.[43]  The surviving cannons at Fort Wade had been buried under earth from the damaged fortifications.[41]  The four Union vessels that had silenced Fort Wade moved upriver to face the remaining Confederate fort, which fought on.[37]  A Confederate shot struck Benton, destroying the ship's wheel.[44] Confederate troops in the rifle pits also fired into the Union vessels.[41] Around 1:00 p.m., Fort Cobun decreased its fire due to ammunition shortages.  However, Porter and Grant decided not to attempt an amphibious landing against Grand Gulf due to the strength of the Confederate position.[44]  Despite the damage and the ammunition shortage, the Confederate batteries were still capable of repulsing a landing from the transports.[45]  During the action, Porter had been struck in the back of his head with a shell fragment; the painful wound caused him to use his sword as a cane.[44]  The naval vessels had fired more than 2,300 shots during the bombardment.[46]