Shortly after the Civil War broke out, the Confederates removed the nine-foot-tall lens from the two-year-old lighthouse and placed it in storage before Union forces gained control of the island. On December 20, 1862, Union blockaders installed a fourth-order lens in the tower, which also served as a lookout for spying on the Confederates.
Irritated by the proximity of the enemy, a band of Confederates led by John W. Glenn rowed out to Sand Island from Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island. Before being challenged by the guns of the USS Pembina, the intruders had torched several frame buildings near the lighthouse. Glenn swore that he would return to the island, and “tumble the Light House down in their teeth.”
On the morning of February 23, 1863, roughly a month after his previous visit to the island, Glenn made good on his promise. After placing seventy pounds of gun powder under the tower, he lit a fuse and retreated amidst a downpour of bricks.
