The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, May 11, 1911, Page SEVEN, Image 7
THE STORY Of FO
BOMBARDMENT
WHICH OPE*
Question as to Who Fired First St
Union Defenders and Courti
By Captain GEO
Copyrifh
Fort S??nt?r, in 1861, was an unflnl
-^ a n4 tk* main ohi
stoto of South Carolina withdrew from
tMa fort and othar Fsdsrsl property
to hold thia fort by a United State* j
1881. The garrison numbered lea
Carolina troops (than in the service of
America) numbered several hundred
aad Part Moultrie (a former UnKad i
Swathei waa practically surrounded by
HAD General Beauregard been
less of a soldier and less of a
gentleman of honor and feeling
the story of the bombardment
and fall of Fort Sumter just fifty
years ago would in all probability have
been less agreeable reading for Americans
than It is. At 5:15 p. in. April
11, 1SC1, at the headquarters of the
Confederate states forces In Charleston
harbor, South Carolina, Beauregard
opened and read the reply of Major
'Anderson, U. S. A., to his (Beauregard's)
demand to surrender the citadel
under his command to the Confederate
tates.
lUf ueuiauu Mils luui uiv V u>.uu
of Fort Sumter by the garrison must
take place immediately and that the
garrison, together with all company
arms and property and all private property,
might be removed to any other
post in the United States. At the close
Bras appended this gallant concession:
"The flag which yon have upheld so
long and with so much fortitude under
the most trying circumstances may be
tainted by you in taking it down."
At 12:45 a. m. April 12. 1861, Major
Robert Anderson, commanding Fort
Sumter, received Beauregard's second
demand to give up the fort or have it
battered down over his head. Two
aids from Beauregard stood in his
presence, authorized to present the ul^
1 ml .*mi?
MAJOR (AFTERWARD MAJOR GJ
PENDER OF FORT SUMTER;
COMMANDER OF OONFEDEB
SUMTER AFTER THE BOMBA
GORGE, OFFICERS' QUARTER]
timaturu :r Arirt.-r^uU 8 reply was not
satisfactory Anderson delayed them
under one pretext and another until
8:15 a. in., tlieti minded them his written
reply, the response to which was
this courteous yet cold blooded note:
Tort Sumter, S. C\. April 12. 1S61. 8:20 a. m.
Sir?By authority of Brigadier General
r-nmnianiilnar the provisional
force* of the Confederate states, we have
the honor to notify you that he will open
the fire of his batteries on Fort Sumter In
oce hour from this time.
We have the honor to be, very respecttelly,
your obedient servants,
JAMBS CHESNUT. JR.
Ald-de-camp.
Major Anderson was Qimself a
southerner. He had been sent to
Charleston harbor in tbe fall of I860
before there was any prospect of a
dramatic termination to his career
there.
Ever since the demand by General
Beauregard of the 11th for the evacuation
of Sumter the officers of the garrison
had been convinced that tbey
were on the eve of conflict. Immediately
after receiving the flrml ordet
from Beauregard, Major Anderson
went to his executive officer. Captain
Abner Doubleday, who had lain down
a a cot bedstead in one of the magadnes
of the fort, a place supposed tc
be shell proof In fire, and informed
him that the enemy's fire would open
?i !
RT SUMTER'S
FIFTY YEARS AGO.
IED THE CIVIL WAR
iot oo Each Side Settled?Heroism of
lay of Confederate Attackers.
RGE L. KILMER
t by American Prm 1011
i
lahed work ohloh the Waited Itotn had
iMMi to Ckarhttoa harbor. Whoa the
tha Union at tha a too* o# 1800 It oWmxi
aa tha property at tha. state. Attornpt
larrlenw led to tha attaok open It April
than a hundred alt told. Tha South
tha newly formed Confederate States of
and ware distributed hi land bafetarlae
Stataa fort), dlatant one to three mUee.
as soon as It was light enough for the
gunners to see the fort He said he
would not return the fire until broad
daylight because he did not wish to |
waste his ammunition. Doubleday :
took the announcement very calmly
and did uot even get up until the fa- 1
mous "shot hoard round the world"
had penetrated the masonry of the '
wall and burst very near his head.
Presently the enemy's shots were j
coming thick, and the effects of
the bombardment were visible. The
enemy's shots in the main were too .
high, but the aim improved after day ;
light. By the time the Sumter men :
were ready to go to work the Confederate
aim had become what soldiere I
called "fairly good." After "assem
bly," which followed breakfast, the
garrison was divided Into two reliefs,
j the doty at the guns to be four hours.
Captain Doubleday being senior captain.
his battery took the first tour.
Doubleday himself commanded the
first firing party. Lieutenant Jefferson
C. Davis the second party, and Dr. 8.
; Wiley Crawford, a surgeon turned
tighter, commanded the third.
; I I
* 1-- CL.i .4 r?M fi
I no r ilit grivv m% v*u wivi /
In most histories the first shot is j
wrongly attributed to Edmund Ruffln
of Virginia, a venerable man. who Is
i called one of the fathers of secession.
11 wudto&k' 1
I mItjwJmMIl. ''jF' 1
EWRRAL) ROBERT AMDRRROR. Z?>
GENERAL P. O. T. BEAUREGARD,
AT* ATTACKING FORCES; PORT
JtDMENT, 8HOWI1SG INTERIOR OT
3 AND GATEWAY.
This tradition spoils a good story, and
I give the facts from official history as
? ?n InnMant nmr+h nrA
erring.
11 General Beauregard, commander of
the provisional army of South Carolina,
says In his official report "The
signal shell was fired from Fort Johneon
at 4:30 a. m." Fort Johnson was
en James Island. It was a three gun
battery, with a four gun mortar battery
near by. The poet was known
as Fort Johnson. The official Journal
of Captain J. G. Foster, the Federal
engineer In Sumter, says, "At 4:80 a.
m. a signal shell was thrown from the
i mortar battery on James Island."
I One of Beauregard's aids, who delivered
the ultimatum to Major Ander'
son and carried his reply back to
shore. Captain Stephen D. Lee. told
! the story as follows In the Century
war papers: "The boat containing the
two aids and also Roger A. Pryor of
Virginia west immediately from Sumter
to Fort Johnson, on James Island,
' and the order to fire the signal gnn
i was given to Captain George S. James,
i commanding the battery at that point
i; Captain James at once arranged to
carry out the order. He was a great
> admirer of Roger A. Pryor and said to
I' him. 'You are the only man to whom
i I would give the honor of firing the
! . <
first gun of the war/ and offered to allow
him to fire It
"Pryor was very much agitated.
With a husky voice he said, 'I could
not Are the first gun of the war.' Captain
James would allow no one else !
but himself to fire the first gun. It
was fired at 4:30 a. m. and barst immediately
over the fort"
General Beauregard mentions Edmund
Ruffin In his report and locates
him at 'the iron battery" on Morris
island. Colonel De Saussure, commander
of the Morris Island batteries,
says in his report that his guns opened
at 4:48, after the signal agreed
upon had been given. Colonel De
Saussure's subordinate. Major Stevens,
says that the batteries on Morris Is- i
land opened after the signal shell bad
been fired from Fort Johnson Ruffin
served in the Palmetto guard, which
manned two batteries on Morris Island,
the "Point" (Cummlngs) and the
Iron batteries. Captain Cuthbert of
the Palmettos is very explicit in his
report lie say?: "The mortar battery
at Cummlngs point opened fire on Fort
Sumter in Its turn after the signal ,
shell rrom t on jonnson, u:n hik urru
preceded by the mortar batteries on
Sullivan's island and the Marion artillery
(Morris island). At the dawn of
day the iron battery commenced its
work. The first shell, fired by the venerable
Edmund Rufiin, burst directly
upon the parapet of the fort."
The "dawn of day." which was the
time Ruffln fired his Columbia d. is placed
by several witnesses more than fin
hour after the signal pun. Meanwhile
the bombardment had been going on
steadily from the several batteries
bearing upon the doomed fort.
Doubleday Fires Sumter's First Shot.
Captain Doubleday believed that the j
Edmund Ruffln shot was the one that i
struck the wall of the magazine where
he was lying. He himself fired the j
first shot in return. The guns used i
were thirty-two and forty-two pound- j
era. The gunners aimed well, and fire i
was concentrated upon an Ironclad j
Confederate battery about a mile distant.
The shot rolled off like peas, and |
as It was a waste of Iron Doubleday's
men took for a target the famous old !
Fort Moultrie of Revolutionary fame,
Al? Xfrtnlfrio hold ntrnlnst
I Lit? UUU VU1UUCI 1UVIUVXV uw.v.
a British fleet That work was liter ;
ally burled under sand bags, and the
shot had very little effect there. There
were no men visible near the Confed- ;
erate batteries as participants, but;
there was a large party of people, ap- :
parently noneombatants, on the beach
of Sullivan's island, near Fort Moul- j
trie. Irritated at the fact that they
had been unable to do any damage to
the enemy's batteries, a couple of the
Sumter gunners surreptitiously, when
no officer was near, turned two guns
on this crowd. The first shot fell short,
but the second went crashing through
the Moultrie house, which was filled
with citizens watching the duel between
Sumter and Moultrie. Naturally
the crowd promptly dispersed.
The first night of the bombardment
was one of great anxiety to the little
band cooped up in Fort Sumter. The
shells dropped into the fort at regular
Intervals all night The second
day's bombardment began at the same
hour as the first ((7:30) In the morning.
At daylight the enemy's Are,!
which had been slow all night warmed
up, and the aim of the gunners was j
better than It had been the day before.
Fire broke out In the officers'
quarters or tne ion ana was ?uu- )
guisbed, bnt It soon broke out in several
places at once.
Flagstaff Shot Down.
When the flames broke out the Confederate
batteries Increased their fire,
and a perfect storm of shot and shell
came upon the fort The flagstaff was |
shot down, and for the first time the j
old fl*g dropped to the ground. This
incident was Interpreted by the Con!
federates as a signal of distress, and
here again General Beauregard showed
that a soldier Is not necessarily by
any means steeled against the finer
feelings of a man. As soon as be
beard that Anderson's flag was no
longer flying be eent three of his
aids. W. Porch er Mllee, Roger JL
Pry or and Captain Stephen D. Lee. to
tee If Anderson's people needed and :
would receive assistance in subdolnf
flames which had broken ont in tb?
barracks of ths fort, caused by redhol
shells which the enemy wss firing or.
purpose. It might be supposed, to start:
a conflagration.
The Port Sumter gunners, of course. j
had to slow up on their fire in order to j
enable some of the men to turn from
fighting the Confederates to flghtinj;
flames. Seeing this, the gunners lit
the Confederate batteries cheered i
when a lone gun was fired from Sum
ter. When the Confederate aids appeared
at the fort and announced t>
Major Anderson the humane mission |
upon which they had come Anderson j
said. "Present my compliments t>
General Beauregard and say that I
thank blm for hla kindness, but nee-1 |
no assistance."
Meanwhile Colonel L. T. Wlgfall of
Beauregard's staff had entered Foit
Sumter and proposed in Beauregard's
name the terms offered on the 11th, as
above. Wlgfall himself displayed a
white flag od his entrance to the fort,
and the guns on both sides ceased firing.
Anderson asked the three aics
then in his presence about Wlgfall a j
mission and was told that he did not
represent Beauregard's wishes at thnt
moment. Then Anderson said, MI will
at once run up my flag and open fl:-e
again." Waving his hand to the Confederates.
Anderson added, "Gentlemen,
you can return to your batteries.*
But at this time Major D. R. Jones,
Beauregard's chief of staff, arrived, cffering
substantially the terms talktri
of on the 11th. Anderson promptly j
agreed to evacuate the fort the next '
day (the 14th) after saluting the dag
flying at half mast.
j ? *
?L_ ... >, ..
THRILLING SCENES
AT FORT SUMTER
Hero Who Saved the Powder
Magazines?Hauling Down
the American Flag.
r*r\n rc v wvrMWO
[Copyright by American Preia Association,
1911.]
WHEN the first gun was fired
at Fort Sumter on the morning
of April 12, 1861, many
of the men In the fort ntood
on the parapets or about the parade
and watched the course of the mortar
shell, which arose slowly in the air
until its momentum was exhausted,
then dropped toward the target. Other
shells were fired, and these were
watched in turn. Though they were
known to be the signals of n fight that
was about to open, the eud of which
do man could foresee, the usual roll
call of the soldiers took place oa the
open parade ground just the same.
Redhot Cannon Balls.
There is no doubt whatever about
the Confederates firing redliot shot
into Fort Sumter for the purpose of
setting any inflammable material there
(>n fire. The Confederates so state
themselves, and the officers in Fort
Sumter would not have made the statement
had it been other thai true. The
lire In the barracks gradually swept
around toward the magazine, barrels
filled with powder were rolled out under
fire, and the already hot door wao
closed. All the blankets of the soldiers
tind everything else that could serve
:he purpose had already been wet and
laid over the loaded shells, which were
placed near the guns. It was decided
to throw the uncovered powder overboard
This was done, but the tide
was low. so the powder barrels rested
on the rlprapplng In front of the embrasure
where they were cast out. The
Confederates promptly tannd their
guns upon this pile of powder, causing
an explosion which blew the gun at
the embrasure out of position. There
was still a possibility that enough powder
had sifted through toe cartridge
bags which had :een carried about the
day before to lead the lire into the
powder chamber. Realizing this dan
ger. Anderson called his men about
him 011 the parade and directed that a
shot be fired from the fort at the enemy
every Use. minutes, adding incidentally
that there was some danger
of the magazine exploding. Some of
the men dug a trench in front of the
door of the magazine and kept it filled
with water during the re;f ol the battle.
Of course this thrilling moment
of open powder barrels yin; around
CBBUIi A8VZB DOUBLED IT, WHO FIBKD
PBOM FOB* IPMTn Til PIB9T SHOT AT
TD OOHTKDHUTXS IN TBB ctvjjj WAR.
had to have lti- hero. Be was Private
Hart, a soldier who had dlf tlngulshed
himself many times that daj. Through
his activity the flames vere kept from
spreading In dangerous quarters, and
to him was given the ciedit: of saving
the powder mitgaslnes.
Tho Closing 8osn?.
After all that folio we 1 In the wake
of that first gun of Sumter, the "shot
heard round tbe world,' It Is scarcely
possible to realize the feeling's of the
Confederates and Anderson's men
when dnally the flag of Banter was
hauled down by the order of the highest
United States authority on the
spot. Major Anderson. It had been
1 aa'n*a a 4\atr ko#af>o
arrange** tu oamiu u.c ttue WAVIV
hauling It down with 100 guns, the
usual dag salute, but the Ore In the
barracks was still ragng. Fire and
sparks were all arouod the cannon,
and It was not easy to fl 3d a safe place
for the deposit of the :artrldge& As
It was, flames of fire bad entered the
muzzle of one of the guns. When the
cartridge was rammed In It exploded
prematurely, killing one soldier and
wounding five of his coniradea In
view of this danger, the salute stopped
with fifty guns. Then. Old Glory came
down, the first time th4 flag had been
struck before an American foe, the
first time it had been tumbled In the
dust by men reared under Its folds.
It must be said that the spectacle
caused not only Its gailan" defenders,
but lta equally gallant enemies, to shod
honest tears.
' I .
* :
. *. ' ; .
Mi
I INTERESTING
AT OLD
??
i {
Br Captain GEORGE L. KILMER.
[Copyright by American Press Association.
1311]
IT was a moment of Interest to the
little band In Fort Sumter when
at reveille on the 9th of January,
1861, the news reached them that
a large steamer flying the United
States flag was off the bar of the hnr- ;
bor, two or three miles distant. Ev- ,
ery one was afraid the garrison was
to be taken away. The men talked it
over at breakfast, but even while they
1 were talking the vessel was rapidly '
j steaming up the channel. Then every ;
mail climbed to the ramparts, but
there was no excitement Suddenly a i
blue puff of smoke from a hidden battery
a little more than a mile from .
Sumter showed plainly that the Con- ,
federates in Charleston had their opin- I
ion of the strange steamer, the fa- 1
j
BMblxflnUH
I BBIGADIER QSirEBAZi JAMBS CHBBBTPT, JB.,
C. S. A., WHO CABBIED SKVEBAL FLAGS
OF TRUCE TO PORT 8USITEB.
mous Star of the West The curiosity
of the men was changed to a determination
to get ready for battle. The
roll call was beaten. Sumter batteries
i were manned almost before the men
of the hidden battery had fired a second
shot The Star of the West came
abreast of i-'ort Moultrie. The third ,
shot was tired at the steamer. At
that the Star of the West put about
' and start (Hi to sea. again receiving
j still further tire from the hidden oat|
tery as it passed. That was the lest ,
ot the Star ot the West in the much
talked or re-enforcements to the gar
rison pent up in Sumter.
It was while tne excitement o\et
the danger to the magazines from redhot
shells tired by the Confederates
April 13 was at its ueigui inai *_uiunel
Wigfail, ex-United States senator
from Texas, came into tiie fort As a
cannoneer approached the embrasure
to load his gun be discovered a man
looking in from the outside. There
was a short but lively altercation between
the stranger and the cannoneer,
the former pleading that be be taken in
lest be should be killed by his own
shot and shell. He handed the can
noneer bis sword, to which was attached
a white handkerchief. Once
Inside he asked to be taken before
Major Anderson. To him be said.
"For God's sake, major, let this thirg
stop! There has been enough blood
shed already." Anderson replied seriously.
There must have been times
later when the ludicrous side of this
episode caused him to smile. Said he
"There has been none on my side, and.
besides, your batteries are still firing
on me."
Wigfail answered. "I'll soon stop
that" Reaching for the handkerchief
on his sword, be said to the cannoneer,
"Wave It out there!" The cannoneer
banded the sword to its owner,
saying in substance. "Ware It yourself."
The colonel proposed to wave
It out of the embrasure, but Anderson
told him that would be useless. It
would better be done on the parapet
It ended in Anderson sending the dag
to the parapet to be waved at the reguest
of Colonel Wigfail. This was
about the middle of the afternoon on
the 13th. and when the flag appeared
the firing on both sides gradually ceased.
This was in reality the end of the
whole matter, but It was so informal
that the tension of the nerves of the
officers and men In Fort Sumter was
by no means relieved. The flag had
not been struck. There had been no
orders to cease firing.
Beauregard's Dispatch Baarar.
There were several missions sent cut
by Beauregard to Major Anderson before
and after the lowering of the flag.
In all of them one man was conspicuous.
That was Captain James Chesnut
afterward a Confederate general.
Captain Chesnut was one of three
aids who went to the fort undar a j
FORT SUMTER AT
f
' r .. # r
V
INCIDENTS |
FORT SUMTER 1
- ^
white flag on April 11 to demand sur I
render. The demand was refused. . ' fl
About 1 o'clock on the morning of the \ '
12th Captain Chesnut again appeared
at Sumter and remained there until
past 3 o'clock, awaiting Major Anderson'g
reply. He had orders in his ^^^^B
pocket to the commander of the bat- ^^^^B
teries on James Island to open fire In ' <^9^HB
case Anderson remained firm In his
purpose to hold the fort. On leaving I
he placed in Anderson's band a written
notlco that the hostile guns would open .
in one hour. These trtps were made
In an open rowhoar, which waa pulled
to Fort Johnson and reached there at
4 o'clock.
From Port Johnson Captain Cheenut
started by boat to report to Beaure- B
gard, in Charleston. He was rowed
out Into the harbor between Forts
Johnson and Sumter and there lay to
until tbe signal shot was seen to burst
over the target. |^^B
After delivering his report to Beauregard
tbe captain was again sent in his ^^B
open boat down tbe harbor, now alive ^^B
with shells from Sumter and all its adversarles.
including Fort Moultrie. Tbe
boat reached Morris island In safety, J^B
passing under the guns which were fir- Bfl
lng vigorously. Captain Cheroot's in- ^B
structions were to learn the coodttkm fl|
of the southern batteries exposed to
Bumter's shots and also that of Sam- ^B
ter. His boat ran out In the harbor * ^dk^l I
toward Sumter, and he saw that the
buildings in the fort were on flrel B
About that time the firing from Sumter BB
ceased, but the flag was stffl waving. B
Captain Chesnut determined to make 8B
one more demand for the evacuation B
and was preparing to go out In the 9H
boat when the United States flag soddeniy
disappeared from the historic
walls. Word was brought from An- Afl^B
derson that he would evacuate, abd ? ^B^H
the captain hastened to the dty with
the news. ^^^B
The next mission of Captain Cbee- fl|H
nut was one of mercy. The quarters
In Fort Sumter had been set oc Are ^ ^B^B
by hot shot from Moultrie, and the
condition of its magazine was not
known to those outside. It was supposed
that there mast be some wound- B^w
ed needing care. A fire engine and BBH
its company were loaded on board a' B^H
steamer, and with a surgeon and bis| B
staff of assistants the relief party bur-; ^BB
ried to the burning fort. On nearing! B
the wharf the steamer was warned g^^JB
away by an otScer in the fort, who, B
stated that it was in\1$nger of blow- .
lng up at any moment from the mines / flj B
placed beneath tbe wall at that pointy, ^B^B
as a means of defense. - B
Captain Chesnut entered the fort,
through an embrasure and offered tbe
services of bis firemen and surgeons
to Major Anderson. Only one man
bad been wounded, and the fire bad I
burned itself out Tbe lower mags- H
zine was under tbe burning ruins, but
was deemed safe. Tbe upper one had j
been emptied by casting tbe powder] H
barrels into tbe sea.
Fighting on Their Own Hook. |
Major Anderson gave orders that v
only tbe casement guns of Sumter:
I should be used in reply to tbe enemy. I
These were tbe guns fired through 9
embrasures in tbe wall answering to
the ports of a battleship. Tbe barbette
gu ds on tbe parapet were tbe
I only shell guns In tbe fort 80 tbe A
' answering fire was of solid shot ^
' against shell Seeing the disadran- V
iSBbI!
^
ODIBAL LOUTH T. WIUWALL, ftli, WHO
BrraSXD FOBT 8UMTSB WITH A WHITS /V
HANDKKBCHIK7 BTUOK OH HIS BWOBB.
tage, one of the gunners, named Carmody,
stole away to the ramparts and
coolly fired every barbette gun In position
on the Moultrie side. Carmody
was unable to run the guns back single
handed for loading and could not
alone flgbt the whole Confederacy
with suitable weapons.
In another part of the fort there
was a ten Inch colnmMad In barbette,
which also came under Anderson's
prohibition. It was loaded and trained,
and two sergeants, watching their _ ^
chances, stole into the gorge and fixed
It The shot barely missed smashing
the famous Confederate iron battery.
fi? ' 'ft
' v
TH1T PRESENT TIME. A