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a Sad Day for America  April, 1*2, 1861 is a sad day for the USA.  The American Civil War begins with the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston by the South Carolina militia under General P. G. T. Beauregard. South Carolina marked the beginning of hostilities by sending three of Beauregard’s aides requesting the surrender of the Federal military installations in Charlton Harbor. Major Anderson withdrew his tiny garrison of 90 men to a more defensible Fort Sumter where he awaited reinforcement from the North.  At 4:30 a.m., a flaming mortar shot arcs into the air and explodes over Fort Sumter. On this signal, Confederate guns from fortifications and floating batteries around Charleston Harbor roared to life. Outmanned, outgunned, undersupplied, and nearly surrounded by enemy batteries, Anderson waits until around 7:00 a.m. to respond. Captain Abner Doubleday volunteers to fire the first cannon at the Confederates, a 32-pound shot that bounces off the roof of the Iron Battery on Cummings Point.  For nearly 36 hours the two sides keep up this unequal contest. A shell strikes the flagpole of Fort Sumter, and the American colors fall to the earth, only to be hoisted back up the hastily repaired pole. Confederates fire hotshot from Fort Moultrie into Fort Sumter. Buildings begin to burn within the fort. With no more resources, Anderson surrenders Fort Sumter to Confederate forces.  Something not considered at the time. The days of masonry forts was long past with the improvements to artillery. The last stand at the Alamo showed that in 1836. Anderson's retreat to the fort illustrated his lack of judgement or modern warfare from my point of view 160 years later.  The whole conflict was sparked by deepening economic, social, and political differences between the southern and northern states, which were most palpably embodied by the dispute over the legitimacy of slavery coupled with a State's Right to secede from the Union . The Confederate States held out finally surrendering piecemeal in 1865 thus ending the war.  Ft Sumter today. |
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From a S.C. newspaper of the day .... South Carolinians, any attempt to reinforce Sumter means war. “Now the issue of battle is to be forced upon us,” declared the Charleston Mercury. “We will meet the invader, and the God of Battles must decide the issue between the hostile hirelings of Abolition hate and Northern tyranny.”
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April 13. At 2:30 p.m., Maj. Anderson and his men strike their colors and prepare to leave the fort. Sadly, the only casualties at Fort Sumter come during the 100-gun salute, when a round explodes prematurely, killing Pvt. Daniel Hough and mortally wounding another soldier.
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Following the evacuation of Major Robert Anderson and his Federal garrison on the afternoon of April 14, 1861, Fort Sumter is occupied initially by Confederate troops of Company B of the First South Carolina Artillery Battalion and a volunteer company of the Palmetto Guard, a local militia unit. The fort remains in Confederate hands for the next four years until all Confederate forces evacuate Charleston on the evening of February 17, 1865.
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General Beauregard is also hailed for this first Confederate victory. He is later ordered to direct the troops at Bull Run.
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A very interesting history lesson. Thank you, Bret. It is something I knew nothing about. with your blog posts, I learn something new every day.
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A very interesting history lesson. Thank you, Bret. It is something I knew nothing about. with your blog posts, I learn something new every day.
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