From Winter 2010 Hallowed Ground Magazine. Definitely one of the best short accounts of the beginning of the Civil War that I have ever read.
April 14, 1861, after 34 hours of bombardment, Fort Sumter had suffered no major damage to its outside walls and no one had been killed. The enlisted and officer barracks had been gutted by fire and there was some damage to its interior buildings. Confederate positions had suffered very minor damage as well and no one had been killed either.
The surrender ceremony began at 2 pm April 14, 1861. On round 47 of a planned 100 gun salute, one discharged prematurely (not sure if these were rifles or cannons), killing Private Daniel Hough who became the first soldier killed during the war.
The salute was reduced to 50 shots and Hough was buried on the parade ground.
At 4 pm, Major Anderson led his command out of Sumter to the sound of "Yankee Doodle."
Just before Union troops left, the Palmetto Guard and Company B, SC Artillery Battalion entered the fort. Later General Beauregard, Governor Pickens and other dignitaries came and raised the South Carolina and Confederate flags.
Low tide prevented Anderson's men from going out to the relief expedition waiting outside the harbor until the next morning. They had to spend the time listening to boat whistles, cannon firing and cheering all around.
The Civil War Had Begun. --Old B-Runner
No comments:
Post a Comment