From the winter 2010 Hallowed Ground Magazine of the CWPT.
On April 11th, Beauregard's staff went to Fort Sumter and demanded its occupation. Anderson refused, but said that if they waited a few days he would have to surrender because of lack of food and supplies.
The Confederates refused and said the fort would be fired upon at 4:30 am the following day.
Could the war have been averted with a few days' wait? I doubt it.
At the designated time, a 10-inch mortar fired from Fort Johnson and exploded over Sumter. Shortly afterwards, 43 Confederate cannons were firing on the fort. Anderson began firing at 7 am with Captain Abner (baseball) Doubleday commanding the first gun to return fire.
Three times April 12th, the fort's barracks caught fire and were extinguished. On April 13th, hotshot set the officer's quarters ablaze, threatening the fort's powder magazines.
Around 1:30 pm, the flagpole was destroyed with the colors being recovered and placed on the fort's wall. Col. Louis T. Wigfall rowed over from Morris Island to begin unofficial negotiations. Soon, other Confederate officers arrived and arranged a formal surrender and evacuation to take place on April 14th.
And Thus It Begins. --Old B-Runner
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