"Mr Binney* has written a letter. It is in the Intelligencer. He offers Lincoln life and fortune; all that he has is put at Lincoln's disposal to conquer us.
Queer. We only want to separate from them, and they put such an inordinate value on us, they are willing to risk all—life and limb and all their money—to keep us, they love us so.
Mr Chesnut is accused of firing the first shot. And his cousin, the Reverend ex-West Pointer, writes in a martial fury.
They confounded the best shot made on the island the day of the picnic, with the first shot at Fort Sumter.
That is claimed by Capt. James.** Others say it was one of the Gibbses.
Anderson fired the train which blew up the Union when he slipped into Fort Sumter that night when we expected to talk it over."
*Horace Binney, Philadelphia lawyer and brother-in-law of Mrs James Chestnut, Sr, supported Abraham Lincoln's suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and helped give the measure the legitimacy it badly needed.
**Capt. George S. James, commanding a mortar battery on James Island, did indeed fire the signal shot at 4:30 a.m. that opened the bombardment.
Showing posts with label Robert Anderson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robert Anderson. Show all posts
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
12 April 1861, Charleston,
the bombardment of Fort Sumter
"I do not pretend to go to sleep. How can I? If Anderson does not accept terms—at four—the orders are—he shall be fired upon.
I count four—St Michael chimes. I begin to hope. At half-past four, the heavy booming of a cannon.
I sprang out of bed. And on my knees—prostrate—I prayed as I never prayed before.
There was a sound of stir all over the house—pattering of feet in the corridor—all seemed hurrying one way. I put on my double gown and a shawl and went, too. It was to the housetop.
The shells were bursting. In the dark I heard a man say "waste of ammunition."
I knew my husband was rowing about in a boat somewhere in that dark bay. And that the shells were roofing it over—bursting toward the fort. If Anderson was obstinate—he was to order the forts on our side to open fire. Certainly fire had begun. The regular roar of the cannon—there it was. And who could tell what each volley accomplished of death and destruction.
The women were wild, there on the housetop. Prayers from the women and imprecations from the men, and then a shell would light up the scene. Tonight, they say, the forces are to attempt to land....
We watched up there—everybody wondered. Fort Sumter did not fire a shot."
I count four—St Michael chimes. I begin to hope. At half-past four, the heavy booming of a cannon.
I sprang out of bed. And on my knees—prostrate—I prayed as I never prayed before.
There was a sound of stir all over the house—pattering of feet in the corridor—all seemed hurrying one way. I put on my double gown and a shawl and went, too. It was to the housetop.
The shells were bursting. In the dark I heard a man say "waste of ammunition."
I knew my husband was rowing about in a boat somewhere in that dark bay. And that the shells were roofing it over—bursting toward the fort. If Anderson was obstinate—he was to order the forts on our side to open fire. Certainly fire had begun. The regular roar of the cannon—there it was. And who could tell what each volley accomplished of death and destruction.
The women were wild, there on the housetop. Prayers from the women and imprecations from the men, and then a shell would light up the scene. Tonight, they say, the forces are to attempt to land....
We watched up there—everybody wondered. Fort Sumter did not fire a shot."
Saturday, August 15, 2015
18 Feb 1861, Charleston
"Very few understood the consequences of that quiet move of Major Anderson."*
*From Wikipedia:
On December 26, 1860, Major Robert Anderson of the U.S. Army surreptitiously moved his small command from the vulnerable Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island to Fort Sumter, a substantial fortress controlling the entrance of Charleston Harbor.
*From Wikipedia:
On December 26, 1860, Major Robert Anderson of the U.S. Army surreptitiously moved his small command from the vulnerable Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island to Fort Sumter, a substantial fortress controlling the entrance of Charleston Harbor.
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