GENERAL ORDERS
NO. 24.
I. All intercourse hereafter with Santa Rosa Island, Fort Pickens, or the United States fleet, is strictly prohibited.
II. Martial law is declared to exist and will be rigidly enforced on all territory within five miles of the lines of this army.
By command of Brigadier-General Bragg:
ROBERT C. WOOD, JR.,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
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—Last night a mob from Baltimore, lying in wait for the train from Philadelphia, at Canton, fired a pistol at the engineer, who stopped the train. The crowd, compelling the passengers to leave the cars, occupied the train, and forced the engineer to take them back to Gunpowder Bridge. There the train was stopped, and the crowd set fire to the draw of the bridge and waited till that portion was burned; returning to Bush River Bridge, the draw was likewise burned. The mob then returned to Canton Bridge and burned that. The train then conveyed the mob to the President-street station.—Phila. Press.
—The Charleston Courier of to-day contains an account of the damage done by Fort Sumter to Fort Moultrie and the surrounding property. It says the fire was “terribly destructive, and, when viewed in connection with the fact that no life was lost, is the most extraordinary case ever recorded in history.”—(Doc. 73.)
—A mass meeting of citizens in support of the Union, the Constitution and the Government, was held in Union Square, New York City. It was called by leading citizens without distinction of party.—(Doc. 73½)
—John C. Brekenridge, Ex-Vice-President, addressed a large audience at Louisville, Ky., this afternoon, denouncing President Lincoln’s proclamation as illegal, and saying that he could not make his 75,000 men efficient until after the meeting of Congress. He proposed that Kentucky present herself to Congress on the Fourth of July through her Senators and Representatives, and protest against the settlement of the present difficulties of the country by the sword—meanwhile that Kentucky call a State Convention to aid her Congressmen in presenting such a protest. Should that fail, however, it was the duty and the interest of Kentucky to unite her fortunes with the South. —N. Y. Times, April 22.
—The Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts militia landed at Fortress Monroe, Va., from the steamer State of Maine.—(Doc. 74.)—J. B. B. in the N. Y. Times, April 22.
—The citizens of Taunton, Mass., presented Major Robert Anderson a sword, “as an expression of their admiration of his courage, loyalty, and devotion to the country.” The presentation was made by Capt. W. C. Lovering at the Brevoort House in New York.—Tribune, April 22.
—Union meetings were held at Schenectady, Hudson, Utica, Waverley, and Dunkirk, N. Y; Stockbridge, Mass.; Bridgeport, Conn.; Springfield and Chicago, Ill. During the proceedings at Chicago, at the suggestion of Judge Mannierre, the whole audience raised their right hands and took the oath of allegiance to the Union, repeating the oath after the Judge.—Detroit Free Press.
—A southern merchant writes to a correspondent in New York:
“—, Tenn, April 20, 1861.
“Gentlemen: Our note to you for $187 12—100, due to-day, has not been paid.
“We deeply regret the necessity that impels us to say, that during the existence of this war we are determined to pay no notes due our northern friends.”—Evening Post.
—The St. Nicholas, a steamer plying between Washington and Baltimore, was seized at the former place this morning for prudential purposes.—National Intelligencer.
—Hiram Sibley, President of the Western Union, and T. R. Walker, President, and J. D. Reid, Superintendent of the New York, Albany and Buffalo Telegraph Companies, issued orders that no messages, ordering arms or munitions of war, will be received by their companies unless for the defence of the Government of the United States, and endorsed by the Mayor of the City from which it proceeds. Messages in cypher, excepting despatches from the Press of the U. S. officers of the Government, will be refused.
The Toronto Globe of this morning has a long article on the relations between England and the United States, advocating a sincere and firm alliance, forgetting all past differences, and says that the North has a just cause; that the permanent good will of the American people is worth striving for, and hopes to see the rebellion put down and the traitors dealt with as they deserve.—Louisville Democrat, April 21.
—The Missourians seized the United States Arsenal at Liberty, Mo., and garrisoned it with 100 men. In the arsenal were 1,300 stand of arms, ten or twelve pieces of cannon, and quite an amount of powder.
Two thousand stand of arms were furnished the citizens of Leavenworth from the arsenal at Fort Leavenworth, and the commander at that post accepted the services of 800 volunteers to guard the arsenal pending the arrival of troops from Fort Kearney.—Times, April 22.
—The Council of Wilmington, Delaware, appropriated $8,000 to defend the city, and passed resolutions approving of the President’s proclamation. Also, asking the Governor to issue a proclamation for the same purpose. The Brandywine bridges and all on the road between Susquehanna and Philadelphia are guarded, and workmen have been sent to repair the bridges destroyed on the Northern Central road.—Phila. Enquirer.
—Governor Curtin of Pennsylvania issued a proclamation calling a meeting of the State Legislature for the 30th of April, “to take into consideration and adopt such measures as the present emergencies may demand.”—(Doc. 75.) —Phila. Press.
—A letter was received at Philadelphia from Governor Letcher, of Virginia, offering $30,000 to the patentee of the bullet mould. The reply was “no money can purchase it against the country.”—Evening Post.
—An enthusiastic Union meeting was held at Middletown, Orange County, N. Y., this evening. The assemblage was presided over by Moses H. Corwin, a veteran of the war of 1812, and speeches were made by C. C. McQuoid, A. H. Byington, Charles H. Van Wyck and others. Mr. Van Wyck announced the fact of his having “enlisted for the war,” and with his company, just organized at Newburgh, he should proceed to Washington as a regular, if he had to walk all the way.—Tribune, April 23.
—The steamship, Star of the West, was taken into New Orleans as a prize to the Confederate States Government.—(Doc. 76.)
—Gosport Navy Yard, opposite Norfolk, Va., with stores, timber, munitions of war, etc., was burned by the U. S. officers in charge, to prevent its falling into the hands of the Secessionists, who occupied Norfolk and Portsmouth in force under Gen. Taliefero. The U. S. liners Pennsylvania, 74 guns; Delaware, 74; Columbus, 74; steam frigate Merrimac, 44; frigate Raritan, 45; frigate Columbia, 44; sloop Germantown, 21; sloop Plymouth, 22; brig Dolphin, 8; a powder-boat, and the frigate United States, (in ordinary.) It being impossible to get them out of the harbor, they were scuttled, and were also fired.
The frigate Cumberland was towed out by the steam-tug Yankee. The value of the property destroyed is estimated at $50,000,000.—(Doc. 77.)— Times, April 24.
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CAMDEN, S. C, April 20, 1861.—Home again at Mulberry. In those last days of my stay in Charleston I did not find time to write a word. And so we took Fort Sumter, nous autres; we—Mrs. Frank Hampton, and others—in the passageway of the Mills House between the reception-room and the drawing room, for there we held a sofa against all comers. All the agreeable people South seemed to have flocked to Charleston at the first gun. That was after we had found out that bombarding did not kill anybody. Before that, we wept and prayed and took our tea in groups in our rooms, away from the haunts of men.
Captain Ingraham and his kind also took Fort Sumter—from the Battery with field-glasses and figures made with their sticks in the sand to show what ought to be done.
Wigfall, Chesnut, Miles, Manning, took it rowing about the harbor in small boats from fort to fort under the enemy’s guns, with bombs bursting in air.
And then the boys and men who worked those guns so faithfully at the forts—they took it, too, in their own way.
Old Colonel Beaufort Watts told me this story and many more of the jeunesse dorée under fire. They took the fire easily, as they do most things. They had cotton bag bomb-proofs at Fort Moultrie, and when Anderson’s shot knocked them about some one called out “Cotton is falling.” Then down went the kitchen chimney, loaves of bread flew out, and they cheered gaily, shouting, “Breadstuffs are rising.”
Willie Preston fired the shot which broke Anderson’s flag-staff. Mrs. Hampton from Columbia telegraphed him, “Well done, Willie!” She is his grandmother, the wife, or widow, of General Hampton, of the Revolution, and the mildest, sweetest, gentlest of old ladies. This shows how the war spirit is waking us all up.
Colonel Miles (who won his spurs in a boat, so William Gilmore Simms¹ said) gave us this characteristic anecdote. They met a negro out in the bay rowing toward the city with some plantation supplies, etc. “Are you not afraid of Colonel Anderson’s cannon?” he was asked. “No, sar, Mars Anderson ain’t daresn’t hit me; he know Marster wouldn’t ‘low it.”
I have been sitting idly to-day looking out upon this beautiful lawn, wondering if this can be the same world I was in a few days ago. After the smoke and the din of the battle, a calm.
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¹ William Gilmore Simms, the Southern novelist, was born in Charleston in 1806. He was the author of a great many volumes dealing with Southern life, and at one time they were widely read.
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HEADQUARTERS TROOPS STATIONED AT KEY WEST,
Fort Taylor, April 20, 1861.
Maj. L G. ARNOLD, Commanding Fort Jefferson, Tortugas :
MAJOR: In order to further the views contained in your letter of the 1st instant, received to-day, I have been with Lieutenant Morton, Engineer Corps, to the town of Key West, for the purpose of giving my personal guarantee that any negroes he may be able to engage for labor at your post will not be removed therefrom for any purpose whatever without the consent of their owners, and I further offered to obtain yours to the same effect should they be allowed to be sent. It is not necessary for me to allude to the reason of this unless its propriety should hereafter be questioned.
In regard to the force employed at Fort Taylor, I have not yet had time to see Captain Hunt, but fear that the lateness of the season, which takes the white laborers north, and the excitement in town regarding the capture of the black force at your post, will be difficulties not readily to be overcome.
You are correct in ascribing to me a general desire to promote the good of the service, which is, as it has always been, the uppermost thought in my action.
I am, major, very respectfully, your most obedient servant,
WM. H. FRENCH,
Brevet Major, U. S. Army, Commanding
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U. S. TROOP-SHIP ATLANTIC,
Off Santa Rosa, April 20, 1861.
Col. H. BROWN, Commanding Department of Florida :
DEAR COLONEL: If my estimate is correct you have now about 690 men inside Fort Pickens. The Illinois is here with two companies, say 168. The Saint Louis has gone to order up two companies of infantry from Key West, say 154. You have then here 858; coming up, 154; total 1,012 The Sabine crew is 450. Powhatan 300; Brooklyn 300; Wyandotte, 75; total, 1,125. Crew of the Saint Louis, 250; Crusader, 100; Minnesota, 600; total, 950. Total force to be concentrated about Fort Pickens subject to your orders, 3,087.
The soldiers will have six months’ supplies as soon as the Illinois is discharged. Now, what to do with them? I agree with you in regard to the great importance of avoiding everything that will bring on a collision as long as possible. The policy of the Government I understand to be to hold, occupy, and possess what we now have, and not to produce collision if it can be avoided; in no case to fire the first hostile gun. The attack upon Fort Pickens must be made by bombardment or cannonade. I believe that it is impossible to land a force upon this island in face of the batteries of the Powhatan, Brooklyn, and Wyandotte, properly placed, without exposing it to sudden and swift destruction. If your men and means are all concentrated in Fort Pickens, every shell which enters the fort will tell its tale of destruction. To concentrate all these appears to me to be like putting the depot of a besieging army in the ricochet and breaching batteries. I think that the true mode of treating is that which regulates the advance batteries of a siege.
The sand hills of Santa Rosa afford good, well-protected bayous or approaches, along which material, men, horses, and artillery can be moved, properly protected from all direct and enfilading fire by works of very small extent, needed only to close a few gaps and to cut through a few ridges. An approach should be constructed across the open space at the foot of the glacis, and I think that a gallery through the glacis into the ditch may be advisable. I think that a gateway might be cut with advantage through the south entrance. I save the hauling of material and the hoisting of gun carriages over the ramparts. This gate, too, not being exposed to the direct fire of the opposing batteries, will not tempt an insubordinate, undisciplined volunteer to fire the shot which will open the war.
The three 10-inch mortars brought from Key West and some other pieces of artillery I think might be well placed in battery outside the fort. The division of these batteries will divide the enemy’s fire, and thus lessen its destructive effect. The mortars, being reserved to throw out light and fire balls from the fort, may be placed behind one of the sand ridges in position to bombard the navy-yard and its batteries. Here the mortar battery would be protected by the guns of Pickens. The light battery and a large portion, say two-thirds, of the garrison I think should be placed in an intrenched camp in the woods where the horses landed. Here they could be without the range of the batteries on the mainland. They would occupy then five miles of the island. A plank road, with natural epaulement on east side, would afford plenty of communication. This communication would be protected by the guns of the fleet, which should be moved in position, and which could destroy any enemy attempting to cut it off.
Vedettes and sentinels upon the ridge could keep up constant communication between the fort and the intrenched camp. Captain Barry will undertake it, as a boat expedition shall land in face of his guns. The working party and guard, detailed for twenty-four hours’ duty, should be kept in the fort to protect the provisions and ammunition there deposited, to work the guns, and repel a sudden assault should the enemy be rash enough to undertake one. The troops in camp and in fort would be healthy, not exposed to fire or too hard worked, and I think that all would be more cheerful, more comfortable, and more safe. The present crowded condition of the fort will, if it continues, bring on disease that in even a not crowded place will be destructive.
I have thrown these ideas, the fruit of much reflection upon this subject, together, colonel, for your consideration, and hope they will prove worthy of your approval and adoption. Upon you rests, of course, the responsibility which accompanies command, and I defer to your greater experience, rank, and responsibility, merely offering that advice which commends itself to my judgment.
I am, very truly, your friend and servant,
M. C. MEIGS,
Captain of Engineers.
You know that tents for 1,000 men should be on the Illinois; that 10,000 yards of canvas afford means to cover the horses from sun and insects, and that ample stores of lumber, ordnance, provisions, &c., are here or on their way.
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April 19th.—An exceeding hot day. The sun pours on the broad sandy street of Charleston with immense power, and when the wind blows down the thoroughfare it sends before it vast masses of hot dust. The houses are generally detached, surrounded by small gardens, well provided with verandas to protect the windows from the glare, and are sheltered with creepers and shrubs and flowering plants, through which flit humming-birds and fly-catchers. In some places the streets and roadways are covered with planking, and as long as the wood is sound they are pleasant to walk or drive upon.
I paid a visit to the markets; the stalls are presided over by negroes, male and female; the colored people engaged in selling and buying are well clad; the butchers’ meat by no means tempting to the eye, but the fruit and vegetable stalls well filled. Fish is scarce at present, as the boats are not permitted to proceed to sea lest they should be whipped up by the expected Yankee cruisers, or carry malcontents to communicate with the enemy. Around the flesh-market there is a skirling crowd of a kind of turkey-buzzard; these are useful as scavengers and are protected by law. They do their nasty work very zealously, descending on the offal thrown out to them with the peculiar crawling, puffy, soft sort of flight which is the badge of all their tribe, and contending with wing and beak against the dogs which dispute the viands with the harpies. It is curious to watch the expression of their eyes as with outstretched necks they peer down from the ledge of the market roof on the stalls and scrutinize the operations of the butchers below. They do not prevent a disagreeable odor in the vicinity of the markets, nor are they deadly to a fine and active breed of rats.
Much drumming and marching through the streets to-day. One very ragged regiment which had been some time at Morris’ Island halted in the shade near me, and I was soon made aware they consisted, for the great majority, of Irishmen. The Emerald Isle, indeed, has contributed largely to the population of Charleston. In the principal street there is a large and tine red sandstone building with the usual Greek-Yankee-composite portico, over which is emblazoned the crownless harp and the shamrock wreath proper to a St. Patrick’s Hall, and several Roman Catholic churches also attest the Hibernian presence.
I again called on General Beauregard, and had a few moments’ conversation with him. He told me that an immense deal depended on Virginia, and that as yet the action of the people in that State had not been as prompt as might have been hoped, for the President’s proclamation was a declaration of war against the South, in which all would be ultimately involved. He is going to Montgomery to confer with Mr. Jefferson Davis. I have no doubt there is to be some movement made in Virginia. Whiting is under orders to repair there, and he hinted that he had a task of no common nicety and difficulty to perform. He is to visit the forts which had been seized on the coast of North Carolina, and probably will have a look at Portsmouth. It is incredible that the Federal authorities should have neglected to secure this place.
Later I visited the Governor of the State, Mr. Pickens, to whom I was conducted by Colonel Lucas, his aide-de-camp. His palace was a very humble shed-like edifice with large rooms, on the doors of which were pasted pieces of paper with sundry high-reading inscriptions, such as “Adjutant General’s Dept., Quartermaster-General’s Dept., Attorney General of State,” &c., and through the doorways could be seen men in uniform, and grave, earnest people busy at their desks with pen, ink, paper, tobacco, and spittoons. The governor, a stout man, of a big head, and a large important looking face, with watery eyes and flabby features, was seated in a barrack-like room, furnished in the plainest way and decorated by the inevitable portrait of George Washington, close to which was the “Ordinance of Secession of the State of South Carolina” of last year.
Governor Pickens is considerably laughed at by his subjects, and I was amused by a little middy, who described with much unction the governor’s alarm on his visit to Fort Pickens, when he was told that there were a number of live shells and a quantity of powder still in the place. He is said to have commenced one of his speeches with “Born insensible to fear,” &c. To me the governor was very courteous, but I confess the heat of the day did not dispose me to listen with due attention to a lecture on political economy with which he favored me. I was told, however, that he had practiced with success on the late Czar when he was United States Minister to St. Petersburg, and that he does not suffer his immediate staff to escape from having their minds improved on the relations of capital to labor, and on the vicious condition of capital and labor in the North.
“In the North, then, you will perceive, Mr. Russell, they have maximized the hostile condition of opposed interests in the accumulation of capital and in the employment of labor, whilst we in the South, by the peculiar excellence of our domestic institution, have minimized their opposition and maximized the identity of interest by the investment of capital in the laborer himself,” and so on, or something like it. I could not help remarking it struck me there was “another difference betwixt the North and the South which he had overlooked—the capital of the North is represented by gold, silver, notes, and other exponents, which are good all the world over and are recognized as such; your capital has power of locomotion, and ceases to exist the moment it crosses a geographical line.” “That remark, sir,”said the Governor, “requires that I should call your attention to the fundamental principles on which the abstract idea of capital should be formed. In order to clear the ground, let us first inquire into the soundness of the ideas put forward by your Adam Smith ” I had to look at my watch and to promise I would come back to be illuminated on some other occasion, and hurried off to keep an engagement with myself to write letters by the next mail.
The Governor writes very good proclamations, nevertheless, and his confidence in South Carolina is unbounded. “If we stand alone, sir, we must win. They can’t whip us.” A gentleman named Pringle, for whom I had letters of introduction, has come to Charleston to ask me to his plantation, but there will be no boat from the port till Monday, and it is uncertain then whether the blockading vessels, of which we hear so much, may not be down by that time.
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April 19th.—Dispatches from Montgomery indicate that President Davis is as firm a States right man as any other, perfectly content to bear the burdens of government six years, and hence I apprehend he will not budge in the business of guarding Virginia until after the ratification of the secession ordinance. Thus a month’s precious time will be lost; and the scene of conflict, instead of being in Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, will be in Virginia. From the ardor of the volunteers already beginning to pour into the city, I believe 25,000 men could be collected and armed in a week, and’ in another they might sweep the whole Abolition concern beyond the Susquehanna, and afterward easily keep them there. But this will not be attempted, nor permitted, by the Convention, so recently composed mostly of Union men.
To-night we have rumors of a collision in Baltimore. A regiment of Northern troops has been assailed by the mob. No good can come of mob assaults in a great revolution.
Wrote my wife to make preparations with all expedition to escape into Virginia. Women and children will not be molested for some weeks yet; but I see they have begun to ransack their baggage. Mrs. Semple, daughter of President Tyler, I am informed, had her plate taken from her in an attempt to get it away from New York.
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FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 1861.
Another cool pleasant day but one of great excitement. Reports from various quarters indicate that danger is iminent of an attack upon the City. Harpers Ferry Armory and arsenal was destroyed this morning by Govt troops. The Steam Boats on the River have also been seized by Govt order. I went to the Depot to see the arrival of the Mass. Regiment. They came at last, after fighting their way through Baltimore loosing two men killed and firing upon the rioters, killing a number. A splendid looking set of men. They were marched directly to the Capitol and quartered there. I was at all the Hotels, home at 10 o’ck.
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The three diary manuscript volumes, Washington during the Civil War: The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft, 1861-1865, are available online at The Library of Congress.
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NEW YORK, April 19, 1861.
COLONEL: I have the honor to send herewith dispatches Nos. 99 and 100, written at but not mailed in Fort Sumter, and to state that I shall, at as early a date as possible, forward a detailed report of the operations in the harbor of Charleston, S.C., in which my command bore a part on the 12th and 13th instants, ending with the evacuation of Fort Sumter, and the withdrawal, with the honors of war, of my garrison on the 14th instant from that harbor, after having sustained for thirty-four hours the fire from seventeen 10-inch mortars and from batteries of heavy guns, well placed and well served, by the forces under the command of Brigadier-General Beauregard. Fort Sumter is left in ruins from the effect of the shell and shot from his batteries, and officers of his army reported that our firing had destroyed most of the buildings inside Fort Moultrie. God was pleased to guard my little force from the shell and shot which were thrown into and against my work, and to Him are our thanks due that I am enabled to report that no one was seriously injured by their fire. I regret that I have to add that, in consequence of some unaccountable misfortune, one man was killed, two seriously and three slightly wounded whilst saluting our flag as it was lowered.
The officers and men of my command acquitted themselves in a manner which entitles them to the thanks and gratitude of their country, and I feel that I ought not to close this preliminary report without saying that I think it would be injustice to order them on duty of any kind for some months, as both officers and men need rest and the recreation of a garrison life to give them an opportunity to recover from the effects of the hardships of their three months’ confinement within the walls of Fort Sumter.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
ROBERT ANDERSON,
Major, First Regiment Artillery, &c.
P. S.–I inclose herewith copies of the correspondence between General Beauregard and myself.
R.A.
Col. L. THOMAS,
Adjutant-General, Washington, D.C.
[Inclosures.]
1.]
HEADQUARTERS PROVISIONAL ARMY, C. S. A.,
Charleston, S. C., April 11, 1861.
SIR: The Government of the Confederate States has hitherto forborne from any hostile demonstration against Fort Sumter, in the hope that the Government of the United States, with a view to the amicable adjustment of all questions between the two Governments, and to avert the calamities of war, would voluntarily evacuate it.
There was reason at one time to believe that such would be the course pursued by the Government of the United States, and under that impression my Government has refrained from making any demand for the surrender of the fort. But the Confederate States can no longer delay assuming actual possession of a fortification commanding the entrance of one of their harbors, and necessary to its defense and security.
I am ordered by the Government of the Confederate States to demand the evacuation of Fort Sumter. My aides, Colonel Chesnut and Captain Lee, are authorized to make such demand of you. All proper facilities will be afforded for the removal of yourself and command, together with company arms and property, and all private property, to any post in the United States which you may select. The flag which you have upheld so long and with so much fortitude, under the most trying circumstances, may be saluted by you on taking it down.
Colonel Chesnut and Captain Lee will for a reasonable time, await your answer.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
G. T. BEAUREGARD,
Brigadier-General, Commanding.
Maj. ROBERT ANDERSON,
Commanding at Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, S.C.
2.]
FORT SUMTER, S. C., April 11, 1861.
GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication demanding the evacuation of this fort, and to say, in reply thereto, that it is a demand with which I regret that my sense of honor, and of my obligations to my Government, prevent my compliance. Thanking you for the fair, manly, and courteous terms proposed, and for the high compliment paid me,
I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
ROBERT ANDERSON,
Major, First Artillery, Commanding.
Brig. Gen. BEAUREGARD,
Commanding Provisional Army.
3.]
HEADQUARTERS PROVISIONAL ARMY, C. S. A.,
Charleston, S.C., April 11, 1861.
MAJOR: In consequence of the verbal observation made by you to my aides, Messrs. Chesnut and Lee, in relation to the condition of your supplies, and that you would in a few days be starved out if our guns did not batter you to pieces, or words to that effect, and desiring no useless effusion of blood, I communicated both the verbal observations and your written answer to my communications to my Government.
If you will state the time at which you will evacuate Fort Sumter, and agree that in the mean time you will not use your guns against us unless ours shall be employed against Fort Sumter, we will abstain from opening fire upon you. Colonel Chesnut and Captain Lee are authorized by me to enter into such an agreement with you. You are, therefore, requested to communicate to them an open answer.
I remain, major, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
G. T. BEAUREGARD,
Brigadier-General, Commanding.
Maj. ROBERT ANDERSON,
Commanding Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, S.C.
4.]
Fort SUMTER, S.C., April 12, 1861.
GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt by Colonel Chesnut of your second communication of the 11th instant, and to state in reply that, cordially uniting with you in the desire to avoid the useless effusion of blood, I will, if provided with the proper and necessary means of transportation, evacuate Fort Sumter by noon on the 15th instant, and that I will not in the mean time open my fires upon your forces unless compelled to do so by some hostile act against this fort or the flag of my Government by the forces under your command, or by some portion of them, or by the perpetration of some act showing a hostile intention on your part against this fort or the flag it bears, should I not receive prior to that time controlling instructions from my Government or additional supplies.
I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
ROBERT ANDERSON,
Major, First Artillery, Commanding.
Brig. Gen. BEAUREGARD,
Commanding.
5.]
FORT SUMTER, S.C., April 12, 1861—3.20 a.m.
SIR: By authority of Brigadier-General Beauregard, commanding the Provisional Forces of the Confederate States, we have the honor to notify you that he will open the fire of his batteries on Fort Sumter in one hour from this time.
We have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servants,
JAMES CHESNUT, JR.,
Aide-de-Camp.
STEPHEN D. LEE,
Captain, C. S. Army, Aide-de-Camp.
Maj. ROBERT ANDERSON,
U. S. Army, Commanding Fort Sumter.
6.]
FORT SUMTER, S.C., April 13, 1861—20 min. past 2 o’clock.
GENERAL: I thank you for your kindness in having sent your aide to me with an offer of assistance upon your having observed that our flag was down–it being down a few moments, and merely long enough to enable us to replace it on another staff. Your aides will inform you of the circumstance of the visit to my fort by General Wigfall, who said that he came with a message from yourself.
In the peculiar circumstances in which I am now placed in consequence of that message, and of my reply thereto, I will now state that I am willing to evacuate this fort upon the terms and conditions offered by yourself on the 11th instant, at any hour you may name to-morrow, or as soon as we can arrange means of transportation. I will not replace my flag until the return of your messenger.
I have the honor to remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
ROBERT ANDERSON,
Major, First Artillery, Commanding.
Brig. Gen. G. T. BEAUREGARD,
Charleston, S.C.
7.]
HEADQUARTERS PROVISIONAL ARMY, C. S. A.,
April 13, 1861—5 min. to 6 o’clock p.m.
SIR: On being informed that you were in distress, caused by a conflagration in Fort Sumter, I immediately dispatched my aides, Colonels Miles and Pryor, and Captain Lee, to offer you any assistance in my power to give.
Learning a few moments afterwards that a white flag was waving on your ramparts, I sent two others of my aides, Colonel Allston and Major Jones, to offer you the following terms of evacuation: All proper facilities for the removal of yourself and command, together with company arms and private property, to any point within the United States you may select.
Apprised that you desire the privilege of saluting your flag on retiring, I cheerfully concede it, in consideration of the gallantry with which you have defended the place under your charge.
The Catawba steamer will be at the landing of Sumter to-morrow morning at any hour you may designate for the purpose of transporting you whither you may desire.
I remain, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
G. T. BEAUREGARD,
Brigadier-General, Commanding.
[Maj. R. ANDERSON,
First Artillery, Commanding Fort Sumter, S.C.]
8.]
HEADQUARTERS, FORT SUMTER, S. C.,
April 13, 1861—7.50 p.m.
GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of this evening, and to express my gratification at its contents. Should it be convenient, I would like to have the Catawba here at about nine o’clock to-morrow morning.
With sentiments of the highest regard and esteem, I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
ROBERT ANDERSON,
Major, U. S. Army, Commanding.
Brig. Gen. G. T. BEAUREGARD,
Commanding Provisional Army, C. S.
9.]
HEADQUARTERS PROVISIONAL FORCES, C. S. A.,
Charleston, April 15, 1861.
The commanding general directs that the commanding officer of the garrison of Fort Sumter will bury the unfortunate soldier who has been accidentally killed by explosion of misplaced powder while saluting his flag. He will be buried with all the honors of war in the parade of the fort.
By order of Brigadier-General Beauregard:
W. H. C. WHITING,
Adjutant and Engineer General.
Copy furnished to–
Major ROBERT ANDERSON, U. S., First Regiment of Artillery.
P. S.–The wounded will receive the best attention, and will be placed in the State hospital.
By order of General Beauregard:
W. H. C. WHITING,
Adjutant and Engineer General.
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—A meeting of the merchants of New York city was held at the Chamber of Commerce. The proceedings were characterized by the utmost harmony and unanimity. Mr. Peletiah Perit occupied the chair, and patriotic speeches were made by Mr. Perit, George Opdyke, James Gallatin, Royal Phelps, S. B. Chittenden, Prosper M. Wetmore, George W. Blunt, John E. King, William E. Dodge, John A. Stevens, R. H. McCurdy, and others. Resolutions upholding the Federal Government, and urging a strict blockade of all ports in the secession States were unanimously adopted. It being announced that several of the regiments needed assistance to enable them to leave—on motion, a committee was appointed to receive donations, and in ten minutes the subscription had reached over $21,000. What was still more important was the appointment of a large committee of the most influential capitalists, to use their exertions to secure an immediate taking of the $9,000,000 remaining of the Government loan.—(Doc. 66.)
—The President of the United States issued a proclamation, announcing the blockade of the Southern ports.—(Doc. 67.)
—Sherrard Clemens, a strong Union man, and late member of Congress for Richmond, Va., is held as a prisoner at Richmond. He is still firm in his loyalty to the Government and his opposition to rebellion. —Tribune, April 19.
—At Wilmington, Ohio, the first volunteer company, consisting of 125 men, organized today. Three thousand dollars were subscribed in one hour for the benefit of volunteers. Great enthusiasm prevails, and the work goes bravely on in raising both men and money. Another company is forming. A suspected Secessionist was seized this evening, and experienced some rough treatment.—Louisville Democrat, April 21.
—A rifle company was organized at Dayton, Ohio, under command of Captain Childs, consisting of 75 picked men. The company left Columbus at noon to-day, amid the cheers of a large crowd of citizens. Home guards are being formed. One company is to be formed of men over forty-five years old, under the command of Edward W. Davis.—Idem.
—Rev. Warren Swift; of Utica, N. Y a Presbyterian minister of excellent abilities and wide-spread reputation, enlisted, and started for head-quarters this morning.—Idem.
—General Sherman, the State commandant at Galveston, Texas, issued an order enrolling “all citizens capable of bearing arms, not over sixty years of age, who do not enroll themselves into some one of the volunteer companies of the city by the 28d inst., in the militia. In case of being called into service they will be required to bring such arms as they may have, until they can be furnished by the State.
“The war has begun! It may reach our shores! Who in Texas will shrink from his duty in such a crisis? We invoke the spirit not only of 1776, but of 1836, to arouse from its slumber, and again assert the independence of Texas. The misrule of Black Republicanism would scarcely be less fatal to our interests than that of Mexican intolerance. We have shaken off the one; let us manfully repel the other.”
The order is accompanied by other similar ones, necessary to carry it into effect. The alarm signal for the assembling of the city troops will be first a fire alarm, and secondly after an interval of one minute, six taps of the bell, to be repeated four times with intervals.—N. O. Picayune, April 23.
—It is now learned by the return of the expedition to relieve Sumter, that a plan was perfected to throw in 300 men and supplies by boats at daylight on the 13th. This was frustrated, however, by the Baltic running upon Rattlesnake shoal on the night of the 12th.—World, April 19.
—Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, were added to the Military Department of Washington.—(Doc. 68.)—Times, April 25.
—A positive announcement “that General Scott had resigned his position in the army of the United States and tendered his sword to his native State—Virginia,” was made at Montgomery. At Mobile, one hundred guns were fired in honor of his resignation.—Charleston Mercury, April 22.
—Immense Union meetings were held last night at Auburn, Hudson, Ogdensburgh, Albion, Binghamton, and other towns and villages in western New York. Past political differences are forgotten, and the people are enthusiastic in support of the Administration.—Troy Times.
—At New York a large American flag, forty feet long by twenty wide, was flung out upon a flagstaff from a window in Trinity steeple, at a height of 240 feet. The chimes meanwhile played several airs appropriate to the occasion, among which were “Yankee Doodle,” “the Red, White, and Blue,” winding up with “All’s well.” The enthusiasm of the large concourse that had spontaneously gathered was most intense.
A flagstaff, with flag attached, was also run out of a window over the portico in front of St. Paul’s Church.—Tribune, April 20.
—A Portion of the Sixth Massachusetts, and the Seventh Pennsylvania, were attacked in the streets of Baltimore by a mob upon their passage through that city.
The Massachusetts Regiment occupied eleven cars. Upon their arrival at the President-street depot, the cars were permitted to leave with the troops still on board, and proceeded quietly through the streets of Baltimore, on their way to the depot at the other side of the town. But they had not gone more than a couple of blocks before the crowd became so dense that the horses attached to each car were scarcely able to push their way through. At this point the mob began to hoot and yell frightfully, and loud threats were uttered against the military. The troops, however, maintained a strict reserve, and the crowd then commenced to throw stones, brickbats, and other missiles, in a perfect shower, against the cars. Many of the troops were severely wounded in this manner. However, the first nine cars reached the depot, and departed for Washington. The remaining two cars of the train, with about 100 men, were thus cut off from the main body, and the men found themselves encompassed by an infuriated mob of over 8,000. These isolated cars were immediately attacked, and several of the soldiers had their muskets snatched from them. At this moment news came that the Philadelphia Volunteers had arrived, and the report excited the mob to a fearful degree. The road was now obstructed, and the soldiers alighted, formed a solid square, and advanced with fixed bayonets in double quick time, the Mayor of Baltimore at their head, all the while surrounded by the mob—now swelled to at least 10,000. The military behaved admirably, and still abstained from firing upon their assailants. The mob now commenced a perfect shower of missiles, occasionally varied by a random shot from a revolver or one of the muskets taken from the soldiers. The soldiers suffered severely from the immense quantity of stones, brickbats, paving-stones, &c.; the shots fired also wounded several. When two of the soldiers had been killed, and the wounded had been conveyed to the centre of the column, the troops at last, exasperated by the treatment they had received, commenced to return the fire singly, but at no one time did a platoon fire in a volley.
The volunteers, after a protracted and severe struggle, at last reached the depot, bearing with them in triumph their killed and wounded, and immediately embarked.
Two of the Massachusetts men were killed and eight wounded. Seven rioters were killed, and many wounded, but the number is not known. When information was received at the depot of this attack, the Pennsylvania regiment, which was unarmed, was sent back. Some were slightly wounded.—Times, April 20, 21
The mob completely reigned in Baltimore after the attack.—All the gunshops were plundered. Other shops throughout the city were closed.—A public meeting was held in the afternoon, at which the Mayor and Gov. Hicks were present.—Secession sentiments prevailed.
The Mayor and Governor both notified the President that no more troops could pass through Baltimore unless they fought their way.—(Doc. 69.)—Times, April 21.
—Boston was terribly excited at the attack on the Massachusetts troops in Baltimore. The Government recognizes the similarity in the day and event suggested by the 19th of April, 1776, and those immortal memories which cluster around the men of Lexington and Concord.
The Governor sent the following despatch to the Mayor of Baltimore:
I pray you cause the bodies of our Massachusetts soldiers, dead in battle, to be immediately laid out, preserved in ice, and tenderly sent forward by express to me. All expenses will be paid by this Commonwealth.
John A. Andrew,
Governor of Massachusetts. —(Doc. 70.)
At Fall River, Mass, a meeting was called on the reception of the news. Patriotic speeches were made, and the city government was instructed to appropriate $10,000 to fit out volunteers, and to pay each volunteer $20 per month in addition to the Government pay.—Providence Journal.
—The City Council of Philadelphia, this morning, at a special meeting, appropriated $1,000,000 to equip the volunteers and support their families during their absence from home. Fourteen thousand dollars were subscribed for the same purpose at Norwich, Conn.—N. Y. Times.
—The Seventh Regt., N. Y. S. M., left for Washington amid the greatest enthusiasm. In every street an immense innumerable throng cheered them on their way. News of the fight in Baltimore was received before they left, and 48 rounds of ball-cartridge were served out.—(Doc. 71.)
Lieut. Jones, late in command of Harper’s Ferry, arrived at Carlisle Barracks, Pa., Laving made a forced march the previous night of 30 miles from Harper’s Ferry to Hagerstown.—Times, April 20.
—The Rhode Island Marine Artillery passed through New York, on their way to the seat of war. These troops are officered by—Commanding Officer, Colonel Tomkins; Lieutenant Colonel, George C. Harkness; Captain, Benjamin F. Remington; Lieutenant, A. M. Tower; Lieutenant, Henry B. Brastow; Surgeon, Nathaniel Millar. They number 130 men, and carry with them 110 horses, eight guns of very heavy calibre, and the other requisite arms and ammunition. The horses are fine, spirited-looking animals, and appeared to be in that condition which will enable them to sustain a good deal of field hardship.—Herald, April 20.
—The Eighth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, under command of Colonel Timothy Munroe, passed through New York on their march to the south. It is composed of six companies: Newburyport Artillery, Newburyport Light Infantry, Gloucester Artillery, Lynn City Guards, Capt. Hundson, Lynn Light Infantry, Capt. Frazer, Lafayette Guards, Marblehead, Capt. Orne, all of Essex County, numbering twelve hundred. They are all picked men, those of Gloucester and Marblehead being stout and sturdy fishermen; those from Lynn and Newburyport chiefly shoemakers. Many of the members of the two Lynn companies served throughout the Mexican campaign. All of the men were in the best of spirits. Brig.-Gen. Benj. F. Butler and Quartermaster John Moran, of Boston, accompany the Regiment.—(Doc. 72.)—N. Y. Tribune, April 20.
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