A NATION TORN: THE STORY OF HOW THE CIVIL WAR BEGAN

CHAPTER SIX: THE GUNS ROAR

Just before dawn in April 12, 1861, Mary Chestnt braced herself for the roar
of the first shot on Fort Sumter. She thought of her husband, a colonel in the
Confederate Arm, who was somewhere in the dar! and dangerous harbor. As
the bells in St. "ichael#s Church chimed four o#cloc!, the shot still did not come.
"rs. Chestnut began to hope for a miracle. $erhaps the Confederate and federal
forces had wor!ed out a compromise. %ut nothing could stop the conflict that
had been building for half a centur or more. At four&thirt, the hea' booming of
a cannon shoo! "rs. Chestnut#s hotel room, and she ran to (oin the other guests
who had gathered on the rooftop to watch the Confederate shells bursting o'er
the harbor.
All o'er Charleston, southern citi)ens rushed to their rooftops or the
waterfront to witness the dramatic scene. *he watched the battle with mi+ed
emotions. ,-ho could tell what each 'olle accomplished of death and
destruction./ "ar Chestnut wrote in her diar. ,*he women were wild, there on
the housetop./ Fearing for the safet of their husbands and sons who were
fighting in the harbor, man of the women wept or praed. *he men on the shore
cheered on the Confederates and elled curses at the 0an!ees as if the soldiers
in the distant forts could hear e'er word. 1+hausted from all of the e+citement,
"rs. Chestnut san! down on what she thought was a blac! stool. ,2et up, ou
foolish woman&&&our dress is on fire3/ a man cried as he ran forward to put out
the spar!s in her clothes. "rs. Chestnut had sat on a hot chimne.
As dabrea! approached and the sounds of Confederate cannon fire rumbled
on, the guns of Fort Sumter remained strangel 4uiet. "a(or Anderson was in no
hurr to enter the battle. 5e had gi'en his men strict orders to sta awa from
the open ramparts, where deadl Confederate shells were landing at a fierce
rate.
A Nat!"n T"rn: The St"ry "# H"$ the C!%!& War Be'an Ch( ): The Gns R"ar*(+a'e 1
For $ri'ate John Carmod, the idea of blasting the enem with such splendid
weapons was too tempting to ignore. 6isobeing his commander#s orders, he
slipped awa from his compan and snea!ed up the circular staircase that led to
the ramparts. *he hea' cannon aimed at Fort "oultrie were alread loaded.
-ith Confederate balls whistling b, the darede'il soldier dashed along the row of
waiting guns and fired them one b one. ,*he contest was merel Carmod
against the Confederate States,/ his friend Sergeant Chester later wrote. ,and
Carmod had to bac! down, not because he was beaten, but because he was
unable, single&handedl, to reload his guns./
At the sound of the big guns firing, "a(or Anderson must ha'e wondered who
was defing his orders. %ut there was a more serious problem to occup his
attention7 Fort Sumter was running out of ammunition. % noon the suppl of
precious cartridge bags, which contained gunpowder charges needed for each
shot, had dwindled to a small pile. "an of the wor!men, who had turned pale
when the shelling began, now offered their help. -hile some carried barrels of
powder out to the gun dec!s, others busil sewed sheets and shirts into cartridge
bags. 8nfortunatel, there were onl si+ needles for sewing. As fast as the
wor!men could finish the bags, the soldiers loaded them in their cannon and
blew them apart. As the suppl of cartridges disappeared, "a(or Anderson had
no choice but to limit his firing to si+ guns.
9n the midst of this crisis, a shout rang out, con'incing the 8nion soldiers that
their problems were o'er. *he relief ships had arri'ed3 :ut beond the mouth of
the harbor were two man&of&war 'essels, barel 'isible through the ha)e of battle
smo!e. As the ships steamed closer, the soldiers re(oiced at the sight of the
8nion flags, and imagined how different the ne+t twent&four hours would be.
*he were certain that once dar!ness fell, the warships would land at Sumter,
bringing more troops, ammunition, and all the fresh meat and 'egetables the
could eat. *hen, at dabrea!, the 8nion bos would ma!e the ;ebels sorr the
had e'er dared to challenge the power of the Stars and Stripes.
-hile a wa'e of hope swept through the fort, Captain Gustavus Fox was
beginning to reali)e that his relief mission had gone terribl wrong. Se'en other
'essels had been scheduled to meet Captain Fo+ ten miles out of Charleston
5arbor on April 12. %ut when his steamer, the Baltic, arri'ed at the specified
meeting place, onl one other gunboat, the Harriet Lane, was anchored in the
hea' seas. After three agoni)ing hours, another warship finall appeared.
Captain Fo+ refused to drift aimlessl in the wa'es and wait for the rest of the
fleet to arri'e. Followed b the Harriet Lane, he ordered the Baltic to head
toward Fort Sumter.
A Nat!"n T"rn: The St"ry "# H"$ the C!%!& War Be'an Ch( ): The Gns R"ar*(+a'e 2

As the ships approached the harbor, Captain Fo+ was startled to hear the
ominous thundering of cannon and see a shroud of smo!e. 5e was too late. 9t
would be nearl impossible for the two boats to reinforce Sumter without being
crippled b Confederate gunfire. %urning with impatience, the captain settled
down to wait for the missing ships of his e+pedition&&&four of which would ne'er
appear. As he learned much later, two of the 'essels had been pushed off
course b a storm, one had been called on another mission, and one had ne'er
e'en left port.
After a few restless hours of sleep, the soldiers at Fort Sumter awo!e to a
dismal morning. *he relief ships had not budged during the night. *here the
were, still bobbing up and down beond the sandbar, as if their crews were on a
sightseeing cruise instead of a rescue mission3 So once again the troops ate salt
por! for brea!fast, then desperatel tried to fend off the dri'ing Confederate
attac!.
$utting up a good fight was becoming more and more difficult. *he ;ebels
had found a potent tactic for causing chaos in the 8nion fort. %efore loading their
cannon, the Confederates placed cannonballs in giant furnaces until the were
red with heat. -hen fired, a ,hot shot/ could bur itself in the wooden barrac!s
of the fort and e'entuall turn the area into a wall of flames. % ten o#cloc! in the
morning on April 1<, fires were alread roaring through the passagewas of
Sumter. As soon as the men brought one bla)e under control, another area
bro!e into flames. *o the ;ebels stationed around the harbor, Fort Sumter
loo!ed li!e an island of fire. %ut still the 8nion soldiers found a wa to man their
guns. *he Confederates were so impressed b their enem#s determination that
the cheered whene'er a 8nion shot came soaring o'er the water.
"eanwhile, the fire was inching dangerousl close to the Sumter suppl room
where three hundred barrels of gunpowder were stored. Fearing an enormous
e+plosion, "a(or Anderson ordered his men to mo'e the !egs awa from the
bla)e. -ith hot cinders and shells raining down around them, e'er a'ailable
man &&&officers, soldiers, wor!men, and musicians &&& franticall set to wor!. %ut it
soon became clear that there were no safe places to store the powder. "a(or
A Nat!"n T"rn: The St"ry "# H"$ the C!%!& War Be'an Ch( ): The Gns R"ar*(+a'e <
Anderson was forced to order his e+hausted men to roll all but fi'e barrels into
the sea.
-ith more hot shot fling in at a stead rate, the smo!e in the fort became too
much to bear. 9t billowed through e'er corner, cho!ing the soldiers and blinding
the gunners# ees. ,9t seemed impossible to escape suffocation,/ remembered
Captain 6oubleda. ,Some la down close to the ground, with hand!erchiefs
o'er their mouths=/ :thers ris!ed crawling out onto the open ledges of the fort
for a gulp of clean air.
1'en before Confederate messengers arri'ed at Fort Sumter, "a(or Anderson
!new it was time to surrender. 5is fort stood in ruins. "ost of the gunpowder
was floating in the harbor> the wor!men, who had run out of sheets, were using
soc!s to sew cartridge bags. And Captain Fo+ was ob'iousl not planning to
send in more supplies an time soon. -orst of all, the soldiers were wear and
discouraged. *hrough more than thirt hours of bombardment, the had bra'el
defended the 8nion cause. ?ow "a(or Anderson could do nothing more than let
them go home. -hen General Beauregards aides arri'ed to wor! out the
terms of surrender, Anderson agreed to e'acuate Fort Sumter the ne+t da&&&
after his garrison had fired a one&hundred gun salute to the ragged 8nion flag.
:n the morning of the surrender, April 1@, 1861, the citi)ens of Charleston
floc!ed to witness the historic scene. :'ernight the harbor had been trans&
formed from a battleground to a festi'e marina of pleasure boats. Ferries, rafts,
s!iffs, and rowboats carried brightl dressed passengers to get a closer loo! at
the fallen fort. From the ban!s of the cit, man spectators could barel see the
battered stronghold behind the clouds of smo!e still pouring from the walls. %ut
the 'iew was not important. 9t was enough to !now that in a few hours, the 8nion
forces would be marched bac! to northern territor where the belonged.
9n the streets of Charleston, people celebrated wildl. %usinesses closed,
parades sna!ed through the cit, and e'erwhere southern men ga'e 'ictor
speeches and toasted the Confederate cause. "ar Chestnut and two
A Nat!"n T"rn: The St"ry "# H"$ the C!%!& War Be'an Ch( ): The Gns R"ar*(+a'e @
companions sur'eed the merrma!ing from an open carriage. ,-hat a changed
scene,/ wrote "rs. Chestnut in her diar. ,*he 'er li'eliest crowd 9 thin! 9 e'er
saw. 1'erone tal!ing at once. All glasses still turned on the grim old fort./
9n the spring of 1861, it was this scene that represented the idea of war for
man American people. 6uring the bombardment of Fort Sumter, no soldiers
had been !illed on either sideA. ,A-ta&&y. "ne "# the Un!"n s"&/!ers $as a--!/enta&&y 0!&&e/
$hen "ne "# the -ann"ns 1!s#!re/( And the battle did not lea'e a single scar on the
graceful cit of Charleston. *o these Americans, war meant patriotism and
parades. *he belie'ed it was a time when gallant officers, wearing red sashes,
met to arrange the terms of battle&&& a time when the 'ictors politel offered
brand to the losing side. -hen the thought of war, the imagined handsome
oung men in fine uniforms marching smartl bac! home after ser'ing their
countr well.
As the nation san! deeper and deeper into ci'il war, Americans would reali)e
that most of these ideas were pure fantas. *he would learn that war meant the
destruction of their homes and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of oung
men. % the end of the four&ear struggle, man would ha'e forgotten e+actl
what argument first di'ided the ?orth and the South. %ut in the spring of 1861,
most Americans were glad to end their war of words and march off to settle their
differences on the battlefield.
A Nat!"n T"rn: The St"ry "# H"$ the C!%!& War Be'an Ch( ): The Gns R"ar*(+a'e B