The memorial war book, as drawn from historical records and personal narratives of the men who served in the great struggle

Front matter

"^o V

Coj'yr^^/i/, iS66, hy Franfi B. Carpcntc.

From the original portrait, painted from lift, at Ihr Wliite Hoiisr in jSb4, by Frank fS. Carpenter, and no'tU in the possession of titc artist.

Preface

There are many good histories of the great American Civil War in existence, but they all dwell on a multitude of minor details, and devote much space to critical analysis of the military strategy displayed l.)y the opposing commanders. The mind of the reader is therefore fatigued and confused, for he obtains only an imperfect conception of the precise scope of the various campaigns.

The actual scenes in the Civil War have not )"et been described in a \va\- to afford a realistic idea of their character, although participants have given, from time to time, abundant individual narratives of what they saw and did. The object of this Memoki.vl War Book is to present a series of pen pictures drawn from material that has never before l:)een collected. It is not a history of the war, but a series of personal reminiscences of stirring adventures and lifelike descriptions of campaigns and battles, as the soldier saw

them, with sufficient memoranda of the events attending the progress of the struggle to give the reader an understanding of their relative importance.

While the regular course of events will be closely followed, it has been the aim of the author to avoid all technicalities, and describe the heroic deeds of Federal and Confederate soldiers, just as the men, themselves, would do. But the greatest value of this work is the absolute fidelity of the illustrations. Many were taken during the progress of hostilities, and are now given to the public for the first time. These were not sketches, but actual photographs, and can never be reproduced, as the originals are rapidly fading. The reader is thus jDlaced on the very ground where the historic scenes of the war occurred, and is carried back to a period of thirt\- ^^ears ago.

G. F. W.

SLAVE PEN, ALEXANDKIA,

Slave Pen, Alexandria, Va. This is a view of one of the biiildin.Ljs known as Slave Pens, in which negroes were kept as chattels, while being bought and sold. The building to the left was fitted up with iron cells, or cages, where the slaves were confined.

CHAPTER I. ORICnX OF THE XATIOXAL i^)UARKIiL

It is customary to speak of the war between the secession and loyal States of America as "The War of 1 86 1-5," because men remember only the campaigns, battles and sieges which marked the period of actual hostilities. But the (juarrel between the Northern and Southern sections of the country had been gathering force and bitterness, long before the battering of Fort Sumter l.)y Confederate cannon finally broke the seal of peace, and lighted the torch that was to blaze with such dreadful fury for four long and weary years.

The American Civil War may be justly characterized as a national punishment for the sin of sla\ery committed b)' the Fathers of the Revolution, when they threw off England's yoke, anil estal)lished a iM'ee Republic. The very existence of negro slavery in one section of the country, while it was strictly forbidden in the other and larger part of the national territory, was calculated to create a feeling of antagonism which, though latent, must have, sooner or later, resulted in quarrels on public polic)-. The South believed that the

THE MEMORIAL WAR BOOK.

^ssij-s^mmmn

GENEKAL WINFIELD SCOTT AND STAFF,— 1-KOM AN OLD PHOTOGRAPH

S'FIELD SCOTT.

successful cultivation of cotton, tobacco and rice could only be profitably carried on by the perpetuation of slavery. The North, on the other hand, was receivin^T the best blood of Europe, for immii,n-ation had not then descended to its present low strata, and as this intelligent and educated labor came in search of personal, religious and political freedom, it set its face against the continuance of servile labor.

The historical student will, of course, find other causes of dispute. The South depended upon the products of the soil and demanded free trade, while the North, deriving its

wealth from manufacturing interests, insisted on a protective tariff. There was also the divergent ideas, among great political leaders, concerning the bond that bound the States together. One class of statesmen held the belief that the Federal Union was a league, which could be terminated at will by any one of the States. Another class clung to the doctrine that the Federal Union meant a national government for the whole nation, and therefore no State could secede without the consent of all the others. This was a question that could only be settled by an aj)- peal to arms. Meanwhile the tide of emigration flowed into the Territories and so rapid!}' developed them that the South sought to further extend the sy.stem of slaver\-. Thus the quarrel grew more and more bitter.

UONTGOMEKV ULAIK

THE MEMORIAL WAR BOOK.

I Cameron, Sec'y of Wak.

Welles, SrcVofNavy.

P. Chase, Sec'v of Treasu

■ Hamlin and Mk, Lincoln's Fii

5. William H. Sewaru, Sec'i OF State.

THE Interior.

7. Edward Bates, Attorne

General, i6 run MJiMOKIM. WAR JUH^K.

FLAG OF THE CON

As is al\va\s the case among politicians, many expedients were resorted to, by both Northern and Southern statesmen, in hopes of bridi^nng o\-er the chasm that was hourly widening between the sections. The Missouri Compromise was the most famous of these futile efforts to cure a national disease by superficial treatment. When Louisiana was purchased from France in 1S03, the present State of Missouri formed a part of the acquired territory. In 1829 Missouri sought admission into the Union as a State, when it was proposed by the North to prohibit slavery in the new State. After much angry and bitter discussion it was finally agreed that Missouri should have slavery, but the system was to be prohibited in all the United States territory north and west of the northern boundary'

of Arkansas. But this so - called compromise did not settle the question, it only postponed the final result. The S o u t h succeeded, in 1850, in having Congress pass the Fugitive Slave bill, by which owners were authorized to seize their slaves who might escape into a free State. Despite the latent anger of the Northern people, the South pursued its settled policy, and in 1854 securctl the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. This repeal, or cancellation, was contained in the act oroanizinp'

THE MEMORIAL WAR BOOK.

'SiSi*^ ■ s-srfei^ territorial governments for Kansas and

Nebraska, giving the people therein the sole right to decide for themselves the question of excluding or adopting slavery.

By this unwise step Congress placed State Rights in the ascendant, and the South found itself at liberty to extend its peculiar and hateful institution all over the Southwest.

Seven years after, the civil war began.

In 1856, the young Republican party entered the field of ALAKAMA KIVER at MONTGOHEKV, ALA.

national politics, with

Fremont as its standard bearer, while petty warfare was going on in Kansas, the " Border Ruffians " of Missouri, creating scenes of unparalleled violence. The election of Buchanan to the Presidency did not assist the South in its efforts to extend slavery. In 1S5;, Judge Taney decided that a slave owner might carry his slaves with him into any State of

the Union. Dred Scott was a slave belonging to a surgeon in the arm)- who took him to Fort Snelling, subsequently returning to Missouri. Suit being brought to secure Dred's freedom. Judge Taney affirmed that Congress could not forbid slavery in the Territories, and that " negroes have no rights which the white man is bound to respect." This decision, and the expression just quoted, was bitterly resented by several Northern States, which passed Personal Liberty Laws giving freedom to every slave entering within their borders. In 1859, John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry gave the first outward sign that the blood of the people was growing hot with sectional passion and prejudice. From the da)' that Brown and his associates made their foolish and ill-timed demonstration, civil war, in all its horror and deformity, was

Tin- Ml- MO KIM. WAR BOOK.

o

PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND FIRST CONFEDERATE CABINET.

THE MEMORIAL WAR BOOK.

only a question of time. John Brown had bt'cn for some tin.ie prominent in the L^ucrilla warfare of Kansas. He acquired the

title of " Ossawattomie " from the desperate defence he had made at that place

against a force ten times stronger than his

own. Finally conceiving the idea that he

was the destined liberator of the Southern

slaves, he decided to strike a IjIow in tln.'ir

behalf. His theory was that the- negroes were ri[)e for revolt, and only needed a leader,

overlooking the fact that their servile habits and mental ignorance unfitted these slaves for the task he would set them at.

HHHHHi i „ m

•• GENERAL DIX S FAMOU

CITY OF CHARLESTON, S. C, FROM TOI' OF MILLS HOUSE.

THE MEMORIAL WAR BOOK.

The town of Harper's Ferry occupies the tip of a tongue of land formed by the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. There is a break in the range of BKie Ridge mountains just there forming the pass througli which tlie waters of these two rivers flow, the town nesthng at its foot. On tlie one hand rises Bolivar Heights, on the other stands the beetling cliffs of the Maryland Heights, so that the town is completely shut in b)' the mountains which hold it in so close an embrace. The water power afforded

l)\ the sudden fall in the current of the Shenandoah River, led General Washington, in 1794, to select it as the United States Armory for the manufacture of arm)' muskets. The influx of so many skilled workmen made the town very prosperous for over half a centur)-, but when the lierce tide of civil war surged through its steep streets, the place fell into wreck and decay, the historic memories associated w^ith it now alone making it an object of interest to the tourist.

It was the presence of the Government armory at Harper's I'err)-, that led John Brown to select it as the base of his ill-advised scheme of operations. Mustering together a force of twenty-one men, who he armed with pikes and muskets, he descended upon the town from Hall Town Heights. .Seizing possession of tlie arsenal, he arrested the chief inhabitants of the town and held them as hostages. lo his surprise, the slaves did not flock to his standard, while the State militia rapidly assembled, and the National Government proceeded to

HETTO FLAG.

Anderson's Officers.

THE MEMORIAL WAR BOOK.

i' \-\\\ PiNCKNEV, Charleston Harbor.

take action. Two clays after his seizure of the town, a body of United States marines attacked the arsenal in which Brown had entrenched himself. The conflict was brief, but bloody. Brown received six wounds, his two sons were killed, with eight of their companions. Being surrendered to the State authorities, Brown was tried for treason, convicted and hanged. From that day the South began its preparations for war.

The election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency solidified the slave States in their determination to secede and create a new Confederacy. The political campaign of i860 was the bitterest that has ever been seen in this Republic. The Republican party nominated Lincoln and Hamlin on the platform that slavery should be prohibited in the Territories. The Constitutional party selected Bell and Everett, demanding the Union of the States and the enforcement of the laws. The Democratic party was split in two by the demands of the South. One section asserted that slavery should be extended by Congress into the Territories, and nominated Breckinridge and Lane. The other section held that the people of the Territories should decide the question of slavery for themselves, and selected Douglas and Johnson as their standard bearers.

As soon as it was known that Lincoln had carried the Electoral College, the South took action, the State of South Carolina leading the way by passing an ordinance of secession on December 20, i860. The States of Mississippi, Florida, Alal6

THE MEMORIAL WAR JiOOK.

bama, Geor^^ia, Louisiana and Texas followctl in lanuary and February, 1 86 1. President Buchanan took the view that neither he nor Congress had the right to coerce a State, so no Federal action was taken against the revolting members of the sisterhood.

Despite the fact that it was known in the "Loyal" States that active preparations for war were going on in the South, the Northern people refused to believe that the men of the South seriously contemplated actual hostilities.

Even when "The Confederate States of America" entered into a formal compact at Montgomery, Ala., on February 4, 1 86 1 , and seized all Federal propertywithin their borders, not a single step towards war was taken by the remaining States.

At that moment the question of State rights stood on debatable ground. Many prominent Northern men believed in it, and prophesied that if fighting did ensue, it would not be along Mason and Dixon's line, but in the cities of the North. In the South it was believed that the people of the North wouKl submit to a disrujjtion of the I'nion rather than face the horrors of war. There was a cloud in the mintls of all men, but it was suddenly lifted b\- a cannon shot in Charleston harbor.

THE MEMORIAL WAR BOOK.

Bombardment of Fokt Sumter from Mokkis Island, Charleston Harbor, S. C.

chaptp:r II.

THE FIRST BLOW AXlJ ITS CONSEQUENCES.

When the Confederate States formally organized its government by electing Jefferson Davis to be President and Alexander H. Stevens as Vice-President, nearly all the regular army and naval officers of Southern birth voluntarily surrendered their Federal commissions, and placed themselves at the command of their respective natal States. But while the military property in the hands of these officers also passed into the possession of the Confederacy, there were two strategic points which were retained by loyal officers.

These were Fort Pickens, at Pensacola, Fla., and iMirt Sumter, in Charleston Harbor. The former was saved to the North by its commander. Lieutenant Slemmer, the latter by Major Robert Anderson. Both officers recognized the importance of their positions, so fortified themselves and refused to surrender to the Secession powers.

Major Anderson gathered his eighty officers and men, and, leaving the comfortable quarters in P^ort ]Moultrie, after spiking its guns, he removed the garrison to Fort -Sumter. This structure had been erected on a rip-rap formation in the centre of the harbor, and being built of solid granite masonry, was deemed almost impregnable. Anderson, being isolated, soon found his food supplies running short, and it seemed only a cjuestion of time when he

THE MEMORIAL WAR BOOK.

must surrender. Buclianan's Sccretar\- of War, Floyd, asked the President's permission to withdraw Anderson's command from Charleston Harbor, and failing to oljtain it, resigned and joined the Confederates.

For three long and weary months Anderson held possession of .Sumter. '1 hough he was treated as an enemy by Governor Pickens, of .Soutli Carolina, and could see the .Secession batteries gathering shape on Morris Island, the Major refrained from firing a shot. The steamer .Star of the West was sent to revictual Anderson and arrived at Charleston on the morning of [anuary 9, 1S61. As the steamer passed up the channel a masked Ixattery on Morris Island opened fire, as did also the guns of Fort Moultrie. Captain John McGowan at once hoisted the American ensign, Init it was not resjjected, and cannon balls continued to pass over and around the Star of the W est, until she was compelled to put to sea again.

This was the first act of the Civil War that was to cost .so much blood and treasure.

It was hailed with delight by the people of the seceding States, while the people of the North were surprised at its audacity. Anderson rightly considering the act as one of war, sent a flag of truce to Governor Pickens, and demanilcd an apology anil the right to recci\e su|iplii's. The Go\'ernor refused to make the one or grant the other, so Anderson prepared for actual hostilities.

When Anderson hoisted the old .Stars and .Stripes o\er the l;attlements of P'ort .Sumter, the .South Carolinians seizetl Castle Pinckney, Port Moultrie and F'ort Johnston.

They found the guns all spiked, but contented

THE MEJ\IORIAL WAR BOOK.

themselves in hoisting over Castle Pinckney a Palmetto flag. It was the first Secession flag hoisted over a fortification belonging to the U nited States.

Subsequently a n - other ensign was designed.

The temper of the North at this critical juncture of affairs is clearly ' parapet." ""

shown by the action

of John A. Dix, who had become Secretary of the Treasury under Buchanan, whose cabinet was rapidly crumbling to pieces as the Confederate conspiracy grew to a head. When Di.x went into office, the cutter Lewis Cass was at Mobile, and the Robert McClelland at New Orleans. He at once ordered their commanders to return with their vessels to New York. Both officers procrastinated, and Captain Breshwood finally and deliberately refused to obey.

This was in January, 1861. Lincoln's term would not begin for ten weeks yet. Secretary Dix did not hesitate, for in a moment of inspiration he sent a telegram ordering the arrest of Captain Breshwood as a mutineer, adding the memorable Avords : " If anyone attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot." The telegraph being in the hands of the insurgents at both Mobile and New Orleans, the order was intercepted and did not reach the agent of the Treasury Department, and the cut-

ters were both

lost to tlie Government.

President Lincoln took his seat on March 4, 1 86 1, and\'ice-Presitlent Hamlin convened the United States Senate. Mr.

Lincoln selected for his Cabinet William

FORT SUMTER.— I.N

77//;" MF.MORIAI. WAR BOOK.

W. Seward as Sccretan- of State- ; Simon

Caiiicroii. Secretary of War; Salmon P.

Chase, Secretar)- of tlie 'rreasiir\-; (iideon

Welles, Secretary of tlu: \a\\- ; CaU'h B.

Smith, Secrelar\- of the Interior; Mont-

_!;x)mer\' lUair, I'ostmaster Cieneral and

Mdward Bates as Attorne)- General.

Charles A. Dana was appointed Assistant

Secretary of War ; Caleb B. Smith was

succeeded, in 1863, by John P. Usher as

Attorney General, and Simon Cameron,

in I SO:!, b\- luhvin M. Stanton, known ha,, oim-.mtek. ,j

afterwards as the i^reat War Secretary. Jelierson Davis and Ale.xander H. Stephens

had been inaui^uratetl as President and Vice-President of the Confederate States,

on the iSth of P'ebruary, 1861, at a Convention held at Montgomery, Ala., assembled

there on February 4th, 1861, the vote being declared by R. M. T. Hunter, President of

the Senate, who subsequent!}' succeeded Robert Toombs as Secretary of State. Mr. Davis selected for his Cabinet, Robert Toombs, Secretary of State; Lero)' Pope Walker, Secretary of War; Stephen R. Mallor\', .Secretary of the Navy ; Cristopher G. Memminger, Secretary of the Treasury-; Judah P. Benjamin, Attorney General and John H. Reagan, Postmaster General. A permanent constitution was adopted March 11, 1861, antl the Capitol removed to Richmond on the 18th of l-'ebruary, 1862, wh(m the Provisional Congress expired and the new Constitution went into operation.

The excitement throughout the North and the South had now reached such a pitch that no man knew what the next da)- woukl bring forth. ( )ne of the first acts

SEA VIEW, FOKT SUMTEK.

THE MEMORIAL WAR BOOK.

of Lincoln was to take up the question of Fort Sumter. He was advised to tell Amlerson to make terms with the enemy, but firmly refused, ordering instead an armed expedition for the relief of the beleagured garrison. This squadron consisted of the steamer Baltic, the sloops-of-war Pohowtan, Pawnee and Pocahontas, the cutter Harriet Lane and sf)me tugs. It started on April g. On that da)', four jears after, General Lee and the Army of Northern X'irginia surrendered at Appomattox Court House.

The Confederates were well informed regarding all movements of the Federal Government, and on April ii. General P. G. T. Beauregard sent a formal demand to Major Anderson to surrender with the honors of war. Ignorant of the fact that his Government had sent the relief squadron, Anderson agreed to do so by noon of the 15th,

77//;" MEMORIAL WAK HOOK.

should he not receive conlrai) instructions before that time. Hut while these nej^^otiations were in proj^n-ess, the Pawnee ami the I larricl Lain- arrixctl of! Charleston harhur, the Confederates therefore, prepared to bombard l-'ort Sumter and resist the passage of the United States vessels. Anderson was immediatel)- notified that the Confederate batteries h the air at twent\- minutes past would open fire in an hour, and the first shot llcw tlirouL three o'clock on the morning of April i j, iSoi.

A gun was fired on James Island as a signal, and a shell went whizzing through the darkness and exploded over the Fort. Battery after l)all(r\- openetl fire, until nt-arly si\t\- heavy guns and mortars were in action. h"or two hours the boml^ardment continued, the

THE MEMORIAL WAR BOOK.

Confederate ^runners soon .L;x'"inu- their rang-e, the sohcl shot and loaded sheHs striking the granite walls of Fort Sumter with terrific force, some of the mortar shells falling inside the enclosure, and there explodetl.

One December evening, during the siege of Petersburg, in 1864. the writer was sitting before the camp fire with Major-General Samuel W. Crawford, who ilun commanded the Pennsylvania Reserves, or Third Division of the Pifth Corps, Ami) of tb.e Potomac. The

Till- MFMORIAI. WAR ]>00K.

Cicncral was llic- suryvon in Aiulcrson's command in l-"ort Sumlcr, and as we sat enjoying the i)leasanl warmth of our Httlc fire, while Hstenini,^ to the rapid exchange of Meade's gims in l'"ort Hell, not man)- huiulrcd )arils distant, he gave me the following description of the scenes in l'"ort Sumter :

"When Major Anderson received the note telling him that we were about to he attacked, he summoned all of his otTicers, and announced that the h'ort must i)c: lieKl at all hazards. Then the garrison llag was hoisted, the postern gate was closed, antl the sentinels on the ramparts were withdrawn. ( )ur men were instructed to not leave the boml) proofs unlc-ss ordered to do so. It was a strange scene as we stood round the lit i:mxg ur Go!,i-oKT Navy Vakd, Norpoik, Va., Aigallant old man, and listeneil to his brave words. \\'e knew well enough that Boh would defend the l'oi-i to ihc last, and e\-er\' officer and man was with him in that determination. " 1 shall never forget the sound of that hrst shell as it passed over our heads, because there had been so long a period of silence during the days we were waiting for orders from Washington. Both you and I have heard a good deal of cannonailing since then, but it was 1 -ally awful to hear tho.se secession guns playing the devil's tattoo on our stone walls. We knew that Beauregard's men had been bus\- fortif\ing .Morris Island anil h'ort Moultrie (they must have had a nice time of it cutting out the spikes we left in the guns when we abandoned them), but we had no idea that anything was being done on Sullivan's Island. The Confeds had cleverly masked their operations b\- jjulling up brushwood and other stuft, .so you may imagine our .surprise when seventeen ten-inch mortars and nearl\- thirty columbiads opened from that point. The bombarduKnt nuist haw: been going on over two hours, when we went to breakfast. We had as ) et ukuK' no r<pl\- to the enenn 's fire. One thing struck me at the time, and I often think of it, and lliat was the cool

THE MEMORIAL WAR BOOK.

iiulifterL-ncc clisplaycd b)' our enlisted men. They sat down and ate their breakfast quietly and unconcernedh', though their ears were being deafened by the roar of the attacking guns and the detonations of the bursting shells.

" B)' the time breakfast was over it was broad daylight. Old Bob Anderson then divided the force into three reliefs. The first was commanded by General Doubleday, who was then a Captain ; I was given the second relief, and Lieutenant Sn\der, a splendid officer, took the third. We had plenty of gunpowder, but it was nearly all loose, so we had to put the ofl-reliefs to work preparing the cartridges. Doubleday fired his first gun a few minutes after seven o'clock, and I think he pulled the lanyard himself.

At least, that is my impression. We soon had all of our guns at work, and kept them going until nearly noon. It would have delighted }our heart to see how our men peppered Fort Moultrie, for we could see that our shot and shell were

HEAR ADMIRAL H. PAULDING.

making gaps in the embrasures. But after all there was very little use in our repl) ing to the enem)'s fusilade, for the)' had heavier

HAMtTON, VlKGlNlA

26 THE MEMORIAL

metal, and were able to give a cross lire

that l)atlLTed us umnrrcifully. Still, you

know, it's not in hunuui nature to stanel

idle, while bcins4 pounded, so we went on

banging awa)- right merrih'.

" We soon found that the enemy were

trying to disable our barbette guns, and so

well did they serve their pieces that not

only were our barbette batteries silenced,

but even a large section of the stone [Kira-

pet was carried away b\- the huge solit.1

shots that hit it. As you can readily understand, we had to abandon the ramparts

and confine ourselves to the two lower

tiers of guns, which were, of course, protected by casements. As I said before,

Abner Doubledaj-'s first gun was fired a

little after seven o'clock, and our response

to the furious storm of shot and shell that

the Confederates had poured down t)n old

Sumter, lasted until almost noon. \'ou

must remember that it was raining like

everything, and there was a dense fog

resting on the wati-r of the harbor, and the

smoke from the opposing guns did not help matters much. Anderson wanted to know

how things lojked outside, so I offered to ascend the parapet and take an observation,

as they say at sea. There has been a lot ot toolish stuft written and printed about my

doing this, but it was not .so terrible a thing, and, of course, any other officer in

the garrison would have done it. The fact that I was the " doctor," as surgeons are familiarly termed, made the boys say I was a trump. That was all there was to it.

"Well, 1 went to the parapet, and you may imagine my surprise and delight when 1 discovereil, through the rolling fog antl blinding rain, three vessels lying outside the bar. Though the confounded secession guns were still going, and I suppose some of their shells were falling pretty close to me, I know you will believe me when I say that I,

THE JfEMOKIAL WAR BOOK for the moment, forgot all about the bombardment. As all of the vessels were flying the Stars and Stripes, I knew they must have come to our relief, so down 1 ran and told the Major. I can see his pale, worn face at this very moment. You know it had been a terrible strain for Bob Anderson. He is a Kentuckian and one of the few Southern regulars who remained true to the flag. Well, his eyes brightened, and he and Doubleday went up and satisfied themselves that I was not mistaken. As we afterwards learned, these vessels were the Pawnee, carrying ten guns, the saucy little Harriet Lane and her five guns, and the transport Baltic, carrying two hundred recruits. But they could not cross the bar, because Beauregard had removed all the buo)'s.

" I have heard that they signalled us, but we didn't know it at the time, and even if we had we could not have returned it, for our flag was all tangled up in the lan)-ards that had been cut by fragments of shell. During the afternoon the Confederate tire grew heavier, and some of the shot entered our embrasures, causing several slight casualties by flying

splinters, so I had something to do in addition to my gunnery work. Our men behaved splendidl)-, though the)' were exhausted bj- fatigue, for, you know, eavy artillery practice is very severe. The barracks got on fire from shells, brick and stone flew in all directions, smashing windows and making a tolerably good average of everything. We kept up our fire prett)' well all da)', but the suppl)- of cartridges began running so low we were reduced to about six guns.

"At nightfall, the Major passed the order to stop firing and close port-holes. Then a guard was set, and the remainder took a rest. The rain storm continued all night, and so did the Confederate bombardment, though they contented themselves in sending us a shell ever)' ten minutes or so. That was an awfully wear)- night, for very few of us got any sleep beyond a brief nap or two. The men were quite cheerful, though they knew that only one ration of rice remained. We knew relief was at hand, and supposed it would come after daylight.

"When the sun rose on the following morning it was in an unclouded sky, and Beauregard's guns opened on us with increased violence. He evidently hoped to blow us and old Sumter into the water together, for not only did the missiles fly faster and faster, thev also sent us red-hot shot, which set all the woodwork on fire and filled the interior of

THE MEMORIAL WAR 1^00 K.

tlic I'orl witli smoke. W'f had ])ul the tire out tour tiim-s ihc [Ji'cvious cla\ , l)Ul now llic t:ntire l)arracks ami ofhccrs' quarters were in a l)laze and we had to let ihcm burn, for \o\\ can't put out llames \ ery well, when red-hot shot are tU'iny round your heads. At least, we ditln't trv. Our onh' fear was about the maj,^azine. If that had cau_i;ht lire and exploded, I would not be here with a couple ot silver stars on m\' shoulders. But the magazine escaped, though the main gate was burned, and the salh port could no longer be defended.