FORT SUMTER BOMBARDED. -- ATTEMPT OF THE "STAR OF THE WEST" TO
RE-ENFORCE ANDERSON. -- THE NAVAL EXPEDITION TO FORT SUMTER. --
THE RESCUE OF THE FRIGATE "CONSTITUTION." -- BURNING THE NORFOLK
NAVY-YARD.
[Illustration: Fort Moultrie.]
The first purely warlike event of the civil war was the bombardment
and capture of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, by the troops of the
State of South Carolina. At the time when it first became evident that
civil war was inevitable, Fort Sumter was vacant. The only United
States troops stationed at Charleston were two companies of artillery
under Major Robert Anderson. The fortifications of Charleston Harbor
consisted of Fort Moultrie on the main land (in which Anderson's
command was stationed), Fort Pinckney, and Fort Sumter standing
massive and alone in the centre of the harbor. Anderson, with his
handful of troops in the most vulnerable of the three forts, saw day
by day the secession sentiment growing stronger. Almost daily some of
the privileges of the soldiery were cut off; such as the right of
passing through the city, and the right to buy supplies in the public
markets. Daily could be heard the drum and the tread of the newly
organized bodies of State soldiers. Anderson saw that his position was
a weak one, but could get no orders from headquarters. Finally he
decided to assume the responsibility of evacuating Fort Moultrie and
occupying Fort Sumter. To-day it hardly seems as though he could have
thought of doing otherwise, but at that time it was a grave
responsibility for a man to assume. The whole voice of the North was
for compromise, and it was his part to commit the first overt act of
war. But he was nobly upheld in his decision by his Northern brethren.
Having decided, he lost no time in carrying his plan into effect. His
little corps of troops was drawn up at midnight on the parade, and for
the first time informed of the contemplated movement. The guns of Fort
Moultrie were hurriedly knocked from their trunnions, and spiked; the
gun-carriages were piled in great heaps, and fired; and every thing
that might in any way be used against the United States Government was
destroyed. Then the work of evacuation was begun. A small fleet of
row-boats carried the troops to the entrance of the great, sullen
fort, standing alone in the middle of the harbor, and made frequent
trips bringing supplies and ammunition from the deserted fortress. All
was done silently: the oars were muffled, and the commands of the
officers were whispered, that no tidings should be told of the
movement under way. Before sunrise all was completed; and when the
rays of the rising sun fell upon the stars and stripes floating from
the flagstaff of Sumter, the people of Charleston turned their eyes
from the starry flag to the clouds of smoke arising from Fortress
Moultrie, and comprehended that the war had begun. Newspaper
correspondents and agents of the Federal Government, and the Southern
leaders, rushed for the telegraph-wires; and the news soon sped over
the country, that Sumter was occupied. The South Carolinians at once
began to build earthworks on all points bearing on the fort, and were
evidently preparing to drive Anderson and his troops out. Anderson
promptly telegraphed to Washington for supplies and re-enforcements,
and expressed his intention of staying as long as the walls stood. The
Government was dilatory, but finally concluded to re-enforce the fort,
and to that end secured the steamer "Star of the West," and began the
work of provisioning her for the voyage. It was decided that she
should carry no guns: that would look too much like war; and
accordingly, on the 8th of January, this helpless vessel set out to
the aid of the beleaguered garrison of Fort Sumter. The news was at
once telegraphed to Charleston; and the gunners in the Confederate
trenches shotted their guns, and awaited the appearance of the
steamer. She hove into sight on the morning of the 12th, and when
within range was notified, by a shot across her bows, that she was
expected to stop. This signal being disregarded, the firing began in
earnest; and the shot and shell fell thick about the ship, which kept
pluckily on her course. But it was useless to persist. One shot struck
the steamer near the bows, others whizzed through her rigging, and
finally her captain saw a tug putting out from the land, towing a
schooner crowded with armed men to cut off the "Star's" retreat. He
gave the command "Hard a port." The ship's head swung round, and she
steamed away, leaving the garrison to their fate. An old gunner who
stood in a casemate of Fort Sumter, with the lanyard of a shotted gun
in his hand, tells the story of how he begged Major Anderson to let
him fire on the rebel batteries. "Not yet; be patient," was the
response. When the shells began to fall thick about the steamer, he
again asked permission to retaliate, but met the same response. Then
when he saw the white splinters fly from the bow, where the enemies'
shell had struck, he cried, "Now, surely, we can return _that!_" but
still the answer was, "Be patient." When the "Star of the West,"
confessing defeat, turned and fled from the harbor, Anderson turned
and walked away, curtly saying there was no need to fire then, but to
save the load for the necessity that was coming.
[Illustration: Anderson's Command occupying Fort Sumter.]
[Illustration: Major Robert Anderson.]
The first naval operation of the war was the expedition fitted out to
relieve Fort Sumter. In itself, this expedition was but an
insignificant affair, ending in failure; but as the first warlike
action on the part of the United States Government, it attracted the
greatest attention throughout the nation. In preparing the vessels for
sea, great care was taken to keep their destination secret, so that no
warning should reach the Confederates, who were lying in their
batteries about Sumter, awaiting the first offensive action of the
United States authorities to begin shelling the fortress. While the
squadron was fitting out, it was generally supposed that it was
intended to carry troops and munitions of war to Fort Pickens in
Pensacola Harbor, which was invested by the Confederates. When the
fleet finally sailed, each commander carried sealed orders, upon
opening which he first found that the expedition was bound for
Charleston Harbor. Notwithstanding all this secrecy, the destination
of the fleet was telegraphed to the Confederates almost as soon as the
last vessel dropped past Sandy Hook; and the fire from the circle
of batteries about the doomed fort in Charleston Harbor began
immediately. When the fleet arrived at its destination, the
bombardment was well under way. To attempt to land troops or stores
under the withering fire concentrated upon the fort, would have been
madness. The only vessel of sufficient strength to engage the
batteries, the "Pawnee," had been separated from the fleet by a gale a
few nights before, and had not yet arrived. Sadly the sailors gave up
the attempt, and, beating up and down outside the harbor bar, awaited
the inevitable end of the unequal conflict. When, finally, after a
heroic resistance of several days, Major Anderson and his little band,
worn with constant vigilance and labor, destitute of provisions, and
exposed to a constant hail of iron missiles from without and a raging
fire within, agreed to capitulate, the United States steamship
"Baltic," of the Fort Sumter expedition, took him on board and bore
him safely to New York. The main purpose of the expedition had failed,
it is true; but the Government had made its first decisive move, and
public sympathy and confidence were excited.
[Illustration: Fort Sumter under Fire.]
The preparations for the coming struggle were now being pressed
forward on every hand. An incident which occurred soon after the fall
of Sumter awakened the greatest enthusiasm throughout the North. The
United States frigate "Constitution" was lying at Annapolis, where she
was being used by the authorities of the naval academy there for a
school-ship. Although the State of Maryland had not seceded from the
Union, yet secessionists were to be found in great numbers in all
parts of the State. A number of them determined to seize the ship.
Besides being a war-vessel of considerable strength, the
"Constitution"--or "Old Ironsides," as she was affectionately
called--was famous for her many exploits, and dear to the hearts of
Americans for her long service under the stars and stripes. "If we can
but capture the vessel, and turn her guns against the Union," thought
the conspirators, "we will strike a heavy blow at the Northern
sympathizers." And, indeed, it would have been a heavy blow to the
nation had they captured the old frigate that did such service under
Preble in the war with Tripoli; and that in the War of 1812 forced the
British to strike their colors, and gave to the United States navy an
equal place on the high seas with any nation of the world. The plans
of the conspirators were well laid. The ship was manned by but twenty
men, and lay above a bar, over which she could only be carried by the
aid of a steam-tug. Fortunately the officers and crew were all loyal.
For four days and four nights they watched the preparations being made
on shore for their capture. Mysterious signals flashed from the
surrounding hills. Armed bodies of men were seen drilling on the
shore. All seemed to tend toward certain capture. Yet with no chance
of escape the brave men kept vigilant guard, with guns shotted and
always primed.
Near Annapolis was stationed the Eighth Massachusetts Infantry, with
Gen. Butler in command. News was carried to the general of the
perilous position of the "Constitution," and he at once determined to
hasten to her relief. Just as the crew of the old frigate had
abandoned all hope, the steamer "Maryland" entered the harbor, her
guards and decks crowded with the men of the Eighth Massachusetts.
Quickly the "Constitution" was prepared for sailing. Her anchors were
slipped, all useless weight cast overboard, and, with the "Maryland"
as tug, the stately frigate passed slowly over the bar, and out of the
grasp of the conspirators.
The "Constitution" was not the only United States vessel that the
Confederates were planning to seize. Soon after she escaped from their
hands, an event occurred by which a vast quantity of naval stores, and
the mutilated but still valuable hulls of some of the most powerful
war-vessels in the United States navy, fell into their hands. The
United States navy-yard at Norfolk was one of the most valuable of all
the governmental possessions. In the great yard was government
property amounting to more than twenty millions of dollars.
Machine-shops, foundries, dwellings for officers, and a massive
granite dry-dock made it one of the most complete navy-yards in the
world. An enormous quantity of cannon, cannon-balls, powder, and
small-arms packed the huge storehouses. In the magnificent harbor were
lying some of the most formidable vessels of the United States navy,
including the steam frigate "Merrimac," of which we shall hear much
hereafter. Small wonder was it, that the people of Virginia, about to
secede from the Union, looked with covetous eyes upon this vast stock
of munitions of war lying apparently within their grasp. It did not
take long for them to persuade themselves that they were right in
seizing it; and, once decided, their movements were vigorous and open.
Of their ability to capture the yard, and gain possession of all the
property there, they felt no doubt. The first thing to be done was to
entrap the ships so that they should be unable to get out of the
harbor. Accordingly, on the 16th of April, three large stone-vessels
were sunk directly in the channel, apparently barring the exit of the
frigates most effectually. Indeed, so confident of success were the
plotters, that in a despatch to Richmond, announcing the successful
sinking of the stone-ships, they said, "Thus have we secured for
Virginia three of the best ships of the navy." But later events
showed, that, in boasting so proudly, the Virginians were committing
the old error of counting chickens before they were hatched.
The condition of affairs within the navy-yard now seemed desperate.
There appeared to be no chance of getting the vessels beyond the
obstructions. The militia of Virginia was rapidly gathering in the
town. Among the naval officers on the ships great dissension existed,
as many were Southerners, about to resign their posts in the United
States service to enter the service of their States. These men would,
of course, give no active aid to any movement for the salvation of the
United States property in the yard. Any assistance must come from the
outside; the beleaguered could but passively await the course of
events.
At seven o'clock on the night of April 21, the United States steamer
"Pawnee," which had been lying under the guns of Fortress Monroe,
hoisted anchor, and headed up the bay, on an errand of destruction. It
was too late to save the navy-yard with its precious stores. The only
thing to be done was to burn, break, and destroy every thing that
might be of service to an enemy. The decks of the "Pawnee" were black
with men,--soldiers to guard the gates, and complete the work of
destruction within the yard; blue-jacketed tars to do what might be
done to drag the entrapped vessels from the snare set them by the
Virginians. It was a bright moon-light night. The massive hull of the
ship-of-war, black in the cold, white rays of the moon, passed rapidly
up the Elizabeth River. The sunken wrecks were reached, and
successfully avoided; and about nine o'clock the "Pawnee" steamed into
the anchorage of the navy-yard, to be greeted with cheers from the
tars of the "Cumberland" and "Pennsylvania," who expected her arrival.
The townspeople seeing the war-vessel, with ports thrown open, and
black muzzles of the guns protruding, took to their houses, fearing
she would open fire on the town. Quickly the "Pawnee" steamed to her
moorings. The marines were hurriedly disembarked, and hastened to
guard the entrances to the navy-yard. Howitzers were planted so as to
rake every street leading to the yard. Thus secure against attack, the
work of the night began. Nearly two thousand willing hands were set
hard at work, cannon were dismounted and spiked, rifles and muskets
dashed to pieces; great quantities of combustibles were piled up in
the mammoth buildings, ready to be fired at a given signal. In the
mean time, the blue-jackets were not idle. It was quickly decided,
that, of all the magnificent vessels anchored in the harbor, the
"Cumberland" was the only one that could be towed past the
obstructions in the river. All hands were set to work removing every
thing of value from the doomed vessels to the "Cumberland." Gunpowder
and combustibles were then arranged so as to completely destroy the
vessels when ignited. When the moon went down at twelve o'clock, the
preparations were complete. All the men were then taken on board the
"Cumberland" and "Pawnee," save a few who were left to fire the
trains. As the two vessels started from the moorings, the barracks
were fired, the lurid light casting a fearful gleam upon the crowded
yards and shrouds of the towering frigate. A little way out in the
stream a rocket was sent up from the "Pawnee." This was the signal for
the firing of the trains. The scene that followed is thus described by
an eye-witness:--
"The rocket sped high in air, paused a second, and burst in showers of
many colored lights; and, as it did so, the well-set trains at the
ship-houses, and on the decks of the fated vessels left behind, went
off as if lit simultaneously by the rocket. One of the ship-houses
contained the old 'New York,' a ship thirty years on the stocks, and
yet unfinished; the other was vacant. But both houses, and the old
'New York,' burned like tinder. The vessels fired were the
'Pennsylvania,' the 'Merrimac,' the 'Germantown,' the 'Plymouth,' the
'Raritan,' the 'Columbia,' and the 'Dolphin.' The old 'Delaware' and
'Columbus," worn-out and disabled seventy-fours, were scuttled, and
sunk at the upper docks on Friday.
"I need not try to picture the scene of the grand conflagration that
now burst like the day of judgment on the startled citizens of
Norfolk, Portsmouth, and all the surrounding country. Any one who has
seen a ship burn, and knows how like a fiery serpent the flame leaps
from pitchy deck to smoking shrouds, and writhes to their very top
around the masts that stand like martyrs doomed, can form some idea of
the wonderful display that followed. It was not thirty minutes from
the time the trains were fired, till the conflagration roared like a
hurricane, and the flames from land and water swayed and met and
mingled together, and darted high, and fell, and leaped up again, and
by their very motion showed their sympathy with the crackling,
crashing war of destruction beneath.
[Illustration: Destruction of Norfolk Navy-yard.]
"But in all this magnificent scene the old ship 'Pennsylvania' was the
centre-piece. She was a very giant in death, as she had been in life.
She was a sea of flame; and when the iron had entered her soul, and
her bowels were consuming, then did she spout forth from every
porthole of every deck torrents and cataracts of fire, that to the
mind of Milton would have represented her a frigate of hell pouring
out unending broadsides of infernal fire. Several of her guns were
left loaded, but not shotted; and as the fire reached them they sent
out on the startled morning air minute-guns of fearful peal, that
added greatly to the alarm that the light of the fire had spread
through the country round about. The 'Pennsylvania' burned like a
volcano for five hours and a half before her mainmast fell. I stood
watching the proud but perishing old leviathan as this emblem of her
majesty was about to come down. At precisely half-past nine o'clock
the tall tree that stood in her centre tottered and fell, and crushed
deep into her burning sides."
During this fearful scene the people of the little town, and the
Virginia militia-men who had been summoned to take possession of the
navy-yard, were no idle spectators. Hardly had the "Pawnee" steamed
out into the stream, when the great gates were battered down, and
crowds of men rushed in, eager to save whatever arms were uninjured.
Throughout the fire they worked like beavers, and succeeded in saving
a large quantity of munitions of war to be used by the Confederacy.
The ships that had been fired all burned to the water's edge. One was
raised, and re-appeared as the formidable "Merrimac" that at one time
threatened the destruction of the whole Union navy.
A great amount of valuable property was saved for the Virginians by
the coolness of a young boy, the son of one of the citizens of the
town. This lad was within the gates of the navy-yard when the troops
from the ships rushed in, and closed and barricaded them against the
townspeople. He was frightened, and hid himself behind a quantity of
boards and rubbish, and lay there a silent and immensely frightened
spectator of the work of destruction. An officer passed near him
directing the movements of two sailors, who were laying a train of
gunpowder to an immense pile of explosives and combustibles in the
huge granite dry-dock. The train passed over a broad board; and the
boy, hardly knowing what he did, drew away this board, leaving a gap
of eight inches in the train. When all the trains were fired, this was
of course stopped at the gap; and the dry-dock was saved, and still
remains in the Norfolk Navy Yard.