From: cowan@ssrl01.slac.stanford.edu (P. L. Cowan)
Newsgroups: alt.war.civil.usa
Subject: More on 1st Shot including two corrections (was Re: Followup ...)
Date: 9 Sep 92 00:05:42 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: SSRL, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lab

In article <1992Sep8.073422.11347@hubcap.clemson.edu>, trev@hubcap.clemson.edu (Trevor Bauknight) writes:
: cowan@ssrl01.slac.stanford.edu (P. L. Cowan) writes:
: 
:>refer, but Hendrickson's story of the firing on the _General Clinch_

: Am I correct in thinking the _General Clinch_
: and the _Star of the North_ were attempting to re-supply the troops 
: at Fort Sumter, at the order of Lincoln?  

The _Star of the *WEST*_ (sorry my memory is failing me) was bringing
both men and supplies to Fort Sumter, but *NOT* on Lincoln's order.
Lincoln was only the President Elect at this time and carefully
avoided any public statements as to his views on the issue. (Brevet)
Lt. Gen Winfield Scott was the instigator or the _Star's_ relief
mission, but it necessarily had the approval of Pres. Buchanan.

My earlier post was a also mistaken on the _General Clinch_ (my memory
is *REALLY* failing me). The _General Clinch_ (named after Maj.
Anderson's Georgian father-in-law) was not escorting the _Star_, it
was one of two guard boats used by the South Carolinians to patrol the
harbor, and ferry troops. Its role on Jan. 9, was in setting off
flares that awoke the batteries to the _Star's_ arrival (at 3 AM).

: Since this was not accomp-
: lished, how did Anderson and his men survive the winter at Fort
: Sumter between Dec. 20, 1860 and the shelling on April 12, 1861?
: Were they resupplied?  I have read that this period was a time of
: considerable excitement and anxiety in Charleston, and that Anderson
: and his men were actually taken care of by Charlestonians.  The
: logistics of this are questionable, however, given the geography
: in the area.
: 

Maj. Anderson was able to purchase food and medical supplies in
Charleston even after Jan. 9. He also received some gifts of wine from
the gentry. At one point Gov. Pickens offered a gift of fresh meet and
vegetables, but this was refused by Maj. Anderson. In fact the wives
and children of some of the men remained at the fort until Jan. 30.

Military supplies were a different matter. He had drawn muskets from
the Federal Arsenal in Charleston on Dec. 17, 1860, but was forced to
return these by order of Sec. of War Floyd. When the US Arsenal was
seized by the South Carolina militia on Dec. 30, these supplies fell
into the hands of those who eventually attacked Maj. Anderson and his
men.

I remember (not that that's worth much anymore) that it was after
Jefferson Davis became provisional President of the CSA (and assumed
the authority over activities regarding Fort Sumter) that Maj.
Anderson was prevented from buying further supplies and had to rely on
his stores. By placing his men on half rations, Anderson projected he
could only hold out until April 15 without a second relief attempt by
Lincoln. Although Maj. Anderson did not know it (and Beauregard did)
such a mission (bringing only food and medicine, no men nor
ammunition) was outside Charleston harbor on April 12, and was the
decisive factor in the CSA decision to bombard the fort on that date.

: The activity
: on Jan. 9 was the first firing on the U.S. by South Carolina.  Did
: either of the vessels attempt to sail in under the U.S. flag?
: 

You'd better believe it did! After entering the harbor, the _Star_
raised a 20'x 40' American flag (in addition to the Union ensign that
it had flown from the beginning) as a signal to Maj. Anderson to
commence cover fire for a landing attempt, but Anderson never
responded (leading to speculation that the Ky-born major was
sympathetic to South Carolina, when in fact he never received notice
of the mission and didn't feel he had authority to fire on his own
discression). The _Star_ (a merchant ship), unarmed save the muskets
carried by the re-enforcements below decks, was forced to turn back.
The firing on the _Star_ was thus the first shot fired at the Union
flag (two of them in fact), a fact that did not pass unnoticed in the
North.

The attack on the _Star_ was not the first hostile shot between the
two sides, however. Hours before, on the evening of January 8, 1861,
Federal sentries at Fort Barrancas near Pensacola, Fla. fired at
roughly 20 "rebel" intruders who failed to answer (or halt) when
challenged. This was two days before a convention passed Florida's
Ordinance of Secession.

: Trevor Bauknight         trev@hubcap.clemson.edu    ...gatech!hubcap!trev
:  


-- 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
P. L. Cowan     Please send replies, comments etc. (no flames thank you) to 
COWAN@ANL.GOV   (I'm posting from my own account, but not the preferred one)
        "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is a War Room!"
from _Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb_
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Newsgroups: alt.war.civil.usa