, 1861-04-20
THE .BATTLE! / }ss,i
Relation >otS SEn Eye:'ygitneas.;. {: {.

= ~ III. Il
>::,Re1at,on >otS sn Eyt:lSsita afs'' i SIS.
rhs spe;cial correspondent d ii the New York
Times, who, WA at Charleston; during The first
sw hours sofs tile fight; at Sumter, sends the
tollowlng to that paper =. :. l.
WAsnNs TOE, Tuesday, April 10, 1851: Il
Al Inst safe ut the Federal Capital, which
Win not remain 30 long, If the North does not
arouse Itself: from its inertia, will take up the
Thread Of my narrative, which-was 90 rudely
b broken Of y the Infamous arrest g anaaed 70
: a. wjfness Of the cannonadinge; Of. Fort Sum-
ter for six hours, and having had tn1 ae.
scription of it by gentlemen who witnessed 1t
up to Saturday yat2, RI Lean perhaps give |.
i Tar more accurate account Of it than the ab-
surd onesBent North by the telegraph Aitc5:
MI the points Of interest in the city, found the
Battery crowded with ladies, who remained
there all night; the city constantly patrolled
by mounted volunteers and intantry II: large |
numbers while at Gen Pickens's and Gen.:
Beauregards head quarters there Was M evidence re-
long Adger Pier, and mounted on q cotton bale, /
/ Quietly iawaited the. opening gun, armed
only with an opera glass. Ny sole companion |
was q fair young girl, q bride Of only three
months, who, with leF little brother, awaited
isft her to join the Palmetto Guards, and she
shed bitter tears as the day slowly daWned. At
10 minutes past 6 o'clock precisely, the first
shot was fired from the ave-mortar battery on
James Island, followed in quick succeesionb by
the Iron Battery at Cummings Point, tho
.ot Mount Pleasant. At g A: NJ, DR.. Robert
son, an intimate, personal aud professional
friend, hurrica1y approached me a4d inquired
If Fort Sumter had opened fire. At G4 O'CLOCK !.
precisely, tho first gun was fired from Fort
Sumter, directed ut Stevens Point, and soon
tho conflict became general on either side.
world has ever seen, but soon the clouds gath
cred thick and fast, and nature poured forth
her torrents as though froWning on the lnta'
NOUS spectacle. AZ times, the fort was com.
'p1etely hidden from view, yet the liEon haii
sped On Its murderous work, aud the distinct
i've eounds Of shot and shell could bs clearly
marked ont as they cut the thin air with tear-
! full 1apidity.
| the sacred flag Of our country proudly spleaa.
iug iteelf to the breeze. Although the Ehos
| fell nround 1t thick aud fast, yet 1t seemed to
possess IN absolute power Of intangibllty and
| nothing could disturb it. The scene vas sol-
cmn In the extreme. Even the crowd that
| now lined the wharf forbore, hushed the rude
Jest and seemed at last to comprehend TINT
war was ut last inaugurated, md that, too, by
South Carolina.
Dropping for time the account Of my ar.
rest as "Federal Spy" let me assure your
readers that Sumter was not "enveloped IN
names'' at my time: that the men were no:
sent out on raft to collect water to extin.
| guish the fire, simply because there 1sas plenty
81 the article. inside; that The fort was no!
preached at ali, and that it was not blackenee
| MACS Of ruins when the curtain dropped OF
the last act Of the tragedy. No boat left Nor
ris Island with q United States flag for Mn]o1
Anderson when his own was shot away, Elm
ply because the Norris Island boJs had NJ
such flag to offer. They so hate the Stars AM
n Stripes that they would have eooner been bit
ten bY the 11occasins Of their own swamp
than touch m emblem Of the county the.
Lave cast OF. It WIS pretty teleG1aphlc tic
ton, but very false. Major Anderson snEreI
dered simply because he found that Ms fort eo4t
not continue lie siege jor any length Of tins. Il
7 fund that the United States vessels were nc
i coming In, and lie wished to prevent uselee
. shedding Of blood. The paper warriors MA
accuse him Of cowardice, but . prrer, true
: more honest man does not walk this work
Now for the arrest. -
: (At this point in his letter, the writer relatt
how he was arrested, imprisoned, thrcatcne
- and finally sent OF as spy; but as lis pc
- sonal experience does not differ from that
:, ;, hundreds Of our Northern tnen, we omit
= He vent North by rail and was set down
1t was painful to witness the secession man
{ cropping out SO strong along the entire le3g
"a of the railroad In North Carolina and Firgini
r At every station the question Has Is Stunt
IL taken7" and when the response was "yes
- they danced with jog.
re Ihayc called on hfr. Lineo1t1; also on &c
Ia Seward and Gen. Scott. A1r. Lincoln still G
= hero Of Mexico works night and day. In CO
10 vereation With i member cf his Staff, who E
ne periutenGcd the plans for the construction
.. Fort Sumter, ho assured me that no brea
could have be Il made in tho walls IL 60 shs
time. He evidentl. approved OF the coul
I'd Gen. Scott fully in'IoEtcd his n1oycE1en
u, Let the infamous 11alignef5 Of the hero
4k Sumter take note Of this
he In glanc!ng at the first real stab the Reps
ig- Tic has received In the Inauguration Of Il
is war, as openly invited by South Carolina
IL thousand men arrayed against IS artillerit
he is musicians, officers and 80 laborers,
III vested OF all gasconade and tlummery, Is sir
~ alter nll
ere fngs towards the South and her people i;
a butfetcd for them tho wave Of Northern far
r. les. have stated facts thai frequently
'7a- them in a niutn higher light at the North.
was helping earnestly in the good work
, a recemsn1ing peaceful feelings between
ids two sections. They received NE cordja
ou and promised me the most ample protect
ID, In my hour Of need, when madmen were
i've ing to kill ME, thcy stood s!oof and lifted.
On. ! a fuger in my defence. Nus this brave,
nd I it manly, was 1t chiyalrous? Was it not rat
re- low, contemplate and Infamous? In
ra- / CriJnea aud In the italian War the person
Of correspondent was rs sacred as that of
Lha priest ministcrlng to the dying on the ba
of iic1d It has been left for the State that pr
ust herself on her chivalry to iuapgrratc a syst
on thot wonld disgrace His Sable Maj
Ihi- ! the Cennlbal of Dahomey, who kills six Z
Of every morning, by wsy Of slight Appetite
BOD Has the so called Gamecock State any c
:es, ogy to makefot this lov.ared and vile outrz
no. JAsrE