Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1861-04-19


the channel, kept mp a steady. fire for some
time at the dawn Of day. Ie.'is reported they:
threw their sl,otinIo the Hurrlet Lane, aud that
that steamer, having advanced us fnr US the re,
nowhed Starsof the West Battery, was crippled
by we'll aimed sl,ot. after which she dec,nsd it
prudent to give up the dangerous attempt, aud
turned her sharp bow TO the sea.
Stevens Iron Battery PLAYED n conspicuous
aud Important putt IN the hrilliants.pnd, SO far
as our men ore concerned, blootfftss conflict,
which has placed the 10Th of April, 1876 ), AMONG
the memorable days. The caibre of its guns,
its nesrncss 10 Fort Sumter. its perfect impene-
u ability, the co ,lncss aud skill Of i,s gallant
gunners, made this fortiiication Que of the most
formidable Of NJ bjor Anderson 81 terrible opno.
nents. The offrct Of its Dnllsreeus and Ca
FOUNDERS was distinctly visible ut an early stage
Of the conflict. Clouds of mortar and brick
dust arose from the southwest wall of the fort
as the shot Missed on their errand of dcatb.-
Shot after slot told with terrible effect on the
strong wall, aud at about three o'clock, Mnior
Anderson ceased 10 return this lnurderoma fire
In the course Of t,e aftcrhoon tho JOY full ,idings
that breach had been effecied in that portion
tot'ths fortress We're borne to the city.
We daro not close this brief and hurried mar
ratir. of the first engagement between the Uui-
ted States aud the. Confederate States, without
rrt"r''iug thanks TO Almighty God for the great
success that has thus far crowned our arms, II nd
preservation Of our soldiers from casualty and
death. In the fifteen hours Of incs ssant firing
our enemy one oil the pios, experienced and skill
tul of nrtillsrists no injury has been sustained
by single one of our gallant s.lIierEA
Tho result of the conflict rengthens'and con-
firms urfaith in the business of the cause for
whose achievements We have suffered obloquy,
and dared pefs Of vast magnitude. At the
outset of the struggle we invoked tho sanction
and aid Of that God whom We serve, and Ills
hand has guided and defended us all through
the momentous conflict Ills favor was most
signalY, we had almost said miracu ulously. mall-
ifested OH this eventful day. We call the roll OF
those engaged in the battle, and each soldier is
hsre TO answer'to his maine. No tombstone will
throw its shadow upon that bright triumphant
day. II SO it seemeth good in the eyes of Him
i'll whose hnnds the issues Of Ifr, we fer
vently pray that our brave sons may puss un-
harmed through the perils Of the day now dawn
ing. q
The Charleston Mercury extra Of Sunday ha
full reports from some Of the batteries in the
hnrbor Of Charleston. Anxious as we are t.
furnish the fullest details, We must condense thes
Interesting reports.
MoRnIs IsLAND.-Evcryhinc being in readi-
ness. the three batteries of Mouis' Island bear
ing upon Fort Sumter opened ifirn ediatcy. II
was not yet daybrcak, and the sccne, which at
that moment was novel, was picturesque well
The course Of the SHELLS un their fiery way
could be easily traced until they exploded in q
white cloud Of smoke, followed by II dull detona-
lion, over tho parnpet Of Fort Sumter. The
effect OF the solid shot was also perccp,ibe with
| the naked eye. AT each discharge of the guns
either The water adaceut 10 the Fort would be
dashed up in great sheets Of sprny, or the densa
brown cloud Of crumblng brick and mortar
would murk the spot upon the rnlnparts hit by
| the balls. Meanwhile we could see that the
inf af thern in fha la
| actively employed as our own. Ever and mon
the e;shells flew out from the mortar batteries ut
Fort Johnson, Su'ivan's Island, and Mount
| Pleasant. The Floating Battery, stationed in
the Cove, was quite hidden from our view by
the smoke from its own guns. but,it was not
difficult to soc the effective execution of its 42
FOUNDERS upon the north pnrapet Of Fort Sum
ter. Quite large portion of the SulIivan's
Island shore WAS also wrapped in tho while
| smoke, but the iucessant flashing from the mer-
Ions Of Fort Monitrie assured US that Ripley
was hammering away with characteristic vigor
At fret the Morris Island batteries ullernated
regularly with the others, but later thissfar-
rangeinent was found embarrassing, aud our
batteries fred at the discretion of the officers
commanding them. b.,
The batteries which bore upon Fort Sumter
from Morris Island are three n NUMBER mount
ing in all Elk guns and six moi,ara. The outer
most of these is The now famous Trspier Bat
tory, in itself monument Of engineering SCI
ence mud energy. 1t is composed OF massive
beams and snndbags aid contains at this time
three eighl-inch mortars. When the work WIS
first huilt il also mounted some heavy guns (;
but these hove been removed, thoir carriages
and closed embrasures remaining 10 show the
position Which they occupied The Trapier
Battery was manned by the Marion Artillery,
Captain King, assisted, towards the close Of The
bombardment, i;y the Sumfer Guards, Captain
Russell. The former com?nny labored inces-
sautly ut their pieces from, The opening Of the
Pombardment until Saturday morniEo. Their
fire was sklful, and but very few .uf their
shells failed to. explode cither in Or over the
fort. e - E.1ss
The noxt work, and nearer To the city than
the Trapisr Battery, is the Stevens or Iron
9s::e.y-a novelty in military engineering
planned by and constructed under the supervis-
lou Of an estimable son;of this State. The eff
cheney Of this unique forti6cstion wus matter
OF mo little concern tomsny previous 10 tue ac-
ton but aiisdauhis were immediately dispe,led
" MAJOR. Andtrson's test' % j shall presently,
relate. The Iron battery contains three heavy
ColqmSisd.. Il s'aunked By immeEse slopes Of
sand bags, and these are burrowsd Very curl
ousy. but securely. with places to retreat, whci,
tho soldiers call aiholes" but which are in
reaiity very dry. capaeious and comfortable
chambers, except, perhnps, that the ceiling
might be.a ;trifie higher. And here may "a
well say that all the Qualifications hive one or
mege.of thess.rstsholes 10 be used as ssnlaga--
hospl.s Or 40 quarters for tho rs!tsf ac
Passiiig from thaI Battery, wess sSsiiss 40
tho Point Battery, large work, con ,aininr 'tree
Ten inch mortars. Two az pounders and iI,e
newly arrived riffs ca4fon. presented" to the
State BY. Chaslesr Pfsoleau., Esq, now. In
4Iysrgoos and Junior partner in the firm Of
John Fraset d sep. 1t will, doubtless, be great
easfaefion 10 tha b pentlefnan fof tnnu, 81 fs.