, 1861-01-03
THE OF FORT moUL-
TNIEs


THE OF FORT nIoUL.
TIRE.
Excltement In tue CIty-The Causcs--
| Tho Occupation Of Fort Sumter
0ccupat1on of Fort F4onltrlc by South
Carolina Troops.
| FRO the Charleston Courier, Dec. Isl
Throughout the city yesterday the grentcst
txa1tement prevailed iu relation to the news
from Forts Mou1trie and Sumter. As carly
| as eight o'clock In tho forenoon the r1lmors Ut
| the destruction of the former Of these military
| posts, and the occupation Of the latter BY the
| forces of the United States, were circulated.
| It vas Mt flEst currently reported aud believed
that Fort Moultrie had been laid in ruins that
the guns were spiked and the carriages, &c,
| together with the barrucke, burned, and that
| the post had been entirely abandoned. The
| reports spread like widtirc, aud soon gained
| currency in every part Of tile lily. Crowds Of
citizens &l1nously inquired ol each other the
latest intelligence in relation to the afl'sir
! squais collected on every coraer Of ths Streets
| and III front Of the public resoits, TO canrass
| tho subject. ),
| The newspaper offices were besfcged, the
| hotel halls were thronyed, and even the Erdve
| and serious gentlemen composing the Sfatc
| Convention shared in the general excitement.
| On ail hands anger and Indignation were e.
| pTGSSEu IL tue EupQth.EAt F~t N~A"A~t -
| the Federal authorities, at wa...'se mstancc II
was at first thought the movement ws- n'aac*
| The people werc greatly inctu=cd at the idca
Of Tllful breach Of those lsaur:luces Of nom
action which had been volunteered by the
| government at Washington, al'd upon which
SO much reliancc aud confidence had bcen
placed by the entire population that every inl-
pulse to take the necessary precautions 1cr
their own safety had been restrained. i
lnstinctlrely men flew to .:ms. Orders
were Immediately Issued to tt: military 10
hold themselves in readiness for service.
All the military forces ordered ont promptly
ooeycd the summons, and t!:r streets were
soon eElircncd BY the appearance Of iDdiyidu-
a. members OF the different organizations in
their uniforms.
About noon the excitement in the streets
had attained the highest pitch. The Conycn-
tion was known to be In secret conclayc, and
It was believed that this was the subject mat
ter OF their deliberations. The streets
swarulcd with people. Additional flags were
displayed from tho stores and houses on the
principal streets. The Custom House, and
other buildings formerly in The possession Of
the United States Government, displayed the
bunting OF the influt Republic OF Soulh Caro-
lima. Every one locked upun tire "war Us Ac-
tua1ly begun" and all seemed TO feel that their
brethren we're In the Ield, al.i themselves be-
Fan to grow restless at the prospect Of inac-
Ivity and suspense.
Later III the day, however, the excitement
was somewhat aIatcd, when it b.camc known
that the movement on the par; Oh the forces OF
tho United States ut Fort Morltrie was not at
the instance Of the administration ot Washing
ton, but was merely II precautionary mta$hTe
taken by Commander Andcrs III, under couric-
tioa tLat his position within the fortress on
Sullivau's Island would not tic truable, If at
tackled in it BY we'll organized and disciplined
troops. The contradiction OF til. iirat reports
iu relation to the damage doue the tort by the
troops that had evacuated it. also had i ten
dency to altay the excitement uI thu occasion.
FORT SUMTER As o.rc-:Ep.
In order to ascertain truthful statements of
the actual damage douc to lie forts Of tAc
causes Of tile movement, and Of the state If If
fairs generally, reporters were dispatched to
the scene during the forenoon. On tho way
across the harbor, the hoistin:. Of I'll American
Tag from the staff of ort Sumter, Ut precisely
II O'Clock, gave certain INDIGESTION that tile
stronghold was occupied By the troops of the.
United States.
Gu 4 near approach the fortress was tliscov-
cred to DC occupied, the guns &ppcared to be
mounted, and sentiuels Wcrc discovered on
duty, and the place to give every sign oi occu-
patcy and military discipline Ilc grim for.
trees trowncd deiiancc OH every Silc-the busr
notes Of preparation resounutI through its
aniorblddlny rcces6cs, aud everything seemed
to indicate the utmost alacrity III tic work on
hand.
%eAAA -4NNAAkA41 AMI 449 CCND4I1OS.
Turning towards Fort Monl,yic, dense
cloud Of smoke was seen to roar from the end
1llcing the sea. The Flagstaff was down. and
the whole place had an air aul ,lcsolasion aud
abandonment quite the reverse its busy looi;
Que week ago, when scores of Ia5osers were
engaged III adding to its strength all the orlis
skill aud experience could suggest.
In the immediate vicinity oi The rear or 1antl
sidc entrance, however, crater activity was
observable. At tue time Cf our visit 4 lar.r
force Of hanls had been summoned to deliver
up their implements sfortrlusl,ortatiou TO Fort
Sumter. Around on every side were the
cSidcnccs OF labor III the trrtiticatiun If the
work.
III many places portion Of the dcfrnccs
were strengthened by every appliance that art
could suggest or ingenuity Ccyisc; while in
others the unconpleted works gave evidences
process Of removing goods, furniture auel.,n,.-
aitions was yet gons on. The heavy guns
npnn the rl1nparts VI the Fort were thrown
down. from their carriages a14d spiked Every
ounce OF powder and every cartridge had bceu
removed from tue 1nayazlues; and, in fart,
ions, accoutrumcuts, aud otter muniriDns Of
war, had been removed off and tlepositcd- |
nothing but heavy balls aud useless cannon r. |.
mained.
The entire place was, to all appearances, it |
tered ul with the odd ends and fragments nf i
wars desolation. Confusion could not have |
been moro complete had the late occupants |
retired in the face of bcsiu.inE (uc, Fr1".
ments OF sun-carTiages, &C., broken to pieces, T
bcstrcwed the rau5;a7ts. Sand Ea.:s, and l,ar-
were firmly imbrd.rt. i'll their l,ti,,l,pruof !!
surface, as I'LL additional eafc.uar,!-anI net. |
wlthstanding the Heterogeneous scattering. of !
materials and implements, the walls Of The
fort evinced VAGUE Cc5ree OF energy in pre-
pairing for "a attaek- 4 ditch scnlc ti:iccn feet
IJ4G 1fttfF Ina
the entire wall on three sides.
On the south side, or fronts glac;s las been
commenced anu prosecuted nearly iu compile
tton; with r1lnllrt Of s.ull l'Ags, barrels,
dc. On nng side Of tic for, II ,sllisao OF l'.l--
metto logs is extended around tlic r,,,,rarss rs
q conpleie defence against an vscaLl,lin:, party
New eiubrasurcs have been cut in il,e walls "a
rs to command the faces Of the Gas.iou and |
ditch These new detuuscs are Ill incomplete, |
and arc evidence Of the haste with which tllty
were erected. Considering tie inferior force,
IN point Ut numbers, Under his cn;ur:u} Ma
jor anderson had paid particular attention to |
strengthening only small Fart of the fort. |
\ grcatc7 portion Of the Labor expended was
spent upon the citadel ar center Uf the west
point oil the position This lie had e:lu- cd to
be strengthened IN every way, looE-hoes we're
cut, and everything was so arranged that il, !.
ease Il wcll-concertcd attach W::s n,a;le In |
would have retired from the outer bastiu,is to
the citadel: and afterwards hlnwn up thc ether
portions Of the fort. For this purl";s.s mines
had already been sprung, :.11d trains lad becu
la laid ready for the application Of the match,
! he bartsscE rooms aud every other na:t 0: thu
fort that was indcfensiblc would have :,on, ut
Il touch.
= On the yatnpar:s Of the fort fronting Fort
Sumptcs were nine ciyhtinch C.u,abials,
mounted on wooden carriages As soon t.,
tue evacuation Of the fort Nas complete, the
time Of visiting the fort yesterday, wcrc near
y consumed, n and the guns thereby tli:mount-
~. these guns, rs ETell L. those const;sriin:;
tho entire a71namcn. Of the fortress, were
spiked bcfnre it was abandoned, This is the
only damage done the tortitcatioo further than
cutting down the flagstaff nnd The rreaEir:.
up OF ammunition Wagons TO turm ramrarts
OH the walls Ut the fort
THE EVACUATION,
The fort was found to be in charge Of two
officers and four men. who had been left be-
ind merely to act rs watch. The nlac. was
scaled to a1l but the watch and none but these |
were allowed to enter.
From tile officers in charge il was learned
hat the evacuation OF the 1ort commenced 4