The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1865-03-11
A Visit to Fort Sumpter.
Condition of the work.


Carleton writes to the Boston .Iournat. as
follows as
CATER ramble of several hours through the
city of Charleston, we made visit to Sumter,
entering by the sally port where Major Ander-
son and his faithful few entered on that ever to
be remembered January night OF 1861 The Fort
bears little resemblance to lis appearance then,
externally or internally. No portion of the ORR
gional face of the wall is TO be seen, except on
the side towards Charleston and aporti0n ofthat
facing Monltrie. From the harbor and from
Wagner it appears only tumuk-the debris OF
an old ruin. afa ga 1.
''All the classmates. arches, pillars and para
pets are torn up, rent asunder and utterly de-
molished. The great guns which two years ago
kept the Monitors at bay, which famed and
Numbered awhile upon Wagner, are dismount-
ed, broken, overturned, and lie buried beneath
the mountain of brick, dust concrete sand and
mortar. After Dupont's attack in April. 1860,
ai..a, of paTInerto logs was made on
the harbor side and against half of the wall fac
ing Moutrie. The lower tier of classmates was
filled up with sand bags, but when General Gill
more obtained possession his fire began 10 crum-
BILE the parapet. The Rebels endeayored to recon-
struct the wall, or to maintain its original height
by gabions filled with sand, but this compelled
widening of the base inside. Thousands of
bags filled with sand were brought to the fort at
ter day, week after week the pounding from
Wagner was maintained so effectually and thor
oughly that it was impossible to keep gun in
position on that side. tI.st
.The only guns now remaining are five or six
on the Moultrie side, in the middle tier Of case
mates. Five hOwitzers were kept on the walls to
repe an attack by small boats, the garrison keep
ing under cover or seeking cover whenever the
lookout cried, "a shot,
g Chepeaua de frise of pointed sticks protect
the fort from scaling party. AT the base out
side are iron posts and wire network. There is
also submerged network of wire and chains,
kept in place by floating buoys.
had the curiosity to make inspection OF
the wall facing Moultrie 40 see what was the eff
feet of the fire of the iron-clads in Duponts at
tack. With my glass at that time | could see
that the wall was badly honeycombed close
inspection shows that it was very damaging
fire. There are seams in the masonry and great
gashes where the solid bolts rrumbled the bricks
to fine dust. 1t is evident that if the fire could
have been continued any considerable length of
time there that the wall would have fallen
The effect of that fire led to the filling up of the
lower classmates.
can hour was passed in the fort, the band
playing national airs, and the party inspecting
the ruins and gathering relics.
Captain James, of the Massachusetts 54th,
who IS now AIDE TO Ten. Gilmore, was one OF
the party. He was wounded in the assault on
Wagner. He gazed at the ruins with satisfac-
ton and pleasure, not unmixed with melancholy,
for yonder, beneath the sands of Morris Island,
his beloved commander was lying-his Colonel,
his General, his brother officer, fellow soldier
1t is pity that he was not there on Saturday to
raise the flag upon the work but he was on du-
ty elsewhere. aE
'For four long years the cannon of Sumter
have hurled their iron bolts against the rights of
man but the contest there is ended. The strong
earthworks on Sulivans and Johnson's islands,
the batteries in the harbor, Castle Pinckney and
Fort Ripley, those in the city erected by slaves,
are useless now and forever, except as monu-
ments of folly and wickedness. AS | stood there
upon the ruins of Sumter, looking down into the
crater, the past like a3panorama was unrolled,
exhibiting the mighty events which will forever
make it historic ground. The silent landing Of
Major Anderson at the postern gate, the midnight
prayer and solemn conservation of the little band
to defend the flag till the last, the long weeks of
preparation, the imbecile old man at Washing
ton, the Star of the West turning her bow sea-
ward, the 18th of April, the barracks on fire,
the supplies exhausted the hopelessness of sue
cess, the white flag flung out, the surrender,
and all that has followed, were the pictures of
the nomentp'