The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1882-10-28

ing roll was calleu ana the nag run
up, with the iron balls pounding
away on the walls, each one Earring
the masonry for several yards around
and sending up cloud of dust. 1t
was just after roll call that
A GUN FIRED FROM sULLIvAN's ISLAND
dismounted one of the monsters en-
barbette on the fort. The ball which
struck and dismounted the gun
broke in three pieces, two of which
fell inside the fort. Anderson knew
that it would be an allday tight, and
his FIRST move was to send bis men
To breakfast. There was no pasticu-
lar excitement within the walls, rs
each one had been looking for the
climax. 1t was during the morning
meal, over an hour after the first gun
was fired, that the first bomb shell
fell inside the walls. Others had fall
len short or passed over, but the ex-
act range had finally been obtained.
After breakfast the handful of men
were divided into reliefs, and the first
went to the guns and opened fire in
reply. AS soon as the fort answered,
the Confederate guns were ordered to
fire onc-third faster, and the result
was that within an hour not one of
the barbette CT upper tier of guns in
the fort could be used. One was
struck in the muzzle and split down
for four feet, and three or four were
upset and hurled dozen feet. Those
left intact could not be worked on
account of the enemy's fire. When
a shell struck the wall anywhere
Within thirty feet of gun show
er of mortar and pieces of brick
were hurled clear over the fort, and
solid shot were continuously passing
over and around the guns. The dis
mounting of the guns were plainly
noted by one hundred men with
glasses, and the announcement call
cd forth cheers all around the circle.
Anderson could not have had the
faintest hopes of saving Sumpter, and
he seems to have fought more to
gain time or in the way Of duty than
to silence any of the guns opposed.
HIS FIRING FOR TIE FIRST TWO HOURS
WAS VERY WILD,
and even in the afternoon not one
shot hit where four mis- sed. With
the ordnance Of 1864 he might have
damaged Mnutl.io and the floating
battery, but lie could not have silenc
Ell them nor inflicted any great loss
Of life. So little were his cannon
balls feared that hundreds of Con
federates stood outside the works to
get better view of the fight. With
so few men in the fort only a few
guns could be worked, and those but
slowly. Before noon the Conteder-
ates began using hot shot, and the
third one which entered the fort set
building on fire. This emergency
had been provided for, and the flames
were quickly extinguished, but to he
kindled again and again during the
day, by the same means. After the
men had orders to desert the upper
tier of guns and serve the next they
were well protected, and fired with
more regularity. When Fort Sumptcr
was ready for occupancy it was pro-
nounced by engineers and artillerists
to be inpregnahIe. From twenty to
thirty feet Of brick, stone, sand and
earth stood between the balls of an
enemy and the defenders within.
Within an hour after the first gun
was fired the fort was not only being
knocked to pieces by old fashioned
ordnance, but by danger never
dreamed Of by its builders-that of
the mortar firing. While subsequent
events proved that the stronghold
could not he battered so badly but
that it could be defended, it was a
dozen times shown that bombs could
be dropped into it from the sea as
well as the land. AS night fell,
ANDERSON CALLED HIS MEN FROM THE
GUNS.
and preparations were made for what
was likely to occur during the long
night. The last gun fired from Stump
ter that day was at the floating bat
terry. The ball struck the water a
hundred feet short, Jumping over the
battery, and missing small boat by
two or three feet sank out of sight.
Some believed that because the fort
had ceased firing it had surrendered,
and there was intense interest to
learn the truth. No one could set off
in boat and approach the fort on
account Of the Confederate fire,
which did not slacken in the least as
the target was lost sight of in the
gloom of night When shell struck
the walls and exploded a bright flash
dispelled the darkness for an instant,
and twice before midnight the bombs
and hot shot renewed the confagrR
tion inside. From the first gun in
the morning until 7 o'clock in
the evening, Fort Sumpter had been
struck. 1920 times. Every barbette
gun was dismounted, almost every
foot of the walls SCARED and pound
ed, and there were several spots
where the walls were dug out to
distance of ten feet. At least once
every five minutes during the day
bomb fell into the Enclosure, and it
seemed miracle that half the gar
rison had not been wiped out When
dav broke AGAIN % Of0 mfrs IF evas