Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-05-07

E we lell, ana carry Win us All oul al ms
} equipments, flags and our private proper
ty, leaving. of course, the guns and am
muntion belonging to the fort. Gen.
Nigfan returned in about an hour. Maj.
Anderson then went across to see Beaure-
gard 1t did not take long for two or
three men to pull him across the bay, and
inc terms of surrender were soon settled
betWeep them. We remained IN the Tort
that night.
HUNGRY GARRISON.
Gas l remember it," said the speaker,
there was not single mouthful to eat in
thetort that night. All there was on the sec
Ond morning was six or eight pounds OF
I rice, which happened to be lying in a
small room back of the cOOk-hOuse. 1t
was mixed with broken glass from WIN
dows shattered by shells. This was
cooked and served to the men at the guns
I on the second morning. Thero was not
single pound of flour in the fort, though
1 there was some pork there, but we could
not eat that without bread. / did not
/ have mOuthful to eat That daY. Iae
! next morning after the surrender / think
some bread and biscuit were procured
/ from Charleston. ! have seen it stated
4 that there was plenty of food in the fort,
but there was not a pound, except the
/ pork. There was only one days ratiOns
/ left when the DOmbardment began. FIVE
had had provisions we could have held
the fort. The mems quarters were bomb
proof, and we would have been perfectly
comfortable there under the heaviest fire
they could have brought 20 bear upon us,
Our best guns were on the ramparts on
top. These were lO-iuch and S-inch col
umbiads, and "A and AZ Founders. The
fort was built for three tiers Of guns, but
there were no guns on the second tier.
Fort MOultTie could not have stood the
fire any time if we could have manned
those big guns on the ramparts, but the
ramparts were so exposed that II the men
had worked the guns an hour there would
not have been three of them left to take
out alive. AS il was, the only guns we
could use were those on the lower tier
ON the waters edge. The firing from this
low level was, Of course, not nearly so
effective as it would have been from the
ramparts. The enemy had a long time
forpreparatiOn and completely surround
ed the fort. If the Star Of the West, when
she appeared five or six weeks before the
bombardmentf had come 100 yards fur
ther, instead of turning as soon as shot
had crossed her bow, the ball would have
been opened then and we could have kept
them from ever building anything around
us. After that incident, when steamboat
excursions passed the fort the people
used TO boot at us.
DODGING SHELLS.
"The ordnance sergeant, Kearney, and
myself" continued the veteran, ran up
to the ramparts now and then during the
commandment, and where there were
charges in the guns fir them. We want
ed to get a shot at the iron battery, and
we went up to work a big 1G0-ton gun
there. When we had been on the ram
parts a few minutes we could see the
shells coming for US, looking, far away in
the air, like base balls. Then we would
run back into one of the towers at the
angles of the fort and wait for the air to
clear. Then we ran out and fired the
gun before they had a chance at us again.
The first shot was too high. 1t glanced over
the top of the battery. We thought we
would try again. l was ramming down
the wad to keep the ball from rolling out
the gun was defiected-when l saw
ball coming. l came near falling over
the ramparts with the long rammer IN my
hands, but let 20 OF the rammer just IN
time. 1t went bounding down over the
rocks. 'Swishp the ball came through
the air, and passed over me. 1t was
close call. AS there were only two of us,
we could not work the gun so as to bring
its muZzle through the port. 1t was some
inches away when we fred it, and this
shot was too low. 1t struck the ground
below the iron battery and passed under
it, doing cOnsideTabe damage inside. The
turned completely over.
CATER THE SURRENDER
everything possible was done for the men
by the officers. Anything In the way of
the privileges the men wanted they could
have got. DR.. Crawford, the surgeon of
the post, had some whisky left in the
hospital stores, and he had the hospital
steward serve il out to the men. There
was about gill for each man. The next
morning visitors came from all points to
see us-s1me of our Confederate friends.
Boats kept coming over, and the people
flocked in. The first question always
was 'HOw many men were klledP and all
seemed surprised when we told them that
there was no one killed. They gathered
up pieces Of shell and other tTifles to keep
as relics. On that day, before leaving,
we fell in and went to the ramparts to fire
the parting salute 10 our flag. MY COM
pany fired a gun facing Charleston, and
the other company manned one on the
other side. The salute was fred between
the two companies, first one firing and
then the other. Near the gun on the other
side some bags Of powder or cartridges
had been carelessly left open. The pow
der caught fire probably from spark
blown back from the gun, aud there was
a terrible explosion. Some slabs of pig
iron lying near the gun were hurled into
/ the air MlNn great luIcts Oue OF lueSt
/ slabs cut off the head and right arm OF
man named Dan Howe, Of Capt. Double
/ days company, killing him instantly.
! Another slab disembOweled another man
and cut of his leg. He died in two hours.
Two other men were wounded, and were
sent TO hospital in Charleston. The
two men thus killed We're the only two
men lost at sumter, and they were killed
by accident while we were saluting the
flag. We buried them in the middle Of
the parade before we marched out of the
fort. There was grave there ready for
them, whore we had dug deep hole for
sand to iii sand bags.
LvtCUATION.
at was Sunday forenoon, think, when
we left the fort A company Of grays
marched in before we left-yOung fellows
whom we mad seen in Charleston. It was
a beautiful day. There was not culver
on the water, which, 50 far as the eye
could see. was dotted with boats filled
| with people 10 see few soldiers march
out OF fort We took out all our per-
sOnal property. Barrels OF pork and a
little furniture belonging 10 the officers
we showed out through the embrasures.
Then we marched out and went aboard
the Isabelle, the steamer that was TO take
us from the fort. The Isabelle swung
around out Of the bay ana steamed down
the channel about three miles, where the
steamer Baltic was waiting for us. Two