The Brunswick times. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 188?-1900, 1896-05-02

MY served under
0~ North Carolina,
- and later in the
west. Lieutenant Jeff Q. Davis COM
manded a section of Doubleday's COM
pany at Sumter and was afterward a
distinguished corps commander in the
west. DR.. S. W. Crawford also acted as
subordinate to Doubleday. He con
tinued to handle the sword and was g
gallant division general at the close Of
the war. Lieutenant Truman Seymour
arose to the command of division.
Lieutenant Norman J. Hall was the
leader of brigade which aided i'll the
repulse Of Pickett's charge at Gettys-
burg. Soon after that he retired from
the army on account of i'll health. He
was then a colonel of volunteers. One
of the lieutenants, r. K. Meade, Joined
the Confederacy after the fall of Sum-
ter and died i'll that service. Another
of the lieutenants, Snyder of the en-
gineers, died soon after the commence
ment of hostilities.
Sumter's flag fell at 1 o'clock on the
18th, but not because it had been hauled
down. The staff had been struck and
the halyards cut in two. When the flag
came down, Lieutenant Hall secured it
and fixed it on temporary staff. With
the aid of Lieutenant Snyder and Pri-
vate Hart, it was hoisted under fire
upon the parapet at the middle. facing
the enemy's guns. The Soldier Hart
distinguished himself many times that
day. Through his activity the flames
were kept from spreading i'll dangerous
quarters and to him was given the cred
it of saving the powder magazines.
Major Anderson gave orders that
only the easement guns of Sumter
should be used in reply to the enemy.
These were the guns fired through en-
brasures in the wall answering to the
ports of a battleship The barbette guns
on the parapet were the only shell guns
in the fort. So the answering fire was
of solid shot against shell. Seeing the
disadvantage, one of the gunners,
named Carmody, stole away to the
ramparts and coolly fired every barbette
gun i'll position on the Moultrie side.
Carmody was unable to run the guns
back single handed for loading and
could not alone fight the whole Confed-
eracy with suitable weapons.
In another part of the fort there was
a ten inch columbiad in barbette, which
also came under Anderson S prohibition.
1t was loaded and trained, and two
sergeants, watching their chances, stole
into the gorge and fired it. The shot
barely missed smashing the famous
Confederate iron battery.
The sergeants determined 10 try
again, and after some tugging got the
gun back and reloaded it. They could
not spring it into position again, but
trained it where it stood. One sergeant
went below to see that the coast was
clear, and the other lay, lanyard in
hand, ready to pull. The Confederates
had noticed the new combatant and
turned their best shots upon the gorge.
Shells crashed around the PROSTATE
gunner, and at last he pulled the Ian
yard, unable to wait longer. Th9 big
gun recoiled over the stop blocks and
somersaulted across the stairway. In
spite of the accident the secret was we'll
kept, and Major Anderson never knew
how the columbiad came to be dis
mounted. The plucky sergeant's shot
was splendid one and struck just be-
meath the middle embrasure of the iron
battery, where Charleston's Palmetto
guards stood to the guns 1t showered
hn haff loI
aimed trifie higher would have enter
ed the embrasure.
After the fire had gained headway in
the fort and was nearing the magazine
the excitement was intense. But the
men turned cheerfully from fighting the
enemy outside to the new enemy inside.
Soldiers brought blankets soaked with
water and spread them over the loaded
shells and hand grenades AS the flames
spread and drew near the main mag
azine the men rolled out barrels of pow
der in the midst of falling cinders to
have it ready for service at the guns.
There were several missions sent ont
by Baauregard to Major Anderson be-
fore and after the lowering of the flag.
In all or them on6 man was cOnSplcu-
GUS. That was Captain James Chesnut,
afterward a Confederate general. Cap
tain Chestnut was one of three aids who
went to the fort under white flag on
April l / to demand surrender. The de-
mand was refused.
About / o'clock on the morning of
the 18th Captain Chestnut again ap-
peared at Sumter, and remained there
until past 3 o'clock, awaiting Major
Andersons reply. He had orders in his
pocket to the commander of the bat
teries on James island to open fire in
case Anderson remained firm in his pur-
pose to hold the fort. On leaving he
placed i'll Andersons hand a written
notice that the hostile guns would open
in one hour. These trips were made in
al open rowboat, which was pulled to