The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1902-04-18
1.-THE c. S. OF A."
Some Incidental RecoIlections of the
Civil War.

1uueI6bGlHS ulSGOflCdl point, UWO I'M
portant national events-one immed-
late, as President Roosevelt's visit to
Charleston, and the other reminiscent,
as the thirty seventh anniversary of
the assassination of President Lincoln
have suffused my sojourn at Morris
town with some interesting historical
memories.
You must know that was volun-
teer in the very first military organi-
zation of the Confederate army, hav-
ing enlisted under Colonel Joseph B.
Kershaw afterwards the famous fight
in general) at Morris Island, SC, on
April 16, 1861, after having been in the
active military service of the State of
South Carolina and on duty on this
island since December 81, 1860. AS
was surrendered with General Joseph
E. Johnston on April 26, 1865, you
will observe that the whole term of
my military service covered four
years and four months almost to the
exactness of fraction.
The personal value of this statement
is purely imaginative except in con-
nection with the events of the recent
weeks. Charleston was my native
city, and it had been foremost in many
of the patriotic and military events
of our earlier national history. In this
harbor was fought and won the very
first action-that of Fort Moultrie-of
an American land battery against
fleet of the British navy; and this
brilliant feat was achieved six days
before the signing of the Declaration
of Independence.
Eighty years later the people of
Charleston employed this celebrated
fortification, though of modified con-
struction, under it's original flag, but
against the flag of the United States
then floating over the ramparUs of
Fort Sumter. 1t has probably not
hitherto been widely known that the
original fort was surmounted, like it's
modern portotype, by the star-and-
crescent emblem of SoHth Carolina,
there being at the earlier date, of
course, no national ensign.
On the opposite angle of Fort Sum
ter to that commanded in 1861 by
Fort Moultrie, and just 1,100 yards
from the latter, was Confederate
iron battery (the first in use IN his
tory, and one of its guns was 12-
FOUNDER Whitworth (the first rified
cannon ever fred in action in the
world). This writer served at one of
J the 10-ineh mortars of this iron
battery during the memorable bonn
bardment of April 1914, 1861.
While in this vein, it might be par
donable to state that the first armor.
clad floating battery of the world oc-
: cupied a position under the shadow
of Sumter's parapet, and that the first
captive torpedoes ever used in wal
were sunk on the sea side by the
Confederates to obstruct all approach
! to Fort Sumter.
} This same fort, which was SO gal
lantly defended by Major Robert An
derson, U. S. Artillery In, 1861, wa
afterward and for nearly four year
pertinaciously defended by Southern
/ garrisons against the naval forces o
the United States.
1t was on the fourth anniversary @
the capitulation of Fort Sumter to tn
Confederates that President Lincoln O
April IA, 1865, was assassinated at nigh
in Ford's Theatre at Washington, d. G
and it was on that very day that th
original national flag had been returne
to its staff at Fort Sumter, Henry War
Beecher delivering the oration. At tina
hour General Robert E. Lee had fiv
days previously surrendered to Genera
Grant, but the writer, who had beeI
transferred to General Joseph e. Johns
toms army of the South Atlantic t.
confront General Sherman, was no
aware of the event. General Johnston
surrendered April 26, 1865, as stated.
And it is this same dismantled an d al
most demolished old Fort Sumter Il
which President Roosevelt so recently
paid the compliment of most interest
ed visit while guest of the citizens O.
Charleston. The President inevitably
mingled with the sons of those and will
those themselves who w ere first to real
the standard of disunion and to assai
the soldiers and Notifications of the ma
tional government do not doubt thai
he also learned that the quota of South
Carolina troops to the Confederacy was
the greatest according to population il
the worlds history, being one to three
and half But he was, know, pleased
even to be told of this, for President
Roosevelt would not have given a snaI
for people who wouldn't fight for al
they were worth.
But his gong among these people
opened his eyes, and opened theirs. 1
was triumph of the highest patriotism
over the small things that feed dissen.
sion and make enemies among Ameri
cans. There is no more nationally pa
triotic and proud part of the United
States today than is that which latel,
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