HEADQUARTERS
PROVISIONAL ARMY, C. S. A.,
Charleston, S.C.,
April 16, 1861.
SIR: I have the honor to submit the following summary
statement of the circumstances of the surrender of Fort Sumter: —
On the refusal of Major Anderson to engage, in compliance
with my demand, to designate the time when he would evacuate Fort Sumter, and
to agree meanwhile not to use his guns against us, at 3.20 o'clock in the
morning of the 12th instant I gave him formal notice that within one hour my
batteries would open on him. In consequence of some circumstance of delay the
bombardment was not begun precisely at the appointed moment, but at 4.30
o'clock the signal gun was fired, and within twenty minutes all our batteries
were in full play. There was no response from Fort Sumter until about 7
o'clock, when the first shot from the enemy was discharged against our
batteries on Cummings Point.
By 8 o'clock the action became general, and throughout the
day was maintained with spirit on both sides our guns were served with skill
and energy. The effect was visible in the impressions made on the walls of Fort
Sumter. From our mortar batteries shells were thrown with such precision and
rapidity that it soon became impossible for the enemy to employ his guns en
barbette, of which several were dismounted. The engagement was continued
without any circumstance of special note until nightfall, before which time the
fire from Sumter had evidently slackened. Operations on our side were sustained
throughout the night, provoking, however, only a feeble response.
On the morning of the 13th the action was prosecuted with
renewed vigor, and about 7½ o'clock it was discovered our shells had set fire
to the barracks in the fort. Speedily volumes of smoke indicated an extensive
conflagration, and apprehending some terrible calamity to the garrison I
immediately dispatched an offer of assistance to Major Anderson, which,
however, with grateful acknowledgments, he declined. Meanwhile, being informed
about 2 o'clock that a white flag was displayed from Sumter I dispatched two of
my aides to Major Anderson with terms of evacuation. In recognition of the
gallantry exhibited by the garrison I cheerfully agreed that on surrendering
the fort the commanding officer might salute his flag.
By 8 o'clock the terms of evacuation were definitely
accepted. Major Anderson having expressed a desire to communicate with the
United States vessels lying off the harbor, with a view to arrange for the
transportation of his command to some port in the United States, one of his
officers, accompanied by Captain Hartstene and three of my aides, was permitted
to visit the officer in command of the squadron to make provision for that
object. Because of an unavoidable delay the formal transfer of the fort to our
possession did not take place until 4 o'clock in the afternoon of the 14th
instant. At that hour, the place having been evacuated by the United States
garrison, our troops occupied it, and the Confederate flag was hoisted on the
ramparts of Sumter with a salute from the various batteries.
The steamer Isabel having been placed at the service of
Major Anderson, he and his command were transferred to the United States
vessels off the harbor.
The urgency of immediate engagements prevents me from giving
at present a more circumstantial narrative of the incidents connected with the
capture of Fort Sumter. When the reports from the various commanders of
batteries are received I will hasten to forward you a more detailed account.
In conclusion, I am happy to state that the troops, both
officers and soldiers, of the Regulars, Volunteers, Militia, and Navy, by their
energy, zeal, perseverance, labor, and endurance before the attack, and by
their courage and gallantry during its continuance, exhibited all the
characteristics of the best troops; and to my staff, Regular and Volunteer, I
am much indebted for the prompt and complete execution of my orders, which had
to be communicated in open boats during the bombardment to the different
batteries then engaged.
I remain, sir, very
respectfully, your obedient servant,
G. T. BEAUREGARD,
Brigadier-General,
Commanding.
Hon. L. P. WALKER,
Secretary of War, Montgomery, Ala.
SOURCES: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of
the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume
1 (Serial No. 1), p. 29-30; This report is quoted in Samuel Wylie
Crawford’s The Genesis of the Civil War: The Story of Sumter, 1860-1861,
p. 447.
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