Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 26.djvu/116

 106 Southern Historical Society Papers.

side was returned with spirit by the gallant gunners at the important posts.

"The firing now began in good earnest. The curling, white smoke hung above the angry pieces of friend and foe, and the jarr- ing boom rolled at regular intervals upon the anxious ear. The atmosphere was charged with the smell of villanous saltpetre, and, as if in sympathy with the melancholy scene, the sky was covered with heavy clouds and everything wore a sober aspect.

"A boat bearing dispatches to General Beauregard from Morris Island reached the city about 9 o'clock, reported that all the batteries were working admirably, that no one was injured and that the men were wild with enthusiasm.

' 'A short time after that happy news was received the schooner Pet- rel from the Hog Island Channel, reported that the shot from Steven's Iron Battery had told upon the walls of Fort Sumter, and also that Fort Moultrie had sustained no damage.

"About half-past 9 o'clock Captain R. S. Parker reported from Sullivan's Island to Mount Pleasant that everything was in fine con- dition at Fort Moultrie and that the soldiers had escaped un- hurt.

"The same dispatch stated that the embrasures of the Floating Battery were undamaged by the shock of the shot, and though that formidable structure had been struck eleven times, the balls had not started a single bolt. Anderson had concentrated his fire upon the Floating Battery and the Dahlgren Battery under command of Lieu- tenant Hamilton.

"The following cheering tidings were brought to the city by Col- onel Edmund Yates, acting lieutenant to Dozier, of the Confederate States Navy, from Fort Johnson: Stevens's Battery and the Floating Battery are doing important service. Stevens's Battery has made considerable progress in breaching the south and southwest walls of Fort Sumter. The northwest wall is suffering from the well aimed fire of the Floating Battery, whose shot have dismantled several of the guns on the parapet and made it impossible to use the remaining ones. The Howitzer Battery, connected with the impregnable gun battery at Cummings Point, is managed with consumate skill and terrible effect.

" Eleven O'clock. A messenger from Morris Island brings the glorious news that the shot glance from the iron covered battery at Cummings Point like marbles thrown by a child on the back of a turtle. The upper portion of the southwest wall of Fort Sumter