united with her in the compact entitled the Constitution of the United States of America."

At seven o'clock in the evening of that day, the Convention, which had held its meetings in St. Andrew's Hall, Charleston, marched in procession to the great hall of the South Carolina Institute, afterward called Secession Hall, to sign the Ordinance of Secession. To make this as impressive as possible, the Governor and Legislature of the State and many clergymen and other prominent citizens were invited to witness it. On each side of the platform on which the President of the

Convention sat was a real palmetto tree, the emblem of South Carolina, and behind his chair was hung a painted banner representing the destruction of the Union and the rebuilding of a new Confederacy out of its ruins. At the base of this picture, a small copy of which is given on the next page, is a pile of blocks of stone, some of them broken, each bearing the arms of one of the free States, while rising above it is a beautiful arch bearing the arms of the fifteen slave States. South Carolina forms the key-stone, on which stands Calhoun, leaning against the trunk of a palmetto tree. On his right is a figure of Hope, and on his left one of Faith; and beyond these, on each side, is the figure of an Indian. Under the arch is the palmetto tree with a rattlesnake coiled round its trunk, and some cotton bales and other emblems of commerce guarded by cannon. When all the members had signed the Ordinance of Secession the President arose, and showing it to the people, said, "The Ordinance of Secession has been signed and ratified, and I proclaim the State of South Carolina an independent commonwealth." The audience greeted the announcement with cheers, and a rush was made for the palmetto trees, every leaf of which was stripped off as a memorial of the occasion.

PALMETTO TREE.

1860.]

SECESSION SCENES.

37

Secession was welcomed throughout the city by the firing of salutes and the ringing of church bells, and Palmetto flags were hoisted everywhere, while the flag of the Union was nowhere to be seen. A procession of men marched to St. Philip's

church-yard, and forming in a circle round the tomb of Calhoun, swore that they would devote their lives and their property to the cause of independence. Women crowded the

sidewalks, wearing secession bonnets made of black and white cotton, decorated with ornaments of palmetto trees and lone stars, and offered their sons for the defence of the new nation, as they proudly called the seceded State. As if South Carolina had already taken her place among the nations of the world, the Governor, Mr. Pickens, was authorized to appoint ambassadors and consuls to foreign countries, and to receive such officers from abroad; and the Charleston newspapers published intelligence from other parts of the United States under the heading of "Foreign News."

Secession being accomplished, South Carolina sent several commissioners to Washington to demand the surrender of the forts and other government property in the State.

Charleston harbor was then defended by three forts, Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan's Island; Castle Pinckney, on an island

酱

TOMB OF CALHOUN.

in the mouth of Cooper River;

and Fort Sumter, on an artificial island in the narrowest part of the harbor. Colonel Gardner, the United States officer in charge of these forts, had under his command only about eighty men, thirteen of whom were musicians. With these he occupied Fort Moultrie, the nearest fort to the city. He had done what he could to put this into a state of defence; laborers from Charleston had dug away the sand which had

nearly covered the wall toward the sea, and a large number of masons from Baltimore had worked hard to put the stone-work in order, but in spite of all these efforts the fort was still very weak, and unfit to withstand an attack from the land side. At this time the whole State was swarming with militia-men, who were drilling and getting ready for war, and the streets of Charleston were full of people wearing secession cockades. Crowds came every day to look at the work going on at Moultrie, and once they formed a procession and marched round the fort. Soon after this Colonel Gardner was relieved of the command,

1860.]

MOULTRIE AND SUMTER.

39

and Major Robert Anderson was sent to take his place (November 21). Major Anderson was a native of Kentucky, and was at this time fifty-five years old. He was a graduate of West Point, and had served in the Black-Hawk War, the war against the Seminole Indians in Florida, and in the Mexican War, under General Scott.

Major Anderson pushed on the repairs of Moultrie as fast as possible, and set more than a hundred men to work on Sumter. This fort, built on an island made of large blocks of stone, stood at the edge of the ship channel leading into the harbor. Its brick walls, which rose up almost directly from the water, had a gloomy look, more like those of a prison than a fort. It was built for three rows of guns, two in casemates and one in barbette—that is, on the top of the wall and uncovered. The fort

had never been finished, and was at that time much out of repair. The disunionists were very glad to see the work of restoration going on, and intended to take possession as soon as the repairs were finished; and to prevent the garrison of Fort Moultrie from occupying it they kept two steamers full of men on guard all the time in the harbor. Major Anderson, who had made up his mind to remove to Sumter, because he knew that he could not hold Moultrie against an attack, still kept men at work at Moultrie to deceive the disunionists. Even his own men were deceived, for he told only two or three officers of his plans.

The removal took place on the night of December 26. Three schooners had been hired to carry the soldiers' families to Fort Johnson, an old fort on the other side of the harbor. There were some buildings there belonging to the United States, and the disunionists, thinking it a very natural proceeding to remove the families before the expected fight took place, did not oppose it. But the schooners were really loaded with supplies for the troops going to Fort Sumter, and the lieutenant in

command was ordered to land them there as soon as a signal gun was fired. As soon as it was dark enough, half of the soldiers were rowed from Moultrie to Sumter in boats, passing the guard-boats without molestation. Most of the workmen in the fort were disunionists, and a crowd of

SECESSION COCKADE.

them, wearing secession cockades in their hats, rushed to the landing to see what the soldiers were coming for. But the soldiers drove them at the point of the bayonet inside the fort, seized the guard-room, which commanded the entrance, and placed sentinels. The boats. were then sent back for the rest of the men in Moultrie, and on their arrival the signal gun was fired, and the schooners landed the stores. The disloyal workmen were then put on board the schooners and sent to the mainland. In the morning the soldiers on the walls of Sumter were seen by the people in the guard-boats, and they hastened up to Charleston and told the authorities that Sumter had been reinforced in the night. This made a great stir in the city, and the militia were at once summoned. There being no guards now in the harbor, Major Anderson sent some men over to Moultrie, which was found deserted, the people

ROBERT ANDERSON.

who lived in Moultrieville, the village near by, not having yet discovered that the soldiers had gone. The men set fire to the guncarriages, and destroyed all the munitions of war that could not be brought away, and returned safely to Sumter. The guns in Moultrie had been spiked the night before, and the flag-staff had been cut down.

Major Anderson had not yet raised his flag over Sumter. He was a very religious man, and thinking that the occasion ought to be observed with some ceremony, he waited until the chaplain of his command, Rev. Matthias Harris, who lived with his family in Moultrieville, should arrive. He came in the morning, and at noon the troops were