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At half-past 1 A. M., on Friday, a boat containing Colonel Chesnut, Captain Lee and Colonel Roger A. Pryor, approached the work with a communication from General Beauregard, making inquiry as to what day Major Anderson would evacuate the work, and asking if he would agree not to open his batteries unless Fort Sumter was fired upon. Suspecting from the urgency of this midnight negotiation, some strong necessity on the part of his opponent, but convinced that an evacuation would be inevitable, Major Andersor. made a written reply, stating that he would evacuate the fort at noon, on the 15th, provided he did not receive supplies or controlling instructions from his government to the contrary. That he would not open his batteries unless the flag of his country was fired upon, or unless some hostile intention on the part of the Confederate forces should be manifested.

Being in hourly expectation of the arrival of a United States fleet with reinforcements off the harbor, and urged to instant action by dispatches from Montgomery, General Beauregard had prepared his messengers for this answer. Anderson's communication was handed to Colonel Chesnut shortly after 3 o'clock, who, after a short consultation with the officers who had accompanied him, handed a communication to Major Anderson, and said,

"General Beauregard will open his batteries in one hour from this time, sir."

Major Anderson looked at his watch, and said,

"It is half-past three. I understand you, sir, then, that your batteries will open in an hour from this time?"

Colonel Chestnut replied, "Yes, sir, in one hour."
They then retired.

FORTIFICATIONS IN CHARLESTON HAROR.

Fort Sumter is a pentagonal structure, built upon an artificial island at the mouth of Charleston harbor, three and three-eighths miles from the city of Charleston. The island has for its base a sand and mud bank, with a superstructure of the refuse chips from several northern granite quarries. These rocks are firmly embedded in the sand, and upon them the present fortification is reared. The island itself cost half a million dollars, and was ten years in construction. The fortification cost another half million dollars, and at the time of its occupancy by Major Anderson, was so nearly completed as to admit the introduction of its armament. The walls are of solid brick and concrete masonry, built close to the edge of the water, and without a berme. They are

sixty feet high, and from eight to twelve feet in thickness, and are pierced for three tiers of guns on the north, east and west exterior sides. Its weakest point is on the south side, of which the masonry is not only weaker than that of the other sides, but it is unprotected from a flank fire. The wharf and entrance to the fort are on this side.

The work is designed for an armament of one hundred and forty pieces of ordnance of all calibres. Two tiers of the guns are under bomb-proof casements, and the third or upper tier is open, or, in military parlance, en barbette; the lower tier for forty-two pounder paixhan guns; the second tier for eight and ten-inch columbiads, for throwing solid or hollow shot; and the upper tier for mortars and twenty-four pound guns. The full armament of the fort, however, had not arrived when Major Anderson took possession; but after its occupancy by him, no efforts had been spared to place the work in an efficient state of defence, by mounting all the available guns and placing them at salient points. Only seventy-five of the guns were in position at the time of the attack. Eleven paixhan guns were among that number, nine of them commanding Fort Moultrie, which is within easy range, and the other two pointing towards Castle Pinckney, which is well out of range. Some of the columbiads, the most effective weapon for siege or defensive operations, were not mounted. Four of the thirty-two pounder barbette guns were on pivot carriages, which gave them the entire range of the horizon, and others have a horizontal sweep of fire of one hundred and eighty degrees. The magazine contained seven hundred barrels of gunpowder, and an ample supply of shot, powder and shells for one year's siege, and a large amount of miscellaneous artillery stores. The work was amply supplied with water from artificial wells. In a defensive or strategical point of view, Fort Sumter radiates its fire through all the channels from the sea approach to Charleston, and has a full sweep of range in its rear or city side. The maximum range of the guns from Sumter is three miles; but for accurate firing, sufficient to hull a vessel, the distance would require to be reduced one-half of that figure. The war garrison of the fort is six hundred men, but only seventy-nine were within its walls at the time of the attack, exclusive of laborers.

Fort Sumter is three and three-eighths miles from Charleston, one and one-fourth mile from Fort Moultrie, three-fourths of a mile from Cummings Point, one and three-eighths mile from Fort Johnson, and two and five-eighths miles from Castle Pinckney. The city of Charleston is entirely out of range of the guns of Fort Sumter.

The forts and batteries in the possession of the Confederate forces at this time may be briefly described as follows:

FORT MOULTRIE.

Fort Moultrie, which first opened its batteries upon Major Anderson and his command, is one of the sentinels that guard the principal entrance of Charleston harbor. It is opposite to and distant from Fort Sumter about one and a half miles. Its armament consists of eleven guns of heavy calibre and several mortars. The outer and inner walls are of brick, capped with stone and filled with earth, making a solid wall fifteen or sixteen feet in thickness.

THE IRON FLOATING BATTERY.

This novel war machine, designed for harbor operations, was anchored near Sullivan's Island, commanding the barbette guns of Fort Sumter. It was constructed of Palmetto logs, sheathed with plate iron, and supposed to be impregnable against shot. It was embrasured for and mounted four guns of heavy calibre, requiring sixty men to operate it. The outer or gun side was covered with six plates of iron-two of them of the T railroad pattern, placed horizontally, and the other four bolted one over the other, in the strongest manner, and running vertically. The wall of the gun side was full four feet thick, constructed of that peculiar palmetto wood so full of fibrous material that sixty-four pounders cannot pierce it. The main deck was wide and roomy, and kept in place by four heavy wedges, driven down by a species of ram, which held it fast, preventing any swaying around by the tide.

CUMMINGS POINT IRON BATTERY.

The nearest point of land to Fort Sumter is Cummings Point, distant 1,150 yards. On this point was the celebrated railroad iron battery, having a heavy framework of yellow pine logs. The roof was of the same material, over which dovetailed bars of railroad iron of the T pattern were laid from top to bottom—all of which was riveted down in the most secure manner. On the front it presented an angle of about thirty degrees. There were three portholes, which opened and closed with iron shutters of the heaviest description. When open, the muzzles of the columbiads filled up the space completely. The recoil of the gun enabled the shutters to be closed instantly. The columbiad guns, with which this novel battery was equipped bore on the south wall of Sumter, the line of fire being at an angle of about thirty five degrees.

The Fort Johnson batteries consist of two large sand works, containing mortar and siege-gun batteries.

CASTLE PINCKNEY.

Castle Pinckney is a small work, situated on the southern extremity of "Shute's Folly Island," between the Hog and Folly channels. Though in itself not a very considerable military work, yet, from its position, commanding as it does the whole line of the eastern wharves, it becomes of the utmost importance. The height of the rampart is twenty, and the width thirty-two feet. The width of the outer wall and of the parapet is six feet; the depth of the casemates is twenty feet, height ten; the diameter (east and west) of the castle is one hundred and seventy feet. The entrance is on the northern side, on either side of which are the officers and privates' quarters, mess-room, &c. The armament of this castle consists of about twenty-five pieces, 24 and 32-pounders, a few sea-coast mortars and six columbiads.

BOMBARDMENT OF FORT SUMTER.

Major Anderson made good use of the hour awarded to him, that one solemn hour which stood between a peaceful, happy country, so blessed that it had forgotten to be grateful, and the most terrible war that ever, without cause, deluged a free soil with the blood of its own sons. Were ever sixty minutes, since the creation of time, so portentous with fate?

But that little band of men had no time for such thoughts. No sooner had the deputation withdrawn than each officer and soldier was at his post. They had two flags at the fort, a large garrison flag, which Major Anderson raised when he took up his quarters at Sumter, and a smaller one, called the storm-flag; the former had a slight rip in it, and he ordered the storm-flag to be raised in its stead.

Sentinels were immediately removed from the parapets of Fort Sumter, the posterns closed, the flag drawn up, and an order sent to the troops not to leave the bomb-proofs, on any account, until summoned by the drum. At 4.30 A. M. one bombshell was thrown at Sumter, bursting immediately over the fort.

This was the first gun of the rebellion. How awfully its reverberations have thundered through the land! How little did the prompters of that attack upon the old flag dream of the horrors that were to follow! After the pause of a few moments the firing became general on the part of the batteries of the secessionists, doing the greatest credit to the artillerists. Battery after battery joined in the murderous attack. The Major took it very calmly-divided his men into companies to relieve each other-had their scanty breakfast prepared, which they partook of in silence, while the iron hail was crashing against their walls-prepared additional cartridges by tearing up the flannel shirts of

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