Submitted by Brenda Pierce
Copyright 2003

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  Sunday January 13, 1861

MORE FORTS SEIZED

PENSACOLA NAVY YARD FALLS, BUT U.S. HOLDS HARBOR FORTRESS
Ten more U.S. arsenals, forts and other government properties, including the important Pensacola, Fla. Navy Yard, were seized by southern states--or republics, as some of them are now--this week.

As was the case last week, the forts fell without bloodshed.  This evidently was due in part to the woefully undermanned condition of the installations.

Florida and Alabama troops took the Pensacola Navy Yard and it's $156,000 worth of ordinance stores yesterday.  The Yard commander Capt. J. Armstrong, wired Washington:  "Having no means of resistance, I surrendered and hauled down my flag."  

The troops also seized Forts San Carlos Barrancas and McRee in the harbor area.  But a U.S. garrison at Barrancas, commanded by Lt. Adam Jacoby Slemmer, had moved swiftly into old, long vacant Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island, and thus the U.S. kept a strategic position at the mouth of the deepest harbor on the Gulf of Mexico.

Demands made yesterday for Fort Pickens' surrender were rejected.

Lt. Slemmer had occupied Ft. Pickens after receiving an order to do his utmost to prevent the seizure of the Pensacola forts--an order mailed to him in a small pink envelope, addressed in a woman's hand, apparently so it would escape detection by Alabma authorities handling the mails.

Capt. Armstrong, apparently dazed by the wild events of recent days, and wishing to have specific instructions from Washington before taking action, wrote for orders and received only instructions to keep the government informed and to be vigilant in protecting public property.  His own men were divided on what action to take, and the elderly captain wept like a child before turning the yard over to the secessionists.

Louisiana seized the Baton Rouge arsenal after it was surrounded by 600 state troops.  Troops moved into Forts Jackson and St. Philip (40 miles below New Orleans on the river approach to the city), Fort Pike on Lake Pontchatrain and the U.S. barracks two miles below New Orleans,

Forts Johnson and Caswell in North Carolina also were occupied--by the Smithville Guard--Tuesday night.

NEW SONG ABOUT A FLAG
Jackson, Miss.--"The Bonnie Blue Flag" is the title of a catchy song written this week about Mississippi's secession flag, a blue banner with one white star symbolizing the states supremacy.

After seeing the flag unveiled, Mr. Harry R. McCarthy, an Irish comedian playing an engagement at the Jackson Theatre, wrote about it in verses set to an Irish air, "The Irish Jaunting Car." (A jaunting car is a buggy pulled by one horse or a donkey.)

The chorus of Mr. McCarthy's song, already printed in newspapers and being sung about the state goes:  "Hurrah! Hurrah! For Southern rights hurrah!  Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star!"

NEW YORK TO SECEDE?
New York--Southern states aren't the only political units threatening to secede.

Elements in this city, led by Mayor Fernando Wood, are pushing a plan to secede from the Union and form a free city.  Wall Street leaders are being asked to support the move.

MR. SHERMAN RESIGNS
Alexandria, La.--With the disunion crisis worsening, Mr. William Tecumseh Sherman, Ohio-born West Pointer, has submitted to Louisiana authorities his resignation as president of Louisiana State Seminary.  He is expected to return to Ohio.

  
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution  January 13, 1861

S.C. "DEMANDS" SUMTER

AGENTS SENT TO PRESIDENT;  GEORGIA SOLON ACCEPTS POSSIBILITY OF WAR

Charleston, S.C.----South Carolina Atty.-Gen. I. W. Hayne has been sent to Washington to "demand the delivery of Ft. Sumter," Gov. F. Pickens (Ft. Pickens in Pensacola was named for an ancestor of this gentleman) yesterday wrote Pres. Buchanan.  A previous attempt by South Carolina agents failed.

"The demand," said Gov. Pickens "is suggested because of my earnest desire to avoid bloodshed which a persistance in your attempt to retain the possession of that fort will cause."  Gov. Pickens promised "the valuation of such property will be accounted for" by South Carolina "upon the adjustment of its relatiopns with the United States, of which it was a part."

With Mr. Hayne are Mr. Robert Gourdin and Ft. Sumter's Lt. Norman Hall.

They have not yet arrived in Washington.  But on Monday the President, in a lengthy letter to Congress, de fended as "clear and undeniable" the government's right and duty to use military force defensively against those who assail the property of the federal government."

He begged Congress to find a solution, saying "the fact cannot be disguised that we are in the midst of a great revolution."

Congress this week was laced by the crossfire of angry talk.  Sen. Jefferson Davis (Miss.) charged the government broke faith with South Carolina by shifting men from Ft. Moultrie to Ft. Sumter and he upheld the right of states to secede.

Sen. Robt. Tombs (Ga.) said "the success of abolitionists and their allies, under the name of the Republican Party, has produced it's logical result already.  They have, for long years, been sowing dragon's teeth and they have finally got a crop of armed men.  The Union....is disolved......We have appealed from time to time to you to give us our constitutional rights and you have refused them.

"We appeal to you again to restore these rights.  Restore them and restore peace, fraternity and unity to all of us.  Refuse them and we will ask you to let us depart in peace.  Refuse that, and then you present us, as you must, with war.  We accept that.  We will nail our colors to the mast, inscribed on them Liberty and Equality, and we will trust to the sword and the god of battles for security, tranquility and peace." (Loud applause.)

There was also a petition asking for a national convention in Philadelphia Mar. 4; memorials favoring a national referendum on the Crittenden proposal;  approval of House resolution commending Ft. Sumter's Maj. Robert Anderson.

Sen. W.H. Seward (N.Y.) yesterday outlined the great injury the country would suffer if the union were dissolved, and in the house announcement was made yesterday of the withdrawal of Mississippi's representatives.  Though Southern representatives objected to the Navy appropriation bill ($11 million, providing reduced sums for Navy yards), it was passed though Southerners were promised a debate on the Army appropriation bill.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Sunday, January 13, 1861

3 MORE STATES SECEDE

FLORIDA, MISSISSIPPI, ALABAMA NOW INDEPENDENT

Within 48 hours, the Union lost three more states this week--
Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.  With South Carolina already
out, the Union is now reduced to 29 states.

Florida's legislature voted 62-7 at Tallahassee Thursday to
declare the state "a sovereign and independent nation."  On the
same day, at Jackson, Mississippi's legislature passed an
ordinance of secession , 84-15.  Alabama's especially called
secession convention followed suit Friday, but the vote was
closer--61-39.

In all three states, there were appeals from "cooperationists"
for delay and for one last attempt to have Southern geievances
redressed within the Union.  But the determination of the
secessionists was overwhelming.

The decisions brought on the most intense excitement--and here
and there, tears.  Rockets and Roman candles blazed in
Tallahassee.  Men whooped for joy, women clapped their hands and
a great parade wound through the streets.  Some of the most
ardent secessionists reportedly are major stockholders in Florida
Railroad, which owes a Northern firm $750,000.

Mississippi's secession ordinance was read to an audience
enveloped in silence.  But the quiet gave way to cheers when the
reading was finished and a new flag, bearing one white star on a
blue field was brought out.

Gov. John J. Pettus ordered artillery to Vicksburg to hail boats
passing on the Mississippi--coming from what was now enemy
territory.

President--elect Abraham Lincoln was hanged in effigy in Mobile
on secession eve, Thursday night.  After the state seceded, 100
guns were fired, a parade was held and an impromptu speeches made
in every public building.  Mobile citizens have subscribed
$100,000 for the city's defenses.

Florida's legislature worked up to secession by stages, declaring
first, in resolutions adopted Monday, that the people had the
right to secede and that just cause for secession existed.  

On Thursday the cause was given impetus by a telegram from
Florida's congressional delegation, warning:  "Federal troops are
said to be moving or about to move on Pensacola forts.  Every
hour is important."  No movement to reinforce the U.S.
fortifications at Pensacola is known to exist, however.

It was in Alabama that the greatest opposition to secession was
expressed.

Secessionists arrived at Montgomery of one mind--to take the
state out of the Union.  But cooperationists from northern
Alabama, where slavery is not so firmly entrenched, sought to
delay the severance of the Union ties in various fashions.

It was argued that secession was impolitic, that the co-operation
of the other Southern states should be secured before Alabama
seceded;  that all honorable means should be used to obtain
Southern rights in the Union;  that finally, the secession
convention could only invite the people to ratify a decision to
secede.  

But the Alabama convention was under the firm control of Mr.
William Lowndes Yancey, that state's most ardent disunionist, and
in the end even some cooperationists signed the ordinance.

Mississippi's secession ordinance was prepared by Mr. Lucius Q.C.
Lamar, a Georgia native of great political import in Mississippi.
Its enactment, too, was hampered by delaying moves--proposed
amendments saying it should not go into effect until it had been
ratified by the people and other states also had determined to
secede.  These were rejected.

Alabama invited other seceding states to send representatives to
Montgomery Feb. 4 to form a new government.

Georgia is the next state to consider a secession.  Her special
state convention meets Wednesday at Milledgeville.

The Union of 31,443,321 people has now lost more than two million
of them---703, 708 in South Carolina;  140,424 in Florida;
791,305 in Mississippi and 964,201 in Alabama.      

FLORIDA'S FT. PICKENS AGAIN REFUSES TO SURRENDER;  FT. SUMTER IS QUIET.

Pensacola, Fla.---Lt. Adam Slemmer on Friday again rejected demands by secessionist Col. William Chase that he surrender Ft. Pickens to the secessionists.

Lt. Slemmer, who 10 days ago shifted his forces from Ft. San Carlos De Barrancas (across the bay) to unoccupied but stronger Ft. Pickens on Santa Rosa Island (west of Pensacola), commands 81 men in the unfinished fort.

(Pickens, ironically, was named for the late grandfather of the present South Carolina governor, a secessionist.)

Col. Chase, Massachusetts-born, is in charge of various state troops numbering more than 1,000.

His demand for surrender came two days after Florida Sens. D. L. Yulee and Stephen R. Mallory, who had previously urged capture of the fort, wired Florida Gov. Perry:  "No blood must be shed before a Southern Confederacy is formed" and "Jefferson Davis tells me to say that in the present state of affairs, the Pensacola forts are not worth one drop of blood."

In the meantime, these events were transpiring:  Ft. Mc Ree west of Ft. Pickens on the mainland, has been occupied by secessionists.  Col Chase has wired the Mayor of New Orleans for 2,000 men, the latter saying he would comply if Florida would equip them, and Florida officials agreed.

Since Florida seceded Jan. 10, various federal officials--including judges--have resigned, as has Commodore J. Armstrong, who surrendered the Pensacola Navy Yard.  Lt.  Slemmer reported one of his men fired on a body of 10 reconnoitering secessionists Sunday night and adds that his men are worn out with labor in repairing Ft. Pickens.

It is also reported that Lt. Slemmer's wife, who went back to Ft. Barancas "without any ostensible business," was arrested there as a spy.

On Friday, the Joseph Whitney docked at Ft. Jefferson, on Garden Key in the Tortugas, with Maj. Arnold and his company of artillery as reinforcements for Capt. Meigs.

And Pres. Buchanan has approved the sending  of the sloop-of-war Brooklyn with 90 men from Ft. Monroe, Hampton Roads, to reinforce Ft. Pickens.  The Brooklyn, which had been sent days ago to help the Star of the West in her attempt to aid Ft. Sumter, is to leave this week.

At Ft. Sumter, matters have calmed down since the Star of the West attempted to land reinforcements there on Jan. 9 but was repelled.

Indeed Maj. Anderson feels his position secure and Secretary of War Joseph Holt wrote him Wednesday that there is now no plan to reinforce him but aid would be sent if requested.

The Sumter defenses are reported in readiness though South Carolina secessionists are also hard at work reinforcing the batteries at Ft. Moultrie, north of Sumter across the channel.

In the meantime, Gov. F. Pickens has forbidden the U.S. treasurer of Charleston from paying the drafts of the federal paymaster in favor of Maj. Anderson and his command, and the sub-treasurer has refused accordingly, the War Department has learned.

Maj. Anderson has been unable to contract for food in Charleston and his men are subsisting mainly on pork, flour hard bread and a diminishing store of beans.

The men are not apprehensive of an attack, feeling they are prepared, but suffer somewhat from the monotony, the inaction, the chill rains, the lack of tobacco and prickly mattresses made of shavings.  But morale is high--boosted by the knowledge that the northern press is filled with compliments about their determined position in the isolated fort.

Lt. T. Talbot, sent to Washington to report the Star of the West incident, returned to Sumter last night, bringing with him the government's stated confidence in Maj. Anderson.  On Friday, Lt. R.K. Meade left for his Richmond, Va. home, responding to the dispatch that his mother had died.

But it seems that Maj. Anderson won't leave, though he has been invited to attend a Masonic festival in Albany, NY on Jan. 30.  Responding to this invitation--regarded as absurd in view of Maj. Anderson's predicament--he wrote the Masons Tuesday of his "regrets" that he could not attend but thanked them for their Union loving sentiments."

The major added that he hoped the severance of states from the Union may not be "cemented in blood."

 
Sunday, January 27, 1861.
 
AUGUSTA ARSENAL FALLS; PICKENS TO BE REINFORCED
 
After Georgia troops threatened to take it by force, the U.S. arsenal at Augusta was surrendered peacefully and with elaborate military amenities Thursday.
 
Meanwhile , Washington dispatched to Ft. Pickens at Pensacola, Fla., reinforcements and instructions for the garrison to avoid a collision unless attacked.
 
Georgia Gov. Joseph E. Brown arrived in Augusta Tuesday and on the next day sent to Capt Arnold Elzey, the arsenal commander, a declaration that Capt. Elzey and his 80 soldiers must withdraw "at the earliest practicable moment from the limits of the state."
 
Capt. Elzey refused.  But at 1 a.m. Thursday he received from the War Department a communiqué declaring Gov. Brown's action "harsh and preemptory," but adding:  It is not expected that your defense should be desperate."
 
Some 800 Georgia Militiamen and Minute Men assembled at 9 a.m. Thgursday and were preparing to march on the arsenal when Capt. Elzey sent out a request for a meeting with Gov, Brown "for the purpose of negotiating honorable terms of surrender."
 
Gen. Brown was at the arsenal an hour later and the terms of surrender were agreed upon.
 
The U.S. flag was to be lowered and saluted by 33 guns, one for each state of the union, including Georgia.  The U.S. soldiers were to march out with full military honors; a receipt was to be given for the captured property, and the company, with its arms and property, was to have passage to New York via Savannah.
 
These terms were carried out, after which refreshments were ordered by Capt. Elzey and toasts were drunk, including one to the Stars and Stripes by Gov. Brown's aide-de-camp, Col. H.R. Jackson.
 
Then Georgia troops took possession of the arsenal, plus four cannons, 22,000 muskets and rifles and quantities of powder and shot.  A white banner with a large red star, signifying the state's supremacy was raised (illustration above). (Note:  the illustration depicts the Clinch Rifles mustering before the just seized arsenal).
 
Meanwhile, The Brooklyn sailed from Norfolk, Va., Friday under sealed orders, taking the companies of men from Fortress Monroe.  The newspaper freely reported she was destined for Ft. Pickens.
 
Pres. Buchanan on Tuesday night dispatched a special messenger to Ft. Pickens to instruct Lt. A.J. Slemmer, commanding , not to allow a collision with the secessionists unless attacked .
 
Florida and Alabama volunteer troops, in possession of all other fortifications in Pensacola harbor, meanwhile busied themselves mounting and arranging cannon.  Pilots however, were notified that they could bring U.S. war vessels into the harbor under a flag of truce.
 
The first casualty of the Pensacola operations was reported--a Mr. Brown of the Auburn, Ala., Guards, was killed by a Mr. Betts of the Tuskegee, Ala., Light Infantry with a bowie knife.  Mr. Brown reportedly insulted Mrs. Betts, although Mr. Brown protested before dying that he did not.
 
Capt. J. Armstrong, who surrendered the Pensacola Navy Yard to secession troops, arrived in Washington Wednesday and told the Navy Department that three-fourths of his 60 men were secessionists who would have revolted had he offered resistance.  Opposition to the seizure force of 400 was useless, he said.
 
Several steamboats already have been stopped by batteries erected by Mississippi on the Mississippi River.  At Memphis, a battery of 16 32-pounders is being erected and plans are underway for establishing a factory to manufacture cannon and shells

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution  Sunday, February 3, 1861

BROOKLYN NEARING FT. PICKENS WITH AID.

Washington--The warship Brooklyn, with two companies led by
Capt. I. Vodges, is near Ft. Pickens, held by Federal troops,
west of Pensacola.  She sailed Jan. 24. The federal garrison of
81 men is surrounded by 1700 troops from Florida, Mississippi
and Alabama, encamped mainly in the seized federal forts of
McRee and Barancas and the Navy Yard, west of Pensacola on the
mainland.  Ft. Pickens Capt. A. J. Slimmer has
repeatedly refused demands to surrender. The ship's mission is
no surprise to secessionist troops.  Florida Sen. D. L. Yulee,
now resigned, on Monday wired Col. William Chase, commanding the
secessionist troops at Pensacola, that the Brooklyn had left
Hampton Roads, Virginia. Capt Vodges aboard the Brooklyn, was
sent these instructions by Pres. Buchanan:  "Upon receiving
satisfactory assurances from Mr. Mallory and Col. Chase that Ft.
Pickens will not be attacked, you are instructed not to land any
on board the Brooklyn unless said fort shall be attacked or
preparations made for the attack." Pres. Buchanan obviously
hopes the peace conference, opening here tomorrow, will overcome
the need for a landing or force. The situation is very similar
to the government's attempts early last month to send aid via
the Star of the West to Maj.  Robert Anderson's small garrison
at Ft. Sumter.  Secessionist cannon repelled the Star of the
West, she landed no troops. Yesterday, Florida Gov. M.S. Perry
told the legislature at Tallahassee to take steps at once to
increase and more effectively organize the state militia. MORE
TROOPS FOR CAPITAL Lt. Col. Hardee Resigns.

More troops reported for duty in Washington this week--and the
army lost a well known officer.  He is Lt. Col. William J.
Hardee, a Georgian, author of a book on tactics and former
commandant of cadets at West Point Military Academy. His
resignation became known yesterday, but was not a great
surprise.  Last fall, well before Georgia seceded, Col. Hardee
abruptly left West Point and appeared in Virginia, helping to
organize the militia there. The arrival of two companies of
artillery in Washington Friday brought to about 600 the number
of troops and Marines now in the city and Vicinity.  The force
at some public buildings has been increased.  Orders have been
issued for the enrollment of all persons in the district subject
to military duty. The Army commander, Gen. Winfield Scott, rode
out Friday afternoon to inspect the barracks and stables being
erected for the newly arrived troops.  A large female school has
been asked to vacate so that the soldiers may occupy its
quarters.

From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution   

Sunday, March 10, 1861

COAL, WATER CUT OFF AT PENSACOLA Pensacola, Fla.--

The U.S. man-o-war Brooklyn and other U.S. vessels will no
longer be able to obtain coal and water at the former U.S. Navy
base in Pensacola harbor, the Brooklyn's commander has been
informed. Boats still visit the U.S. ships (which bear supplies
and men for Ft. Pickens but have not been permitted by U.S.
authorities to land them).  There is much trafficking with those
aboard. (In the meantime a clash looms:  The Confederate War
Department yesterday issued a call for 5,000 more men to defend
Pensacola and Pres. Lincoln on Tuesday directed the Union War
Department to dispatch troops to Ft. Pickens.) As for the
Brooklyn's water supply, the Pensacola Observer said:  "We
advise the fleet to run down to Vera Cruz (in Mexico) for a
supply and give their sails an airing." Gen. Braxton Bragg has
arrived to take charge of the secession forces. GOV. HOUSTON
AGAINST JOINING C. S. A. Austin Tex.--Gov. Sam Houston opposes the
union of his now-seceded state with the Confederacy, preferring
that Texas become an independent republic again. Mr. Houston
also has refused to recognize the state convention which voted
for secession.  It's job is at an end, he says, and he and the
state legislature will take care of any public questions now
arising.  The legislature will convene March 18. But the
convention in reply, has claimed full power to act for the state
and has promised to act as speedily as possible to place Texas
in the Confederacy. The convention will require all state
officials to take an oath of allegiance to the new government,
or else be replaced.  Presumably, this includes Gov. Houston.

From The Atlanta-Journal Constitution

March 31, 1861

C. S. A. REQUISITIONS 2,000 GEORGIA TROOPS. Montgomery, Ala.---The
Confederate government has called on Georgia for 2,000 soldiers
to go to Ft. Pickens at Pensacola, Fla.  In compliance with the
call, Gov. Joseph E. Brown has given notice to the following
volunteer companies to hold themselves in readiness to march:
the Gate City Guards of Atlanta, under Capt. Wm. I. Ezzard; the
Quitman Guards of Forsyth; the Newnan Guards, and two companies
each from Augusta, Macon and Columbus. THREE SOUTHERN
COMMISSIONERS LEAVE TODAY TO SEEK RECOGNITION BY EUROPE.

Montgomery, Ala.---Three commissioners sail today for Europe to
seek recognition by European powers of the Confederate
government.  One is William Lowndes Yancey, the Alabamian who
helped lead the disunion movement.  The others are Messrs.
Pierre A. Rost of Louisiana, an immigrant from France and a
friend of C. S .A. Atty. Gen. Judah P. Benjamin, and A. Dudley
Mann, a Georgian who had limited diplomatic experience under the
U.S. government. They are to depart New Orleans for Havana,
where they will board a British steamer for England. Meanwhile
Mississippi became the third state to ratify the Confederate
Constitution. Again delaying tactics were attempted by opponents
of secession.  They wished, among other things, to submit the
ratification to a popular vote.  But the state convention,
meeting at Jackson, adopted 78 to 7 an ordinance declaring "the
State of Mississippi hereby accedes to and becomes a member of the
Confederacy provided for in said Constitution."  Large
capitalists reportedly wish to bid on the $15 million loan
recently approved by the Confederate Congress, but the
government is adhering to its original plan to distribute the
loan widely among the people.

83 OFFICERS HAVE QUIT UNION ARMY. Washington---A total of 83
officers--ranking from lieutenants through major-generals have
resigned the Union Army. The official War Department list
details the resignations as well as new appointments of
significance. Included among those who have resigned are Maj.-
Gen. David E. Twiggs, former chief of the Department of Texas;
Col. Samuel Cooper and Maj. George Dears of the adjutant-
general's office;  Lt. Col. Abraham C. Myers of the
Quartermaster's Department:  Surgeons S. P. Moore and D.C. De
Leon, of the Medical Department;  Lt. Col. William J. Hardee,
former commandant of the West Point Military Academy;  Maj. Earl
Van Dorn and others.

CRISIS IN FLORIDA Confederate and Union Forces Converging on Ft.
Pickens Pensacola, Fla.---A battle looms at Ft. Pickens, on
Santa Rosa Island in the harbor here, as federal troops enlarge
their forces. According to official reports, Brig. Gen. Braxton
Bragg today commands 1,116 Confederate troops ringed around the
federal-held fortress. In addition, two companies of Confederate
Zouaves left New Orleans Wednesday.  Reports from Mobile, Ala.,
are thata steady stream of troops and munitions pour through
that port, all bound for this point.  An additional 500
Mississippi troops passed through Memphis, Tenn., Wednesday.
Also bound for Pensacola.  Guns are being mounted in Confederate
held Ft. Barancas and McRee and shot and shell are being quickly
manufactured in the shops of the one time federal navy yard
here. At the same time, a federal fleet, with troops aboard some
of the vessels, stands off Ft. Pickens but no reinforcements have
been landed. Nevertheless, on Mar. 11 Pres. Lincoln directed
that Ft. Pickens be reinforced and the man-o-war Mohawk left New
York harbor that day with orders to Capt. I. Vodges, 1st U.S.
Artillery, directing him to transfer immediately his two
companies from the ship Brooklyn to Ft. Pickens.  The order had
not arrived as of last night. (Pres. Lincoln this week also
issued orders for other ships to take provisions to Forts. Sumter
and Pickens, even though Army Gen. Winfield Scott this week has
changed his mind and advised the President to surrender both
fortresses to the Confederacy.  See story below.) The federal
fleet off Ft. Pickens (depicted above) includes the Sabine (50
guns), the Brooklyn (25 guns), the St. Louis (20 guns), the
Crusader (eight guns), the Wyandotte (five guns) and the Supply
(two guns). SUPPLIES TO BE SENT Pres. Lincoln Orders It;
Cabinet Is Divided;  A Crisis Looms. Washington---An expedition
to provision Ft. Sumter's garrison will leave Northern ports by
Saturday, Pres. Lincoln has ordered. Thus ends weeks of
indecision;  the die is cast.  If Confederate forces determine
to prevent the provisioning of the fortress, war may result.
Pres. Lincoln issued his order Friday to War Secretary Simon
Cameron:  "I desire that an expedition, to move by sea, be got
ready  to sail as early as the 6th of April next, the whole
according to memorandum  attached; and that you cooperate with
the Secretary of the Navy for that object." The memorandum
referred to is that drafted by Assistant Navy Secretary Gustavus
Fox, who returned days ago from a visit to Maj. Robert Anderson,
commanding Sumter, to determine his needs.  The major indicated
that his dwindling supplies would last only until noon of April
15. The Fox memorandum details the ships, men and supplies
required to provision Sumter. Pres. Lincoln's decision--made in
consonance with his policy to hold federal forts wherever they
are--has met opposition by half his cabinet.

SOUTH "SEIZES" "DIXIE'S LAND"

Richmond, Va.---The owner of the copyright of "Dixie's Land" has
realized $4000 by the sale of that song, according to the
Dispatch here. The newspaper added:  "Do you know that 'Dixie's
Land' has become the national anthem of secession?  The song is
called for in Southern theaters and received with cheers and
applause while 'Hail Columbia' and the 'Star-Spangled Banner'
are hissed down.  'Dixie's Land' was written by a Northerner.
'Yankee Doodle' itself was written, air and words by a surgeon
in the British Army during the Revolution to express his supreme
contempt for the American.  But the Yankees captured the tune.
'Dixie's Land,' then belongs to the South by right of seizure,
as do the forts, the arsenals, the mints, taken from the general
government by the seceding states.

From the Atlanta Journal Constitution  Sunday, April 7, 1861.

PICKENS REINFORCEMENT GOES AWRY

Pensacola, Fla.---The first attempt to land U.S. soldiers to
reinforce the tiny garrison at Ft. Pickens, in the Pensacola
harbor, has backfired.

Meanwhile the Confederated forces at Pensacola have grown to
nearly 5,000 men.

Authorities in Washington were informed by courier yesterday
that Capt H. A. Adams of the Man-o-war Brooklyn, lying off
Pensacola had refused to obey an order to land troops on his
vessel at Pickens.  The order came from Pres. Lincoln, but was
transmitted through the Army commander, Gen. Winfield Scott.  It
reached Capt. Adams Sunday.

Capt. Adams held that he must obey prior orders from the
Secretary of the Navy forbidding him to land troops unless
Pickens was attacked.

The Confederates at Pensacola are from Florida, Louisiana,
Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia--Creoles in bright Zouave
uniforms:  Black Belt planters who wear plainer clothing but
boast such fancy names as "De Soto Irrepressible" and "Southern
Avengers" and "crackers" who are said to be first-rate shots.

More troops are on the way.  The Florida First Infantry mustered
into Confederate service Friday for 12 months duty, left
Chattahoochee, Fla., on river boats immediately for Columbus,
Ga., from which they will go to Pensacola.

Meanwhile, efforts are being made to complete the Montgomery-to-
Pensacola Railroad to facilitate the transportation of troops
and war goods.  It is expected to be finished shortly.

And in Mississippi, wealthy gentlemen have raised a purse of
$10,000 for the first member of the Mississippi Rifles who puts
a foot on Pickens in time of war.  (Others have done so under
the "truce" now existing.)

ANTI-SOUTHERN PAPERS GEORGIA JURY'S TARGET
cooperationists and abolitionists, beware.

The grand jury of Greene County, Ga., has issued a presentment
asking the legislature to enact a law under which any citizen of
that county who subscribes to the New York Post, New York
Tribune, Cleveland Plain Dealer or any publication of like
character (meaning anti-Southern) may be fined or imprisoned.  

And at Anderson, S.C., a dentist, Dr. John T. Horne, was sent to
Indiana with his hair cropped close on one side of his head
after being found in correspondence with Black Republicans.

GEORGIA FORMS NEW REGIMENT Macon, Ga.---
The First Georgia Regiment, composed of units from all parts of the state, has
assembled here on order of Gov. Joseph E. Brown.  The
Confederacy has decided to send it to Pensacola.

Gov. Brown reviewed the troops and addressed them at Ft.
Oglethorpe, a new camp, here Friday, declaring:  ".....may the
God of battles go with you and lead, protect, and defend you
till the last foot-print of the invader shall be obliterated
from the soil of our common country."

The regiment includes the Gate City Guards of Atlanta and units
from among other places, Augusta, Dahlonega, Cartersville,
Bainbridge, Forsyth, Perry, Newnan, Sandersville, Columbus,
Ringgold, and Macon.

Eight companies left yesterday for Pensacola in the Confederate
service.  The balance will go tomorrow.

They are an interesting lot.  The Bainbridge Independent
Volunteers wear coarse flannel shirts and rough "Negro cloth,"
but the members are said to represent a million dollars of
wealth.

Some units have fancy names--such as the Perry Southern Rights
Guard and the Sandersville Washington Rifles.

James N. Ramsey of Columbus has been elected regimental colonel.
The lieutenant colonel is J. O. Clarke of Augusta.  P. H. Larey of
Cartersville and George Harvey Thompson of Atlanta were chosen
majors.

Artillery thundered and 7,000 people shouted farewell at the
Atlanta Gate City Guards, Etowah Infantry and Ringgold Artillery
340 men in all--left Atlanta for Macon Monday.

On the eve of departure of the Quitman Guards of Forsyth,
citizens raised $1200 for families of the troops who may be in
need during their absence.  At Perry, $1200 was raised for
additional military supplies.

There are said to be 10,700 men in 214 companies in Georgia now.

In Atlanta two prominent Georgia secessionists took an opposite
view of the crisis.  "We will not have war," Mr. Thomas R.R.
Cobb said in an address at the Athenaeum Monday night, unless
the "folly" of North or South causes it.

(He is not anxious for border states--including Virginia--to
enter the Confederacy, he said, because their large abolition
elements would endanger the Confederacy's future.)

Mr. Benjamin Hill said at the Antitedum   Thursday night:  "The
feeling in the North is growing stronger in afvor of peace.
There is really no necessity for war, but if war does come we
are prepared for it........The prospects of peace are growing
brighter every day, and I believe we will have peace......."

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST Brenham, Tex.---A war that will "fill our
fair land with suffering, misfortune and disaster"  has been
forecast by Gen. Sam Houston, who was deposed as governor of
Texas because he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the
Confederacy.

In a speech here Sunday, Gen. Houston said:  "The soil of our
beloved South will drink deep the precious blood of our sons and
brethren.  The die has been cast by your secession
leaders.......and you must ere long reap the fearful harvest of
conspiracy and revolution."

He protested "against surrendering the federal
government......to the northern abolitionist leaders and to
accept in its stead a so-called Confederate government whose
Constitution contains the germs and seeds of decay."

Any well-informed man may see, he went on, that the states of
the Confederacy soon will secede from the government they have
just formed, becoming separate nations.

There were more resignations this week from the Union Army by
officers planning to join the Confederate service.  They
include:  Messrs. Stephen D. Ramseur, Lincolnton, N.C., native
and West Point graduate last year (resigned yesterday);  Martin
Luther Smith, New York native, West Point graduate (1842) who
married an Athens, Ga. girl and served with the U.S.
Topographical Engineers, with particular merit, during the
Mexican war (resigned Monday);  Edmund Kirby Smith , St.
Augustine, Fla., native West Point graduate (1845), brevetted for
gallantry during the Mexican War, formerly assistant professor
of mathematics at West Point, at first opposed Texas' seizure of
U.S. Ft. Colorado;  Bryan Morel Thomas, native of near
Milledgeville, Ga., Oglethorpe University student, West Point
graduate (resigned yesterday);  John Bordenave Villepoigue,
Camden, S.C., native, West Point graduate (1854) served in West,
resigned Sunday;  Charles Sidney Winder, Talbot County,
Maryland, native, West Point graduate (1850), resigned yesterday
(promoted to captaincy during heroism aboard troopship during
Atlantic hurricane of 1854).

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Sunday, April 14, 1861

SUMTER TIME LINE

Tuesday:  Pres. Jefferson Davis preferred assault:  Secretary of State Robert Toombs (cautioning against the theory that war would unite the Confederacy and bring border states into the fold) said "War at this time.......is suicide, murder, and will lose us every friend at the North.  The firing upon that fort will inaugurate a civil war greater than any the world has yet seen.

Wednesday:  War Secretary Leroy Walker wired Beauregard:  "You will at once demand its (Sumter's) evacuation, and if this is refused, proceed in such manner as you may determine, to reduce it."  (In Charleston, tension, poor discipline, bickering generals troubled Beauregard; Virginia's ex-Rep. Roger Pryor delivered a fiery speech, promising his state's secession, saying, "Give the old lady time.......she is a little rheumatic," and urging, "Strike a blow!")

Thursday (3:30 P.M.):  Three Beauregard aides arrived at Sumter, demanded its evacuation and promised safe conduct; Anderson refused adding:  "If you do not batter us to pieces, we shall be starved out in a few days."  This was relayed to Montgomery; Walker telegraphed Beauregard; "Do not desire needlessly to bombard Ft. Sumter"  and asked when Anderson promised to evacuate;  Confederates burned ship hulks east of Sumter to prevent entry of vessels.

Friday (12:45 A.M.):  Beauregard's aides asked Anderson when his food shortage would force him to evacuate;  hoping the relief expedition would arrive before noon Monday, he said he would evacuate by then, unless hostilities began or he received other instructions.  At 3:20 A.M. (Friday), one aide, Col. James Chestnut, wrote Anderson:  "We have the honor to notify you that he (Beauregard) will open the fire of his batteries on Ft. Sumter in one hour from this time."  At 3:30 the aides left, rowed to Ft. Johnson (west of Cummings Point), ordered Capt. G. S. James to fire a signal shot at 4:30 A.M.   Capt. James offered Mr. Pryor the opportunity, Mr. Pryor who had been urging "Strike a blow!" declined saying, "I could not fire the first gun of the war."

Friday (4:30 A.M.):  The shot was fired, followed by other batteries (fiery secessionist and agriculturalist Edmund Ruffin reportedly shot the first shell from Cummings Point), There were no batteries at Charleston--but its wharves, streets and rooftops were immediately thronged with people, some praying, some jubilant.

Sumter's guns did not immediately respond; the men ate breakfast about 6 a.m. Friday (fat pork and water) as bombs fell in their midst.  Capt. Abner Doubleday, just before 7 a.m., fired the first retort; Sumter's 32-pound cannon, used almost wholly since its heavier guns were to exposed to the enemy, did little damage (most of it at Ft. Moultrie).  Confederate shells tore away upper wall sections, set some fires, most of them quickly extinguished;  some hardy secessionists rowed out to get a better view;  a shell cut Sumter's flag halyards and the emblem was stuck at half mast.  Friday evening's rain helped snuff out a barracks blaze.  As Union ships waited outside the harbor (watched by torch-bearing Confederates in boats Friday night), Confederate mortars kept up their fire.

Yesterday:  Charleston's business was suspended (one furniture merchant announced that his promised "sale will.....take place as soon as Ft. Sumter is taken").  As rain diminished about 8 a.m. Confederate fire was increased;  thousands watched as Sumter appeared to be an inferno;  inside Sumter was a nightmare, the blaze causing shells and grenades to explode, but the fort continued to fire an occasional shell.  When the flagstaff was decapitated (12:48 p.m.), fire singed men replaced it with a spar.

Suddenly Texas Col. L. T. Wigfall appeared at Sumter.  Though unauthorized to do so, he told Anderson that Beauregard "wishes to stop this and to set upon what terms you will evacuate this work."  Anderson said:  "Instead of noon on the 15th, I will go now."  They worked out the terms of evacuation about 1:30 p.m. yesterday and the Union flag was hauled down.

Shortly thereafter, aides of Beauregard, seeing the flag down, arrived, learned of Wigfall's maneuver and told Anderson he came without authority.  Anderson threatened to resume the conflict but negotiations were begun.  (As they did, Mr. Pryor took a drink from a Sumter bottle, mistakenly imbibing some dangerous iodide of potassium.  Hearing his agonized cries, a Union surgeon pumped out his stomach.)

Total casualties of the war's first battle:  Four Confederates (not including Pryor) slightly wounded, four Union men injured, one secessionist horse killed.  Charleston was untouched (Sumter was struck 600 times).  The secessionists are jubilant;  their hero  Beauregard.  Gov. Pickens in a victory speech last night, exalted:  "We have met them......and we have conquered.  We have defeated their 20 millions."

U.S. REINFORCES FT. PICKENS
Pensacola, Fla.---The union has been successful in its second effort to get reinforcements into Ft. Pickens on Santa Rosa Island.  Although some 5,000 Confederate soldiers are encamped in the area, there have been no hostilities.

On Friday night, While Ft. Sumter was under fire at Charleston, 200 troops and a battalion of Marines were landed at Pickens--heretofore held by a force of only 81 men--from U.S. vessels which have been waiting in the harbor.

Orders to put the troops ashore were delivered by Navy Lt. John Lorimar Worden, who reached Pensacola after a five-day overland journey from Washington, during which he was stopped twice for questioning by Confederate authorities.

At the suggestion of Navy Secretary Gideon Welles, Lt. Worden had memorized the orders he was to deliver, and did not carry a copy of them.  He put them in writing upon reaching the flagship Wyandotte, after first obtaining a pass to the ship from the Confederate commander here, Brig. Gen. Braxton Bragg.  Lt Worden told Gen. Bragg he had no orders to deliver.

MERRIMACK TO BE MOVED
Washington--As a precaution, Navy Secretary Gideon Welles Thursday ordered the man-o-war Merrimack, which is awaiting engine repairs at Norfolk, put in order and transferred to Philadelphia.

From The Atlanta-Journal Constitution  Sunday, May 12, 1861.

BRAGG NEEDS MUNITIONS.
Pensacola, Fla.---The Commander of the Confederate forces here, Brig. Gen. Braxton Bragg, has reported to Montgomery that he lacks essential munitions and therefore is powerless to stop Union operations in and around Ft. Pickens.

In a letter to Secretary of War Walker, he declared Monday:  "Five thousand sets of infantry accouterments are necessary for the preservation of our ammunition.  It is now carried by the men in their pockets, and one day's hard service would destroy it all.  A supply of musket cartridges is also a first necessity.

The present supply here would last me in an engagement about 30 minutes.  Our best defense against the (U.S.) fleet--shells--cannot be used for want of fuses.  Not one has yet reached me.

These items are not mentioned by way of complaint, for I know full well the difficulties and embarrassments which surrounded the (War) Department, but simply to show how utterly impossible it is to check the enemy in his operations."

TWO MORE SECEDE.
The legislatures of Tennessee and Arkansas voted Monday to join the Confederacy.  Although the Tennessee action is subject to ratification by popular vote June 8, anti union sentiment has grown so strong that the state will certainly go over.  Curiously, in votes taken previous to the firing on Ft. Sumter and Pres. Lincoln's first call for volunteers, both Tennessee and Arkansas rejected secession overwhelmingly.  Now they have rejected the Union similarly.

The additions will bring the number of Confederate states to 10, assuming Virginia's voters also ratify secession May 23, which like Tennessee's voters, they are certain to do.  At any rate, the Confederate Congress is certain of it;  that body voted Tuesday to admit Virginia as the eighth state.

North Carolina also is moving closer to secession.  Her voters will choose delegates to a secession convention tomorrow.

Meanwhile Kentucky is still split over the entire question, Maryland moved closer to the Union side and citizens of western Virginia continued to agitate for withdrawal from the state because they disapprove of disunion.

Arkansas' ordinance of secession was passed by a state convention with only one dissenting vote.  The convention has full legislative power.

After the Tennessee General Assembly had acted Monday, Gov. Isham G. Harris chose three commissioners "to enter into military a military league with the authorities of the Confederate states......."

Tennessee also passed a bill to raise a "provisional force of volunteers" consisting of 55,000 men, and to allow Gov. Harris to sell $5,000,000 in bonds to equip them.  Among other things, the bill also provides that soldiers shall be allowed 40 cents a day for the use and risk of their horses.

In North Carolina, the first regiment raised by the state elected officers yesterday--D. H. Hill, colonel;  C.C. Lee, lieutenant colonel;  J. H. Lane, major.

In Kentucky, Gov. Beria Magoffin urged the legislature to call a state convention to decide whether that state shall secede.

In Maryland, now occupied by Union troops, the legislature was urged to unite for the protection of the state.  Significantly, a union recruiting office was opened in Baltimore.

In Wheeling, Va., a center of dissatisfaction with Virginia's secession, it was reported that 2,000 stands of arms had arrived.  Speakers favoring separation from eastern Virginia were applauded last night.  Two companies of Wheeling militia went into Union service.

HOUSTON JOINS SOUTH.
Independence, Texas---Gen. Sam Houston, deposed as governor of Texas because he opposed secession and would not swear allegiance to the Confederacy, has now taken a stand for the South.

"Sectional prejudices, sectional aggrandizement and sectional pride stimulate the North in prosecuting this war," he said in a speech here.  "The trouble is upon us, and no matter how it came or who brought it on, we have to meet it.  Whether we have opposed this secession movement of favored it, we must alike meet the consequences."

The time has come, he said, when a man's section is his country.  "I stand by mine."

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution  Sunday, August 11,
1861.

ACTIVITY IN FLORIDA Union-Held Ft. Pickens Is Aided;
Confederates Seize ships.

Pensacola Fla.---Vessels of both North and South continue to
ply the waters off Florida, those of the former taking
supplies to Ft. Pickens and those of the latter searching
for Union merchant ships to plunder.  Both have been
successful.

The garrison of Ft. Pickens (on Santa Rosa Island near here)
has built a hospital in part from lumber brought to the
island by the steam transport Vanderbilt (given to the U.S.
government by the shipping magnate, Mr. Cornelius
Vanderbilt).

Still another Union vessel, the Illinois has taken to
Pickens 28 nine inch Dahlgren guns.  (However the guns were
not found suitable for service ashore and much of the
ammunition was unusable because of poor fusing.)

Meanwhile the privateer Jefferson Davis, whose base is
Charleston, S.C., has captured two merchant ships, the john
Carver  and the Alvarado, off Florida.

There is some indication, however, that the Union's costal
blockade is causing shortages.  Owning to a lack of paper,
the St. John's Mirror of Jacksonville recently published an
issue on paper one-fourth the regular size.

UNION ARMY COURT PROBES WHETHER COLONEL WAS DRUNK IN BATTLE.
Washington--An Army court of inquiry was convened yesterday
at the request of Union Col. D.S. Miles, to examine "into
certain allegations made against him" by Gen I. B. Richardson.

Gen. Richardson charged that Col. Miles was drunk during the
battle of Bull Run.

The colonel, put in charge of a battlefield area by Gen. I.
McDowell (an area in which was located Gen. Richardson's
command), had given Gen. Richardson some orders, changing
disposition of troops.  When the general refused to obey the
colonel's orders, the colonel threatened to have him
arrested.  Following this, the general leveled the charge of
drunkenness.

McClellan  SITS FOR BRADY. Washington--Union General George
B. McClellan and his staff visited Mathew Brady's
photographic gallery Monday to sit for portraits.  Many
residents visited the galley Wednesday to see the finished
photographs.

FEMALE SPY TAKEN Alexandria, Va.---A woman dressed in the uniform
of the 25th N.Y. Regiment, detected by her effeminate voice, was
seized as a spy as she strolled near Union camps here.  Letters
addressed to Confederate Gen. P. G. T . Beauregard were taken from
her.

From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  Sunday, September 8, 1861

ACTION IN FLORIDA
Pensacola, Fla.---Union Col. Brown on Monday night sent a boat with 11 men to destroy a Confederate dry dock which he suspected the enemy was going to sink to block the channel approaching Union-held Ft. Pickens.

COLONEL DEAD OF WOUND
Orange Court House, Va.--Col. Ebert J. Jones, commander of the Fourth Alabama Infantry, died here Thursday of a wound sustained over six weeks ago, at the Battle of Bull Run.  Col. Jones, an Alabama native who practiced law in Athens (Ala.) and served in the Mexican War, had been requested by some of his men and officers to resign (for "petty charges") before the Battle of Bull Run.  He had promised to do so after the battle, if the men still desired his resignation.

FREE NEGROES DONATE
Charleston, S.C.--Free Negroes here have contributed $450 to the Confederate war effort.  "The zealous and unfailing alacrity with which this class of our population has always devoted their means to promote the safety of our state," said the Charleston Mercury, " is alike honorable to themselves and gratifying to the community."

THE WAR DIARY
New York--The Union ship Northern Light brought 30,000 stand of arms from California.

Augusta, Ga.--The Constitutionalist on Friday again requested donations of blankets and clothing for the soldiers who will need them this winter.

Cleveland, Ohio--A young woman has been discovered in the guise of a soldier at Camp Wood.  She gives her name as Mary Smith , from Dayton, and said that she wanted to go to war to avenge the death of her only brother.  This is the second time, she said, she has been discovered.  It was her ability at sewing and the way she handled a dishcloth in the kitchen that first made others suspicious.

New Orleans, La.--Some 450 Texas volunteers arrived here yesterday enroute to join Confederate forces in Virginia.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution  Sunday, October 13, 1861

CONFEDERATES RAID FLORIDA CAMP
Overrun U.S. Post But Take Losses While Departing

Pensacola, Fla.---Both sides are claiming victory in a fierce encounter which took place on Santa Rosa Island when a Confederate force landed, raided and destroyed a Union camp near here.

The mission of the Confederates was fulfilled:  the 1090 Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Georgia troops overran the camp of the 6th New York Zouaves in the predawn darkness of Wednesday morning.

The surprised Zouaves fled to the safety of Ft. Pickens, the union installation on the island.

The Confederates beat off one counterattack, but, tarrying to plunder the enemy camp, were set upon by a strong Union force, armed with long range Enfield rifles, before they departed by boat for the mainland.

Their departure was delayed when the propeller of a steamer, which was towing open barges of troops became entangled in a cable.

While the steamer and barges drifted, Federal soldiers on the beaches poured rifle fire into the barges.  With their shorter-range guns, the Confederates could not return an effective fire.

Fourteen Union troops were killed.  29 were wounded and 24 were captured or are missing.  The Confederates lost 18 killed, 39 wounded and 30 captured.

Confederate killed included Capt. R. H. Bradford (of Madison, Fla.).  Among those captured by the Confederates is Capt. Israel Hodges.

In the meantime, it was learned that Gen. Edmond K. Smith has been named to replace Gen. John B. Grayson as commander of the middle and Eastern Florida Department.  And on Wednesday and Thursday, Confederates at Tampa seized two sloops, the William Batty and the Lyman Dudley (both out of Key West with licenses to fish along the coast).  Thirteen prisoners were taken.

UNION FLEET SCATTERED AT NEW ORLEANS
"Turtle" Rams Ship But Is Disabled.

New Orleans, La.---A Confederate flotilla led by an ironclad (a former ice-breaker to which a cast iron ram had been fixed) attacked and scattered the federal fleet at the mouth of the Mississippi yesterday morning.

The Confederates claim to have sunk one ship.  The Union version is that, while one vessel was damaged and an attempt was made to scuttle another, all its vessels escaped.

The ironclad ram which spearheaded the Confederate attack is the "Manassas," known here as the "Turtle" because of the leveling of the superstructure.

Built by private capital and subsequently seized by Confederate authorities, it rammed the side of a Union vessel in the predawn darkness and its crew left the fight believing had inflicted a mortal blow on the Union sloop-of-war Preble.

But Union accounts say the ship was the sloop-of-war Richmond and that while she was damaged and later went temporarily aground, she did not sink.  

The "Turtle," commanded by Flag Officer Charles Austin, led the "mosquito fleet" of small boats collected at New Orleans by Commander George N. Hollins into the midst of four Union blockading vessels before the presence of the Confederates was discovered.

It struck one ship at a speed of 10 knots, withdrew and struck again.

Flag Officer Austin ordered "The Turtle" after another vessel, but the impact of the ramming had broken a condenser, putting one of the ironclads two engines out of commission.  The ironclad sailed away as the Union vessels began to open fire, shooting away one of the "Turtle's" smokestacks and toppling the other into the vent of the first.

Dense smoke choked the crew until Engineer William Hardy, held held on the sloping deck by Flag Officer Austin as shells rained all about, cut the stack wreckage away.

Meanwhile a signal for the other Confederate vessels to come into the fight has misfired, and it was not until well after daylight that Commodore Hollings was able to send the rest of little fleet after the Union ships.

The gunboats Ivy, McRae, and Tuscaroraos then engaged the Union vessels in a furious cannonade that did not significant damage to either side.

However the Richmond and Vincennes went aground and in a mix-up of signals Vincennes Commander Robert Handy, received what he took to be a signal from the Richmond to abandon ship.  He ordered  a slow match ignited to fire the magazine and took off the crew.

Then he learned to his amazement that the Richmond had signaled "get under way," and a party was put back aboard the Vincennes to put out the slow match.

Only afterward was it learned that the seaman who lit the fuse, not taking his commander seriously, had cut off the burning end and thrown it overboard to prevent the ship's destruction.

The Vincennes was freed after 32 cannon and all shot were tossed overboard.  Lightened and humiliated, it along with the other Union vessels, departed.

RUM TRIGGERS FRACAS

Danesville, Va.---"Demon Rum" precipitated a tragic affair Monday night at the temporary of the Union's 50th Connecticut Regiment.

During the turmoil of pitching tents and preparing supper in the midst of a terrific storm, an unprincipled spectator smuggled a hogshead of liquor into the lines, and before detected by the officers, enough had been disposed of to create the great disturbance.

An affray occurred, in which one citizen was killed, two or three wounded and several horses and cattle shot.  Gen. N. Banks then issued an order that all liquor within the limits of the pickets be destroyed, and those found selling it be arrested.

From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  Sunday, October 27 1861.

PENSACOLA FORT HIT.
Gen. Bragg Considers Abandoning It.

Pensacola, Fla.---Union forces have subjected Ft. McRae to such a heavy bombardment that Gen. Braxton Bragg, the Confederate commander here is considering abandoning the installation.

The guns of Ft. Pickens, on Santa Rosa Island, and of the ships Niagara and Richmond brought the fort under fire Tuesday and Wednesday.  

The Confederate steamer Time also was attacked by the Union ships as she entered Pensacola Harbor.

The shelling intensified hostilities between the two camps.  They enjoyed rather placid relations until a few weeks ago when Union troops destroyed the Confederate-held dry dock and fired a ship.  The Confederates retaliated by landing a force on Santa Rosa Island and overrunning a Union Camp last week.

Meanwhile Florida Gov. John Milton reported to the War Department in Richmond that at St. Marks, on the Gulf of Mexico, there are "howitzers and empty shells.  No powder or fuse to prepare them."

He announced he would not appoint a surgeon general for Florida troops until absolutely necessary, since he feels the state cannot afford the $3000 salary of the position.

Orders assigning Confederate Gen. E. Kirby Smith to the Florida command were revoked this week by the adjutant general's office.  Reportedly Gen Smith will be assigned to duty in Virginia.  The Florida commander will be Brig. Gen. James H. Trapier, now in South Carolina.

Gen. Trapier is to replace Gen John B. Grayson who died at Tallahassee Monday after an extended illness.

NAVY ASSAULT SET
Union Ships With 13,000 Troops Massed At Hampton Roads.
Attack Point Still Secret; Departure in Days.

Forterss Monroe, Va.---The Union's huge naval expedition, whose assault point is still a military secret, is expected to leave from near this point within days.

Many vessels of all types are massed here, some carrying 13,000 troops, artillery and hundreds of horses required for the land assault.  (The "Great Republic" has 900 horses aboard, for example.)

Ships came to Hampton Roads, near here, from New York and Annapolis mainly.  Among those sailing from Annapolis last Sunday were the Atlantic, Daniel Webster, Roanoke, Empire City, Ariel, Ocean Queen, Vanderbilt, Baltic, Marion, Parkersburg, Illinois, and the Coatzacoalcos.

Commodore Samuel F. Dupont is the naval commander of the expedition, with Gen. Thomas W. Sherman in charge of the land forces.

Various newspapers have conjectured that the assault will be made between Port Royal, S.C. and Brunswick, Ga.

Purpose of the assault is to drive a wedge in the side of the Confederacy and to strengthen the union blockade of Southern ports.

A UNION DEFEAT
The Federals Ambused at Ball's Bluff

Leesburg, Va.---What was intended to be a "slight demonstration" by which Union troops (were) to force the Confederates out of this town on the Potomac River ended Monday in diaster for the Federals.

Ambushed by a strong Confederate force and driven down the steep sides  of Ball's Bluff with no possible means of escape, the Union Union forces lost 921 men, including their commander, Col Edward D. Baker, former U.S. Congressman and friend of Pres. Lincoln.

Union Gen. G. B. McClellan had ordered the "slight demonstration" 40 miles from Washington and Brig. Gen. Charles F. Stone began to execute it Sunday.

Under Col. Baker, troops crossed the river in few boats and scaled the 70-foot high bluff.  (McClellan had not ordered a crossing.)

They inched forward about a mile, expecting to sight a Confederate camp reportedly in the vicinity.

Instead they found a strong Confederate unit under Col. Nathan G. (Shanks) Evans.

Quite unprepared for this, Union officers fed their men into the battle on a piecemeal basis and receiving heavy fire, were compelled to retreat.

At the river, the troops had the choice of swimming, surrendering or being killed.

When the fighting ended, 49 Union troops were dead, 158 were wounded and 714 were missing or captured.  The Confederate estimate is that 650 were captured.  In fact, 525 already have been marched into Richmond.

The Confederates lost 149 men--33 killed, 115 wounded, and one missing.

Col. Baker died on the field of battle.  With nearly his last breath he declared:  ".....let us do all we can and die bravely."  

The Union wounded include Lt. Col. Paul J. Revere, grandson of the Revolutionary War's Paul Revere;  Lt. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., son of the poet;  and Brig. Gen. Frederick W. Lander, a well-known railroad surveyor in prewar years.

The defeat, while on a much smaller scale, is the most irritating turn of events to the North since the rout at Manassas.

In particular, the death of Col. Baker has angered many congressmen.  The defeat is being compared with the rout of the federals at Bull Run.  The setback Monday, being in such proximity to Washington, is also prompting talk of an official investigation into the disaster.

From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  Sunday, November 24,
1861

UNION BATTERS FLORIDA FORT Pensacola, Fla.---Union and
Confederate batteries roared at each other for the second
consecutive day yesterday, and by nightfall the Confederacy's
Ft. McRae had been reduced to such a state that Gen. Braxton
Bragg is considering abandoning it.  

In the largest engagement here to date, an observer estimated
2500 shells were fired by the batteries of the opposing forts.

The guns of the Union's Ft. Pickens, on Santa Rosa Island, are
much superior to those of the Confederate batteries, however,
and evidently the Union gunners have a superior quantity of
ammunition, for the Confederacy was unable to match shot for
shot.

The Union gunners used 50,000 pounds of powder and kept three
guns firing every minute for two days.  The men of war, Niagara
and Richmond also took part in the bombardment.

In addition to damaging Ft. McRae heavily, the Union battered
the Confederate supply steamer Time so badly that she will
evidently be useless.

The town of Warrington, near Pensacola, was about two thirds
destroyed by fire and the village of Woolsey, north of the
Pensacola Navy Yard, also was heavily damaged.

Casualties on both sides are light.  The Union lost one private
killed and six wounded.  One Confederate was killed by a shell
and six were smothered when a powder magazine caved in.

Three times fires were started in Ft. McRae, but the powder
magazines of the fort were not exploded.  Both McRae and
Barrancas lost their flagstaffs to Union shells.

Gov. John Milton complained to Richmond about the arms
situation Tuesday.  Brig. Gen. J. H. Trapier, named several
weeks ago as commander of the defenses of Florida, still has
not arrived, Gov. Milton wrote Pres. Davis.  Yet when the state
makes a plea for arms it is told the "requisition should be
made to the officer in command," he said.

Gov. Milton added this acid comment:  "It would have been
almost as reasonable to have referred me to the emperor of
China."

If not promptly aided by men munitions and trained officers,
Gov. Milton warned, "Florida may be lost.......Her citizens
have almost despaired of protection from the Confederate
government--will lose confidence in it."

POSTAL AFFAIRS:  GOOD AND BAD Stamps are in the news this week.
North and South.  

Statistics for the Union post office department show that for
the year ending June 30, income will be nearer by $2,500,000
paying expenses than in a number of years past.  The reason,
says the New York Times "is the abolishment of extended and
profitless routes in the southern states.

Postal matters in the Confederacy, however are glum.

The Atlanta Intelligencer complained Thursday: "What is the
reason the post office department does not furnish the public
with postage stamps?..........The complaints have been growing
louder and more general for several months.........In no
department of the public service have there been such gross
inefficiencies and neglect as in the post office."

The reason may lie in the fact that virtually all the stamps
printed thus far have been distributed to postal stations
situated near large bodies of troops.

NEW YORK---A fleet of old Union ships loaded with stone and
scheduled to be sunk in the channels of Savannah and
Charleston, left eastern ports Wednesday.  There are 25 aged
vessels---whalers with double decks---loaded with stone and
fitted with a special valve placed in a hole bored in the
bottoms.  When each reaches it's destination, the valve will be
opened.

MOBILE---The Confederate gunboat Tuscarorao was burned to the
water's edge yesterday but he crew is safely ashore.  The
fire's origin is unknown.

MISSISSIPPI---The Vicksburg Sun says it has been informed that
large quantities of flour are stored in the city and "The
holders say they will not sell until they can get $20 per
barrel.  Comments on these fellows' principles is unnecessary.
Desperate measures require desperate remedies, and we hope that
the flour will be taken, and the men paid a fair market
valuation for it and receive a strong hint to leave the country
for the country's good....."

Dec 6, 1861

From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  Sunday, Dec. 8, 1861

Pensacola, Fla.---Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg reports he has
about 3,000 men here---but "only about 600 efficient arms
between them."  He notes that he sent a 100-man company of
Marines to Virginia, at Navy Secretary Mallory's request, but
said he (Bragg) can no longer send arms:  "It is a depleting
process I cannot stand."

Yesterday, Gen R. E. Lee ordered medical officers in Florida to
take every precaution for troops, including locating camp sites
on high ground and daily removal of garbage.

Gov. John Milton on Friday signed a bill changing the name if
New River County to Bradford as a memorial to the late Capt.
Richard Bradford, killed in the Battle of Santa Rosa Island,
Oct. 9.

Milledgeville, Ga.---Over the objection of Gov. Joseph E.
Brown, the Georgia House of Representatives Friday proposed
that the state troops called to duty on the coast be disbanded
if the Confederacy won't take them into it's own army.

With a Federal force already landed at Tybee Island, near the
mouth of the Savannah River, the action of the legislatures
shocked the state.

Ostensibly, the aim of the measure is to rid the state of the
expense of maintaining troops.  But many believe the bill is
intended to embarrass Gov. Brown, who controls the state forces.

So pronounced is the breach between the governor and the
legislature that the Atlanta Intelligencer declared that the
state is now witnessing two wars--one between the North and the
South, the other between the Legislature and Gov. Brown.

Indeed Gov. Brown thundered his protest to the House Thursday,
and the House thundered back.

"I will be responsible for none of the consequences," warned
the governor.  The destruction of property on an invasion would
be 10 times the cost of maintaining troops for defense, he
said.

He questioned whether the state troops could be transferred to
the Confederate Army without their consent and whether the
Confederate government could accept their brigade and company
organizations and the unit-elected officers.  (There are
conflicts between state laws under which the troops enlisted
and the Confederate laws on army organization.)

If the state units are disbanded, Gov. Brown warned in a
message to the House, "it will become my duty, as the Executive
of the State, to proclaim to her people that while the enemy is
thundering at her gates, her representatives have left me
powerless for her defense."

The governor was denounced on the floor of the House for what
was described as an unwarranted interference in the House's
business.  Speaker Warren Akin said the governor had offered
"the grossest indignity" to the House, and that the governor
and his troops would not acquiesce to the House's action, "let
them come with bayonets in their hands and drive us from these
halls."

On Tybee Island, meanwhile, the U.S. Marines landed last week,
continued to prepare defenses, amid growing concern that they
will shortly bombard nearby Ft. Pulaski, which guards the
Savannah River's mouth.