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obeyed in all sections of our territory, and that it was his purpose to collect the public revenues at the ports of the seceded States, and to recover the forts and arsenals which belonged to the Federal government in those States.

550. The Attack on Fort Sumter. - Fort Sumter, opposite Charleston, was held by about one hundred soldiers under command of Major Robert Anderson. The Confederates gathered a force of five or six thousand men under command of General G. T. Beauregard, and occupied the other forts and batteries around Charleston Harbor. They erected strong earthworks, and put many pieces of artillery in position to reduce Fort Sumter. Beauregard sent a demand to Major Anderson to surrender, or rather to withdraw from the fort. Major Anderson refused to comply. On the morning of April 12th, 1861, fire was opened by the Confederates from all the batteries facing Fort Sumter. It was merely a question how long one hundred men could hold out against this overpowering force, and how long the walls of this ancient fortification could withstand the severe cannonade. The bombardment continued through the day.

Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States, was born in Kentucky, February 12th, 1809. As a boy, he was so situated that he received almost no school instruction, and he said of himself, "The little advance I now have upon this store of education I have picked up from time to time under the pressure of necessity." In 1834 he was elected to the Illinois Legislature, where he remained eight years. While in the legislature, Mr. Lincoln completed his study of law, and in 1836 was admitted to the bar. In 1846 he was chosen a member of the United States House of Representatives, but was not re-elected to this position. No boy or girl in the United States should reach maturity without reading a life of President Lincoln. No brief summary can give any idea of the character of the man who guided the nation through its great peril. Mr. Nicolay, his biographer, has written," History must accord him a rare sagacity in guiding a great people through the perils of a mighty revolu tion, an admirable singleness of aim, a skilful discernment and courageous seizure of the golden moment to free his nation from the incubus of slavery, faithful adherence to law, and conscientious moderation in the use of power, and a shining personal example of honesty and purity. As statesman, ruler, and liberator, civilization will hold his name in perpetual honor."

551. Sumter surrenders. On the morning of the 13th the cannonading was simply terrific. A concentrated fire of shot and shell from the whole line of Confederate fortifications fell upon Fort Sumter, making huge breaches in its walls, and at last setting fire to the woodwork in the fort. There was no alternative. Brave Major Anderson ordered the United States flag to be lowered. The Confederates allowed him and his men to march out with the honors of war, and to carry their flag with them. The fort was ruined, but no life had been lost on either side.

552. Great Excitement. This attack upon the United States flag, and this capture of a United States fort, aroused the whole North. Civil war actually existed. Instantly the North was in a blaze of excitement. This one movement on the part of the South unified popular sentiment at the North. Conservatives and Radicals, Democrats and Republicans, alike called upon the national government to maintain its supremacy. All hearts beat as one. The effect at the South was similar. The die had been cast. The Confederates had attacked a Federal fort, and it had surrendered. Public sentiment throughout the seceded States was equally united. The Confederate government must be maintained.

553. The Call for Troops. On the 15th of April President Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for seventy-five thousand troops to

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serve for three months. The whole North responded with wonderful promptness. Thousands of the militia from the several States were quickly in motion toward Washington. On the 19th of April ( 244) a regiment from Massachusetts marched through Baltimore on its way to the capital. It was attacked by a mob, who threw paving-stones and fired pistols at the soldiers. The soldiers returned the fire. Several were killed on each side. This was

the first blood shed in the war. The effect of this contest was still further to unite public sentiment both at the North and at the South.

554. The Struggle Imminent. It was now clear to both parties that war could not be avoided. Few, however, had any proper realization of how severe or how protracted this war would be. Many prophesied that it would end in ninety days. The North could hardly believe that the South intended a long struggle. On the other hand, the South was confident that the North would yield in a short time, and allow them their separate government. In April, May, and June, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee passed ordinances of secession, and joined the new Confederacy. In May the Confederate government was removed from Montgomery to Richmond, Virginia.

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555. Congress convenes. On the 4th of July, 1861, the two houses of Congress assembled in extra session at the call of the President (387). They acted with the utmost promptness, and provided for raising an army of five hundred thousand men, and for increasing the strength and efficiency of the navy. Congress declared that the war must be prosecuted in order to sustain the integrity of the government. It was not to be carried on for conquest, nor to interfere with the established institutions of the Southern States. The rights of the several States were to remain. unimpaired, but all the resources of the government must be used to maintain the Constitution and preserve the union of all the States.

556. The Gathering of the Armies. In the early summer a great army of raw recruits gathered in the vicinity of Washington, and were placed in camps for daily instruction in military drill. In like manner large forces were accumulating in Richmond and northern Virginia to defend the South from aggressive movements from the North, and, if possible, to capture Washington and transfer the seat of the Confederate government to that place.

557. The Blockade. It was necessary for President Lincoln to blockade all the ports of the States which had seceded. This was a great undertaking. To begin with, he had but few vessels for the purpose. Others were soon bought or built, and the navy, after a time, was sufficiently large to make the blockade effective.

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commerce of a coast nearly three thousand miles long was practically stopped; and the blockade was never broken till the war closed. Some swift steamers called blockade runners would occasionally get through the blockade in a storm or by night with cargoes of merchandise; but the greater number of such vessels was captured.

558. Northern Impatience. The people of the North were very impatient. They wished to push forward warlike operations speedily. The cry "On to Richmond!" was echoed and re-echoed by New York daily papers and elsewhere, until the government felt compelled to start the army upon an aggressive movement. Indeed, both sides were eager for the fight. This impatience of delay pervaded the minds of Congressmen, and they brought such a pressure to bear upon the government that General Scott (T 492), who was in command of the Union armies, unwillingly consented that the troops should make an advance from Washington toward the Confederate capital. General McDowell was placed in command of this army, and was directed to move his force into Virginia. On the 18th of July the Union army met the Confederate advance under General Longstreet, and the contest began. The Southern army was in command of Generals Beauregard and Joseph E. Johnston.

559. The Battle of Bull Run On the 21st of July, 1861, the first great battle of the war was fought. It took place at a small stream called Bull Run. The place was near Manassas Junction, where Beauregard was posted, with the larger part of the Southern army. The contest was a severe one. At first the advantage was with the Union army; but in the afternoon the Confederate general, Kirby Smith, with a fresh army from the Shenandoah Valley, joined Beauregard, and the advance of the Union army was attacked. A desperate struggle now ensued, and the severe onset of the Confederates caused a retreat of the Federals, which was soon converted into a rout; and

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General Joseph E. Johnston. (From a negative in the possession of the II. S. Government.)

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