332 1865. RECEPTION OF THE DEFENDERS OF FORT SUMTER. again over the battered fortress, or be wrapped in it as his winding-sheet at the last. Precisely four years from that day,"-after four years April 14, of terrible civil war-Major Anderson, bearing the title of MajorGeneral in the Armies of the United States, again raised that tattered flag over all that remained of Fort Sumter-a heap of ruins.' The Isabel lay under the battered walls of the fort, waiting for a favoring tide, until Monday morning, when she conveyed the garrison April 15, to the Baltic, then commanded by Captain Fletcher. The insurgent soldiers had been so impressed with the gallantry of the defense of the fort, that, as the vessel passed, they stood on the beach with uncovered heads, in token of profound respect.' After the surrender, every courtesy was extended to Major Anderson and his men by the military authorities at Charleston. 1861. When all the garrison were on board the Baltic, the precious flag, for which they had fought so gallantly, was raised to the mast-head and saluted with cheers, and by the guns of the other vessels of the little relief-squadron. It was again raised when the Baltic entered the harbor of New York, on the morning of the 18th, and was greeted by salutes from the forts there, and the plaudits of thousands of welcoming spectators. Off Sandy Hook, Major Anderson had written a brief dispatch to the Secretary of War, saying:"Having defended Fort Sumter for thirty-four hours, until the quarters were entirely burned, the main gates destroyed by fire, the gorge wall seriously injured, the magazine surrounded by flames, and its doors closed from the effects of heat, four barrels and four cartridges of powder only being available, and no provisions but pork remaining, I accepted terms of evacuation offered by General Beauregard, being the same offered by him on the 11th inst., prior to the commencement of hostilities, and marched out of the fort Sunday afternoon, the 14th instant, with colors flying and drums beating, bringing away company and private property, and saluting my flag with fifty guns." This was immediately forwarded to the War Department. GOLD BOX PRESENTED TO ANDERSON. The praises of Major Anderson, his officers and men, were unbounded. The gratitude of the American people was overflowing; and honors were showered upon the commander without stint. Already the citizens of 1 See picture of the ruins on the preceding page. 2 Charleston Mercury. Major Anderson to Simon Cameron, Secretary of War, April 18, 1861. I am indebted for the facts concerning the occupation and evacuation of Fort Sumter, to statements made to me by Major Anderson during several interviews, and to his official correspondence, in manuscript, which he kindly lent me, by permission of the War Department. Also, to the very interesting Manuscript Diary of Surgeon (afterward Major-General) S. W. Crawford, and the official report of Lieutenant (afterward Major-General) J. G. Foster. HONORS CONFERRED ON MAJOR ANDERSON. 2 · 333 Taunton, Massachusetts, impressed with a sense of his patriotism and prowess, had voted him an elegant sword, the handle of which is of carved ivory, surmounted by a figure of Liberty. The scabbard was of beautiful design and workmanship, wrought of the richest gold plate, and ornamented with a view of Fort Sumter, and with military emblems. The authorities of New York presented him with the freedom of the city in an elegant Gold Box, in the form of a casket, oblong octagonal in shape. The citizens of New York presented to him a beautiful gold medal, appropriately inscribed; and those of Philadelphia gave him a very elegant sword, the handle and upper part of the scabbard of which are delineated in the engraving. From other sources, such as societies and legislative bodies, he received pleasing testimonials of the good-will of his countrymen. Finally, the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York ordered" the execution of a series of medals, of an appropriate character, to be presented to Major Anderson, and to each officer, non-commissioned officer, and soldier engaged in the defense of Fort Sumter. These were of four classes. The first, for presentation to Major Anderson, was six inches in diameter, bearing, on one side, a medallion portrait of the commander, and on the other the Genius or Guardian Spirit of America rising from Fort Sumter, with the American flag in the left hand, and the flaming torch of war in the right. The idea symbolized was the loyal spirit of the country, calling upon all patriots to arouse and resent the insult to the a June 6, 1861. ANDERSON'S SWORD. 1 On the scabbard was the following inscription:-"Deo duci, ferro comitante." Upon the handle, on a solid gold shield, was the following inscription:-"Et decus et pretium recte. The citizens of Taunton, Massachusetts, to Major Robert Anderson, U. S. A. A tribute to his courage and fidelity. Acquirit qui tactus." This sword was presented to Major Anderson at the Brevoort House, New York, by W. C. Lovering, on the 924 of April. This box, represented on the preceding page, was five and a half inches in length, two inches in width, and not quite three inches in depth. Its whole surface, excepting the place of the inscription, was elaborately wrought in arabesque figures, giving it a very rich appearance. On the top of the clasp was an American eagle about to soar. On the top of the lid were two figures. One represented Major Anderson, kneeling on one knee in the attitude of the recipient of knighthood. In one hand he clasps a flag-staff, over which droops the American ensign. In the other hand he holds a sword. Near him stands a figure of Liberty, with her right hand pointing toward heaven, and with the left hand placing a laurel crown on the head of the kneeling hero. On the front of the box was the following inscription:-"The freedom of the city of New York conferred upon Major ROBERT ANDERSON by its corporate authorities, in recognition of his gallant conduct in defending Fort Sumter against the attack of the rebels of South Carolina, April 12, 1861." The gold fnedal was two and a half inches in diameter. On one side was a representation of the bombardment of a fort on fire; on the other a wreath of laurel, just within the outer rim, clasped by the American shield. Inside of this wreath the words, " Prudens fidelis et audax invicta fidelitatis præmium." Then there was a little circle of thirty-four stars, within and across the face of which were the words:"To Major ROBERT ANDERSON, C. S. A., from the citizens of New York City, as a slight tribute to his patriotism." The handle and guard of this sword were set with stones. The guard was open basket-work at the broad part, in which was a shield of blue enamel bearing the cipher, in script, of Major Anderson, neatly wrought in gold and set in brilliants. On the handle were three lozenge-shaped amethysts bordered with brilliants. The scabbard is heavy gilt. At the first belt-ring are seen the arms of Pennsylvania on an escutcheon, and between them the words: "The city of Philadelphia to ROBERT ANDERSON, U. S. A., April 22, 1861. A loyal city to a loyal soldier, the hero of Fort Sumter." At the next belt-ring the arms of Pennsylvania on another escutcheon. 334 DEFENDERS OF FORT SUMTER HONORED. flag and the sovereignty of the Republic, by the attack on the fort. The second class, for presentation to the officers, was of the same design, but only four inches in diameter. The third class, three and a half inches in diameter, bore on one side the medallion portrait of Major Anderson, and on the other, Peter Hart raising the Stars and Stripes on the burning fort. This is represented in the engraving below. The fourth class, for the common soldiers, was two inches in diameter, and the same as the third in design and inscription. These medals were all of bronze. OBVERSE OF THE FIRST AND SECOND CLASS MEDALS. a May 14, The President of the United States. gave Major Anderson a more substantial evidence of appreciation, by honoring him with the rank and pay of a brigadier-general, precisely one month after his evacuation of Fort Sumter. At the earnest solicitation of Garrett Davis (Congressman) and other leading Kentuckians, he was then appointed to command in that State; but his terrible experience in Fort Sumter had prostrated his nervous system, and he was compelled to abandon active service. He was placed upon the retired list in the autumn of 1863, and the following year he was breveted a major-general. We shall hereafter meet his gallant officers in high rank, and in the performance of noble deeds, during the great war that ensued. 1 On the portrait side were the words:-"ROBERT ANDERSON, 1861." On the other side were the words:"The Chamber of Commerce, New York, honors the Defender of Fort Sumter-the patriot, the hero, and the man." The same words around the portrait. On the other side the words:-"The Chamber of Commerce, New York, honors the Defenders of Fort Sumter-first to withstand treason." This was for the officers. 3 See page 326. The inscription on this was precisely the same as on the second class. These were for the non-commissioned officers. These medals were designed and executed by Charles Müller. scriptor, of New York City. They occupied the artist and several assistants during the period of five months. THE LOYAL PEOPLE AROUSED. 335 CHAPTER XIV. THE GREAT UPRISING OF THE PEOPLE. HE attack on Fort Sumter had been looked for, and yet, tidings of the fact fell on the ears of the loyal people of the country as an amazing surprise. It was too incredible for belief. It was thought to be a "sensation story" of the newspapers. The story was true; and when the telegraph declared that the old flag had been dishonored, and that "a banner, with a strange device," was floating over that fortress, which everybody thought was impregnable, and the story was believed, the latent patriotism of the nation was instantly and powerfully aroused. It seemed as if a mighty thunderbolt had been launched from the hand of the Omnipotent, and sent crashing, with fearful destructiveness, through every party platform-every partition wall between political and religious sects-every bastile of prejudice in which free thoughts and free speech had been restrained, demolishing them utterly, and opening a way instantly for the unity of all hearts in the bond of patriotism, and of all hands mailed for great and holy deeds. Heart throbbed to heart; lip spoke to lip, with a oneness of feeling that seemed like a Divine inspiration; and the burden of thought was, "Stand by the Flag! all doubt and treason scorning, Pales, in its glories, all the lights of Time!" The Sabbath day on which Anderson and his men went out of Fort Sumter was a day of wild excitement throughout the Union. Loyalists and disloyalists were equally stirred by the event-the former by indignation, the latter by exultation. The streets of cities and villages, every place of public resort, and even the churches, were filled with crowds of people, anxious to obtain an answer to the question in every mind-What next? That question was not long unanswered. Within twenty-four hours from the time when the Stripes and Stars were lowered in Charleston harbor, the President of the United States had filled every loyal heart in the land with joy and patriotic fervor, by a call for troops to put down the rising rebellion. That call answered the question. 336 a April, 1861. THE PRESIDENT CALLS OUT THE MILITIA. a In a proclamation issued on the 15th, the President declared that the laws of the Republic had been for some time, and were then, opposed in the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, "by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the marshals by law;" and he therefore, by virtue of the power in him vested by the Constitution and the laws, called forth the militia of the several States of the Union, to the aggregate number of seventy-five thousand, in order to suppress those combinations and to cause the laws to be duly executed. The President appealed to all loyal citizens to "favor, facilitate, and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and existence of our National Union, and the perpetuity of popular government, and to redress wrongs already long enough endured." He deemed it proper to say, that the first service assigned to the forces thereby called forth would probably be "to repossess the forts, places, and property which had been seized from the Union ;" and he assured the people that in every event the utmost care would be observed, consistently with the objects stated, to "avoid any devastation, any destruction of, or interference with property, or any disturbance of peaceful citizens of any part of the country." He commanded the persons composing the combinations mentioned to disperse, and retire peaceably to their respective abodes, within twenty days from the date of his proclamation.' Impressed with the conviction that the then condition of public affairs demanded an extraordinary session of the Congress, he, in the same proclamation, summoned the Senators and Representatives to assemble at their respective chambers in Washington City, at noon on Thursday, the 4th day of July next ensuing, then and there to consider and determine such measures as, in their wisdom, the public safety might seem to demand. SIMON CAMERON. Simultaneously with the President's Proclamation, the Secretary of War, under the authority of an Act of Congress, approved in February, 1795,' issued a telegraphic dispatch to the Governors of all the States of the Union, excepting those mentioned in the proclamation, requesting each of them to cause to be immediately detailed from the militia of his State the quota designated in a table, which he appended, to serve as infantry or riflemen for a period of three months (the extent allowed by law ), unless sooner 1 Proclamation of President LINCOLN, April 15, 1861. 2 See The Military Laws of the United States: by John F. Callan, page 108. G. W. Childs, Philadelphia. 1863. The President's authority for the proclamation may be found in the second and third sections of the Act approved February 28, 1795. 3 The law declared that the militia should not be "compelled to serve more than three months after arrival |