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Louis T. Wigfall to Major D. R. Jones, April 13, 1861

Head Quarters, Confederate States Army,
CHARLESTON, South Carolina,
April 13, 1861.

Major:

I have the honor to report that between one and two o'clock this afternoon, the flag having fallen at Fort Sumter, and its fire having ceased, I left Morris's Island, with the consent and approval of General Simons to demand the surrender of the work, and offer assistance to the garrison.

Before reaching the Fort the flag was again raised. On entering the work I informed Major Anderson of my name and position on the staff of the Commanding General, and demanded the surrender of the Fort to the Confederate States.

My attention having been called to the fact that most of our batteries continued their fire, I suggested to Major Anderson that the cambric handkerchief, which I bore on my sword, had probably not been seen, as I crossed the Bay, and requested him to raise a white flag; which he did. The firing then ceased from all our batteries — when Major Anderson lowered his flag and surrendered the Fort.

The time and manner of the evacuation are to be determined by General Beauregard.

Before the surrender I expressed the confident belief to Major Anderson that no terms would be imposed, which would be incompatible with his honor as a soldier, or his feelings as a gentleman — and assured him of the high appreciation in which his gallantry and desperate defence of a place, now no longer tenable, were held by the Commanding General.

Major Anderson exhibited great coolness, and seemed relieved from much of the unpleasantness of his situation by the fact that the proposal had been made by us that he should surrender the work, which he admitted to be no longer defensible.

I take great pleasure in acknowledging that my success in reaching the Fort was due to the courage and patriotism of Private William Gourdin Young, of the Palmetto Guard; without whose aid I could not have surmounted the obstacles.

I have the honor to be with the highest respect.

LOUIS T. WIGFALL.

MAJOR D. R. JONES,
Asst. Adjutant General,
Confederate States Army.

SOURCE: Louise Wigfall Wright, A Southern Girl in ’61, p. 45-6

https://civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com/2015/07/louis-t-wigfall-to-major-d-r-jones.html

Major Robert Anderson to Brigadier-General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, 2:20, April 13, 1861

FORT SUMTER, S.C., April 13, 1861 — 20 min. past 2 o'clock.

GENERAL: I thank you for your kindness in having sent your aide to me with an offer of assistance upon your having observed that our flag was down — it being down a few moments, and merely long enough to enable us to replace it on another staff. Your aides will inform you of the circumstance of the visit to my fort by General Wigfall, who said that he came with a message from yourself.

In the peculiar circumstances in which I am now placed in consequence of that message, and of my reply thereto, I will now state that I am willing to evacuate this fort upon the terms and conditions offered by yourself on the 11th instant, at any hour you may name to-morrow, or as soon as we can arrange means of transportation. I will not replace my flag until the return of your messenger.

I have the honor to remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

ROBERT ANDERSON,
Major, First Artillery, Commanding.

Brig. Gen. G. T. BEAUREGARD,
Charleston, S.C.

SOURCES: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 1 (Serial No. 1), p. 14-15; This letter is quoted in Samuel Wylie Crawford’s The Genesis of the Civil War: The Story of Sumter, 1860-1861, p. 437.

https://civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com/2017/04/major-robert-anderson-to-brigadier_8.html

If only the rest of the war had been as polite.

The die is cast and both sides seem reconciled that they are at war. But they have no idea of the awfulness that lies ahead.

Well, a few with military training and remarkable foresight, like Sherman, see what's ahead. Mary Chestnut seems to understand with her general sense of dread and foreboding that she can't shake.

Game on...

TURN ONE: The CONFEDERATE player wins the initiative and attacks Fort Sumter.

Old wargamer here, as I have a large collection of board games and miniatures rules, some Civil War related stuff will get posted from time to time...

Some miniatures...

All of the images are from Boardgamegeek.com as I am not that good a photographer...