Edward Alfred Pollard, The lost cause; a new Southern history of the War of the Confederates ... Drawn from official sources and approved by the most distinguished Confederate leaders.

On the 21st August, Gen. Gillmore addressed to Gen. Beauregard a demand for the evacuation of Morris Island and Fort Sumter, and threatening, if not complied with, “in less than four hours, a fire would be opened on the city of Charleston, from batteries already established within easy and effective reach of the heart of the city.”

The reply of Gen. Beauregard was memorable. He wrote, in a letter ad dressed to Gillmore: “It would appear, sir, that despairing of reducing these works, you now resort to the novel means of turning your guns against the old men, the women and children, and the hospitals of a sleeping city; an act of inexcusable barbarity, from your own confessed point of view, inasmuch as you allege that the complete demolition of Fort Sumter within a few hours by your guns seems to you a matter of certainty; and your omission to attach your signature to such a grave paper, must show the recklessness of the course upon which you have adventured, while the fact that you knowingly fixed a limit for receiving an answer to your demand, which made it almost beyond the possibility of receiving any reply within that time, and that you actually did open fire and threw a number of the most destructive missiles ever used in war into the midst of a city taken unawares, and filled with sleeping women and children, will give you a bad eminence in history-even in the history of this war.”

If the enemy's execution had equalled his desire, there is no doubt that the city of Charleston would have been reduced to ruins and ashes; women and children murdered indiscriminately; and an outrage committed that would have shocked the sensibilities of the world. But happily Gen. Gillmore was not able to do what he threatened, and what that cowardly hate in the North, whose invocation against the South was, “Kill all the inhabitants,” waited for him to accomplish. The attempted bombardment of Charleston was a failure. Some few missiles from the Federal batteries on Morris Island reached the city. Twelve 8-inch shells fell in the streets; several flew in the direction of St. Michael's steeple; but fortunately no one was injured. The “Swamp Angel” fired only a few shots. At the thirty-sixth discharge the piece burst, blowing out the entire breech in rear of the vent. No guns were placed in the Marsh Battery after this; the “Greek fire” proved a humbug; and firing upon the city was not resumed until after all of Morris Island came into the enemy's possession.

The formidable strength of Fort Wagner, as developed in the unsuccessful assault of the 18th July, induced Gen. Gillmore to modify his plan of operations, and while pressing the siege of Fort Wagner by regular approaches, to turn his fire over the heads of both this work and Fort Gregg upon the walls of Sumter. It was thus determined to attempt the demolition of Fort Sumter from ground already in the enemy's possession, so that