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made by the waters of the lagoon, breaking through to the gulf, thereby endangering the
Fort (
Pickens) by undermining.
This had baffled the efforts of several engineers, who had attempted to close it, at great expense to the government.
Ordered next to
Fort McHenry, then under the command of
Colonel Robert E. Lee, he was transferred shortly after to
Fort Point, California, at
San Francisco, thence to
Wilmington, N. C., and from that point to
Fort Pulaski, Georgia, and
Fort Clinch, Florida.
Upon her secession,
Georgia made him
Major of Engineers, and on March 29, he received the same rank in the Confederate Army.
Then began the long line of services, in many capacities and at many points, to the
Southern cause, much of which was devoted to
North Carolina, and the closing years of his career wholly so.
Sent to
Charleston, S. C., to inspect the works being constructed against
Fort Sumter, he recognized at once the faults of location and construction, and reported the danger to
President Davis.
He showed the letter to
Beauregard, and ordered him to take charge.
General Beuregard, recognizing the truth of the situation, proceeded to change the entire location, and, to use his language:
I determined to alter the system, but gradually, so as not to dampen the ardor or touch the pride of the gallant and sensitive gentlemen who had left their homes, at the call of the State, to vindicate its honor.
General Beauregard, in his report of the capture of
Fort Sumter, April 12, 1861, said:
The engineers, Majors Whiting and Gwynn and others, on whom too much praise cannot be bestowed for their untiring zeal, energy and gallantry, and to whose labors is greatly due the unprecedented example of taking such an important work, after thirty-three hours firing, without having to report the loss of a single life, and but four slightly wounded.
From Major W. H. C. Whiting I derived also much assistance, not only as an engineer, in selecting the sites and laying out the channel batteries on Morris Island, but as Acting Assistant-Adjutant and Inspector-General, in arranging and stationing the troops on said island.
Major Whiting was made
Adjutant-General, and brought his great abilities into service on
Morris Island, to prepare for the attack upon
Sumter, which was successful April 11, 1861.
An Englishman, and an accomplished critic of military men and
