1861 April 14th

April 14 1861 Sunday

Fort Sumter Operations

California. Incidents at Mad River and Van Dusen’s Creek.

Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The Union garrison which had surrendered Fort Sumter to the Confederate authorities at 2.30 pm on the previous day was permitted to depart with full honours of war. No one from either side was killed during the bombardment. However, during the 50-gun salute to the US flag – US Major Robert Anderson’s one condition for withdrawal — a pile of cartridges blew up from a spark, killing one soldier instantly (Private Daniel Hough) and seriously injuring the rest of the gun crew, one of them mortally (Private Edward Galloway). These were the first fatalities of the war. The salute was stopped at fifty shots. Galloway and another injured crewman were sent to the hospital in Charleston where Galloway died. The other crewman successfully recovered and was sent North later without exchange. Union troops were placed aboard a Confederate steamer where they spent the night and they were transported the next morning to the Union steamer Baltic which was waiting outside the harbor bar.

Union Organisation

Commander in Chief: President Abraham Lincoln
Vice-President: Hannibal Hamlin
Secretary of War: Simon Cameron
Secretary of the Navy: Gideon Welles

Pacific Squadron: John Berrien Montgomery

General–in-Chief: Winfield Scott

Department of the East: John Ellis Wool

Department of Florida: Harvey Brown awaited

Department of New Mexico: William Wing Loring

Department of the Pacific: Albert Sidney Johnston interim Edwin Vose Sumner awaited

District of Oregon: George Wright

Department of Texas: Carlos Adolphus Waite

Department of Utah: Philip St George Cooke

Department of Washington: Charles Ferguson Smith

Department of the West: William Selby Harney

Confederate Organisation

Commander in Chief: President Jefferson Finis Davis
Vice-President: Alexander Hamilton Stephens
Secretary of War: Leroy Pope Walker
Secretary of the Navy: Stephen Russell Mallory

Department of Louisiana: David Emanuel Twiggs

“Forces in New Orleans” “Army of Louisiana”: Braxton Bragg

Department of South Carolina: Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard

“Forces in Charleston”: Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard

Department of Texas: Earl Van Dorn awaited

Department of West Florida: Braxton Bragg

“Forces in Pensacola”: Braxton Bragg

Defences of Savannah: Alexander Robert Lawton awaited

“Forces in Harper’s Ferry”: Kenton Harper

Union Generals

Major-General USA

Winfield Scott

Brigadier-General USA

John Ellis Wool
William Selby Harney
Edwin Vose Sumner

Brigadier-General USA (Staff)

Joseph Eggleston Johnston

Confederate Generals

Note: Italics, awaiting confirmation of the commission

Major-General PACS

David Emanuel Twiggs

Brigadier-General ACSA

Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
Braxton Bragg

Brigadier-General PACS

Alexander Robert Lawton