Show A I J. J I SAW FALL OF FORT SUMTER I Capt John A. A Bunker While Aboard I Coasting Schooner off Charleston I Witnessed Battle On an April day In 1861 while the guns Suns of Moultrie and Castle Pinckney were thundering against the walls of Fort Sumter there lay at anchor outside out out- side Bide the harbor at Charleston S S. S C C. 3 a coasting schooner From Its lying low-lying deck its officers and crew of half hatt a dozen sailors watched the artillery duel that proved to be the opening scene in the Civil WarThe War The schooner was th the Pennsylvania chartered by Boston shippers and amid freighted with Ice for Charleston One of the crew that was thus privileged to be eyewitnesses of ot the first overt act of rebellion against the tho United States government was John Allen Bunker then aged 23 of Edgartown MassI Mass I was 23 years yeats of age at the time timeserving timeserving timeserving serving before the mast in the coastIng coasting coast coast- Ing trade Our aUf craft which was Val in Rockland Rockland Rock Rock- schooner rigged was wan owned n land Me Early In April we sailed out of ot Boston carrying tons of Ice consigned to parties in Charles Charles' Charleston ton S. S C. C Of course we had heard for foi several months mutterings of impendIng impend Ing trouble and we knew that Maj Mal Anderson had transferred his com command mand from the shore fortifications to Fort Sumter and was holding for fot Uncle Sam b but t I think not a soul on onboard onboard onboard board the Pennsylvania our schooner realized the seriousness of the he situa I know I felt no hesitation about making the trip After rounding Cape Cod we ran down the coast without special de delay delay lay so far as I can remember and andIn andIn andin In about five days I should say we were off ort Charleston and headed for forthe forthe forthe the channel leading to the city Fort Sumter was being bombard ed We were four miles away but we wa could see the flash of the guns in Moultrie and other shore fortifications Over all hung a great volume ol 01 olem em smoke eke What did we do Why there was wail but one thing for the captain to do do- do drop the anchor and await the out outcome come It would have been suicidal to have attempted to run the gauntlet off that heavy crossfire Yes we were held up all right and so through the afternoon we swung at anchor and H We Swung at Anchor and Watched the Battle watched the battle too far away to judge whether one side or the other was gaining an advantage There was mighty little sleep on the Pennsylvania that night i und rind nd when tho morning broke every eye was was strained har to see whether the old flag was still flying over Sum Sum- ten tel We could not make malie it out and our tears fears were realized when tater later a harbor pilot boarded us and told us Sumter had fallen Callen Under his bis guidance we worked our way up the channel past the now silent silent si si- si lent forts of ot the city There all was excitement Nothing but the victory gained by the tho South Carolina soldiers was talked about and a Yankee sailor was not enthusiastically welcomed That port officers advised our capLain captain cap cap- lain tain to discharge his cargo without delay de lay and get away while there was a chance We Ve took the hint and lost no notime notime notime time in acting upon it In considerable consider able less than forty eight hours bours our cargo was hoisted out and we had said goodby to Charleston I The next time I sailed to that port was about one year later I should say and then we ban parried ed stone Instead of or Ice You see it was this way The Tho government did not have enough armed vessels to maintain an effective tive blockade of the stretching long-stretching Atlantic seaboard and it was decided to obstruct tho the channels leading to certain ports of which Charleston was one with sunken vessels The government gOvernment govern gOvern- ment meat purchased sixteen ships that had been formerly employed In the whalIng whaling whal whal- ing lag business picking them up Tn New London Sa Sag Harbor Nantucket and andew New ew ne Bedford ford These sun sunken lien hulls formed only a temporary obstruction of at course for tor forthe forthe I shifting of the the constant sand on the bar and the tIme action of the waves wa would eventually cause them to break breakup up op and wash away but I reckon they served the tho purpose Intended at nt the IDle ime Irne |