A postcard of the mural from the main lobby of the Fort Sumter Hotel that depicts the attack on Fort Sumter. The front of the postcard reads, "This mural painting, in the Main Lobby of the Fort Sumter Hotel, Charleston, South Carolina, symbolizes the initial attack by Confederate forces, beginning the War Between the States.--The painting is by Alfred Hutty, internationally noted artist and etcher." The back of the postcard reads, "The first shot of the War Between the States was fired April 12, 1861, from a Confederate battery at Fort Johnson (position of the observer in this painting) and landed on the parade ground of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. In this painting Fort Sumter is center, Fort Moultrie to the distant left and a floating Confederate battery to the right. The flag is the original seven star flag of the Confederacy. Fort Sumter, occupied by Confederates on April 14, 1861, was under constant siege by Federal forces from that date until February 18, 1865--In 1948 Fort Sumter was designated a national monument."
A handwritten, fourteen-page letter from Joseph Alston to his father, Charles Alston, in which he updates his family on his experiences being stationed at Battery Wagner during the Civil War. He also brings news of his brother, John Julius Alston, and his actions during battle.
A handwritten, two-page letter from Emma Alston to her husband, Charles Alston, in which she shares her concerns about their son, John Julius Alston, as she predicts that Battery Wagner and Fort Sumter will soon fall to Union forces. She also mentions the assistance of an enslaved man, Mack, who helped her communicate with her son.
The Weehaw Plantation Journal, 1855-1861, is a journal of Weehaw Plantation, near Georgetown regarding birth, death, duties, vaccinations, tasks and allowances of enslaved people, plantation expenses, names of overseers, listings of rice crops, clothing for enslaved people, cattle, yearly accounts, tools, usage of fields, vegetable garden production, medicines, house groceries and contracts. The journal is also used as a partial diary regarding the plantation with comments on Abraham Lincoln's inaugural address, secession of South Carolina, the days leading up to the attack on Fort Sumpter, the day of the attack on Fort Sumpter, lists of enslaved persons winter and summer clothes and mentions of recruiting for Hampton's Legion for the Confederate States of America. Loose papers found within the journal contain names of enslaved persons and notes on the plantation.
General Orders No. 50 from the War Department stating that Brevet Major-General Robert Anderson will raise the flag on Fort Sumter April 14, 1865. Rev. Henry Ward Beecher will deliver a public address at the ceremonies.
General Orders No. 50 from the War Department stating that Brevet Major-General Robert Anderson will raise the flag on Fort Sumter April 14, 1865. Rev. Henry Ward Beecher will deliver a public address at the ceremonies.
“Stories Collected from Slaves” by Leonarda J. Aimar is a bound volume of formerly enslaved people's stories. In her transcription, she attempted to capture the storytellers’ colloquial speech, now recognized as the Gullah language. The volume includes a list of addresses, occupations, and diseases of African Americans during their enslavement; an eye-witness account of the Battle of Secessionville on James Island during the Civil War in 1862; how enslaved people were returned to their slaveholders following the Revolutionary War; and an account of Sherman's march from Savannah, Georgia to Charleston, South Carolina during the Civil War. A formerly enslaved man, Sam, provides a detailed account of being a butler, coachman, and horse jockey. He also recounts how Union Army Major Robert Anderson took control of Fort Sumter and the events that transpired there on April 12, 1861. Other accounts include an enslaved man’s recollections of his time as a servant to a plantation overseer who sympathized with the Union during the Civil War and formerly enslaved man Jim Alston’s detailed eye-witness account of the 1876 Cainhoy Riot.
A detailed account of the Battle of Fort Sumter from the Confederate perspective, including the lead-up to the battle and the eventual surrender. The pamphlet also describes the battle from an alternate viewpoint on Cummings' Point and an account of an attempt to intercept Union steamer ships.
A postcard of Fort Sumter in the Charleston Harbor. The back of the postcard read, "Fort Sumter constructed 1828. A historic Fort known to all students for its surrender to the Confederates by Major Anderson at the beginning of the Civil War."
A pamphlet about Fort Sumter published by the National Parks Service as part of the "Historical Handbook Series." The pamphlet includes a brief history of Fort Sumter, including its construction, the initial bombardment which started the Civil War, it's role throughout the Civil War, and the purpose it served after the Civil War. It also includes a guide and map of the national monument as it existed in 1962.
