Saturday, April 16, 2011

Re-Enactment: South Carolina Fires On Fort Sumter!

From SCV:




SOUTH CAROLINA FIRES ON FORT SUMTER!















(Atlanta - April 14, 2011) Today marks the 150th Anniversary of the surrender of Fort Sumter to South Carolina and the Confederate States of America. In commemoration of this event, the Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans is announcing a number of activities, including living history presentations and monument dedications, across the state of Georgia for the remainder of this calendar year.



It was on the afternoon of April 14, 1861 that federal forces under the command of Major Robert Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter to General P.T. Beauregard and the Confederate forces in Charleston, South Carolina. Governor Pickens of South Carolina had ordered Gen. Beauregard to begin bombardment of the fort early on the morning of April 12 unless Maj. Anderson surrendered and agreed to evacuate the fort, but no surrender was forthcoming until two consecutive days of bombardment convinced Anderson that it was futile to attempt to hold the fort. Although Lincoln used the firing on Fort Sumter as his pretext for raising 75,000 troops to invade the Southern states, what is not so well-known is that the Lincoln administration had promised a peace delegation from the South that there would be no attempt to supply or further garrison Fort Sumter; unbeknownst to the peace delegation, Lincoln's secretary of war had already secretly launched a fleet of ships to do that very thing. South Carolina's decision to fire on the fort was made only after the supply ships arrived in Charleston harbor, and it became evident that Lincoln had lied to the Southern peace commission. There were no deaths on either side during the engagement, and all federal prisoners were allowed to freely return north after their surrender. The bombardment of Fort Sumter was an act of South Carolina to preserve her interests as a sovereign state that became President Lincoln's pretext for four long years of total war against the South and the destruction of America's constitutional republic.



As we commemorate the historical events of 1861, the words of Confederate President Jefferson Davis at war's end certainly ring true: "The principles for which we contend are bound to reassert themselves at a different time." Current debates across America over the use of nullification and States' Rights to halt unconstitutional acts of a growing federal government in 2011 show just how prophetic President Davis' words were. America could learn much from her own history; and the Sons of Confederate Veterans are committed to providing numerous educational opportunities to Georgians throughout the remainder of 2011 and for the next four years as we commemorate the Sesquicentennial of the War Between the States. Georgians and tourists alike are invited to visit the Georgia Division website frequently for updates at www.GeorgiaSCV.org.



Interviews with SCV historians and spokesmen, as well as living history presentations, may be arranged by phone at 1-866-SCV-in-GA or online at www.GeorgiaSCV.org.





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