Fraternity-Testvériség, 1961 (39. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1961-01-01 / 1. szám
FRATERNITY 3 The first cannon ball was a warning to the “Star of the West” and was aimed across her bow. Undaunted, the little steamer hoisted her Stars and Stripes . . . and proceeded full steam ahead! Throughout the 17-shot cannon bombardment that followed, Fort Sumter remained silent. Port holes of the fortress were opened — guns were run out and aimed at Morris Island, but the Union soldiers held their fire. As it was discovered later, orders instructing the Fort’s commander, Major Robert Anderson, to answer the fire failed to arrive in time. The North watched — waited — and by an act of fate, civil war had been temporarily averted. But the emotional battle lines had been clearly drawn, and as history showed, the tragic conflict was inevitable. In April, 1861, the Civil War began in earnest. TARGET Steamship "Star of the West" as she enters Charleston Harbor. Seventeen shots — three on target — from the shore cannons convinced her captain and the 250 U. S. troops aboard to turn about and leave their mission — to reach Fort Sumter — unaccomplished. The fort is in the background. (Photo from The Bettmann Archives.) Motivated by the historic role played by Citadel cadets, General Mark W. Clark, of World War II fame, now president of The Citadel, has selected the honor company of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets to perform in the re-enactment. Those in the group -— many are direct descendants of the cadets who participated in the actual event — will be letting their hair grow to the length that was customary back in the last century. Also, accurate reproductions of the cadet uniforms,
