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I was wondering what dates everyone was familiar with :
I recently realized that before Sumter the "Star of the West" was fired on Jan, 9 1861; Fort Sumter- April 12, 1861; then there was the Battle of Philippi 3 June 1861, the Battle of Big Bethel June 10, 1861. Then I ran across this: "“Pensacola residents feel the first action of the war was not Sumter, Philippi or Battle of Big Bethel but Pensacola on January 8, 1861Dale Cox, the unofficial historian for the Florida Panhandle chapter of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans, wrote on his blog that he considers the Pensacola shot the first of the Civil War, saying in an interview that it marked the first time federal troops fired toward Confederate agitators.
“It is an interesting bit of history and I’d like to see Pensacola get more recognition for all of its Civil War history,” he told The Associated Press.
As 1861 dawned, the Union was falling apart. Abraham Lincoln’s election as president the previous November had many Southerners convinced he would ban slavery after taking office that March. South Carolina had seceded on Dec. 20 and other states were about to, including Florida. Amid the turmoil, about 50 federal troops under the command of Lt. Adam J. Slemmer encamped at Fort Barrancas, at what is now Pensacola Naval Air Station. The fort of arched brick passageways and tunnels overlooks the turquoise waters and white-sand beaches of Pensacola Bay. On the night of Jan. 8, the men had raised a drawbridge around the fort, which dated to when Spain controlled Florida, because of growing tensions in the surrounding Naval yard, said historian David Ogden, a ranger at Gulf Islands National Seashore.
According to Slemmer’s report, just after midnight, guards heard footsteps outside and challenged the intruders and heard no response, Ogden said. Slemmer made no mention of shots being fired. It wasn’t until after the war ended in 1865 that one of the would-be intruders, R.L. Sweetman, wrote to Slemmer and later to Slemmer’s widow and made reference to the blank shot fired at Fort Barrancas as the war’s beginning. “In his letter, Sweetman said something like ‘Your husband can claim that he commanded the post where the first shot was fired,’” Ogden said.
I understand there are others that over the years have been rediscovered. I hope you'll know some. Thanks.
I recently realized that before Sumter the "Star of the West" was fired on Jan, 9 1861; Fort Sumter- April 12, 1861; then there was the Battle of Philippi 3 June 1861, the Battle of Big Bethel June 10, 1861. Then I ran across this: "“Pensacola residents feel the first action of the war was not Sumter, Philippi or Battle of Big Bethel but Pensacola on January 8, 1861Dale Cox, the unofficial historian for the Florida Panhandle chapter of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans, wrote on his blog that he considers the Pensacola shot the first of the Civil War, saying in an interview that it marked the first time federal troops fired toward Confederate agitators.
“It is an interesting bit of history and I’d like to see Pensacola get more recognition for all of its Civil War history,” he told The Associated Press.
As 1861 dawned, the Union was falling apart. Abraham Lincoln’s election as president the previous November had many Southerners convinced he would ban slavery after taking office that March. South Carolina had seceded on Dec. 20 and other states were about to, including Florida. Amid the turmoil, about 50 federal troops under the command of Lt. Adam J. Slemmer encamped at Fort Barrancas, at what is now Pensacola Naval Air Station. The fort of arched brick passageways and tunnels overlooks the turquoise waters and white-sand beaches of Pensacola Bay. On the night of Jan. 8, the men had raised a drawbridge around the fort, which dated to when Spain controlled Florida, because of growing tensions in the surrounding Naval yard, said historian David Ogden, a ranger at Gulf Islands National Seashore.
According to Slemmer’s report, just after midnight, guards heard footsteps outside and challenged the intruders and heard no response, Ogden said. Slemmer made no mention of shots being fired. It wasn’t until after the war ended in 1865 that one of the would-be intruders, R.L. Sweetman, wrote to Slemmer and later to Slemmer’s widow and made reference to the blank shot fired at Fort Barrancas as the war’s beginning. “In his letter, Sweetman said something like ‘Your husband can claim that he commanded the post where the first shot was fired,’” Ogden said.
I understand there are others that over the years have been rediscovered. I hope you'll know some. Thanks.