The Soldier on the Front Lines
The American Civil War has just started. I was stationed at Fort Sumter just four months ago. On April 11, 1861 at 4:30 the confederate brigade general P.G.T Beauregard told his men to open fire on our fort. We fought back for about 34 hours cannons and gun fires going back and forth at one another. The firing just continued all day there was no holding back on either side. Our walls come tumbling down after every cannon shot, the fires were out of control, everywhere I look there was a fire being started from the cannons crashing into our weapon supply and boiler room. I remember that our captain, Abner Doubleday, went out of his way to grab our flag and while the enemy still shooting at us and exposed to them picked up the flag and place the stars and stripped flag back up. Two days have gone by and Anderson surrendered the fort. Amazingly no one was killed in the battle. Anderson surrendered the fort and allowed us to evacuate the fort the next day.
I am now in Virginia it is July 21, 1861. We had three brigades the first was the Second and Third Michigan, First Massachusetts and twelfth New York with two rifled cannons under Lieut. Benjamin. There were roads filled others soldiers as far as the eye could see. There regiment had distinctive uniforms, the militia had red shirts and baggy trousers and a cap. There rifleman are in green, blue with a lot of different trimmings, and black hats. While our uniform consisted of all blue for the Michigan troops they were all in gray with black trimmings and the twelfth New York was in yellow. The day was hot and the wind blowing up the dirt mad it really dusty. The march was with a lot of frequent stops so we could rest in the shade, a lot of us were sunburnt at this point it was becoming unbearable to continue but we did. It was night time and I was the one on guard while the rest of me squad was asleep, another guy came rushing over the hill screaming “to arms, to arms” I hurried…