Fort Sumter

April 12, 1861

The Union manned Fort Sumter
On April twelve in "Sixty-one"
Charlestonians boasted them easy to conquer
The hot fires of dissent had begun

Mary Chestnut viewed from a hotel rooftop
While her husband rowed about in the bay
Against a warm chimney she stoically propped
Until her frock began to blaze!

Major Anderson waited 'til after breakfast was served
To return fire against the Southerners volley

Captain Doubleday continued firing with verve
Both armies hoped this conflict folly

The first battle ended in Union defeat
With no lives lost to the opposition
Although two Yankees fell during their retreat
By the hand of their own man's indiscretion

To face an American as the enemy
Gave both Confederate and Union true pause
Was this a war of necessity?
Did dying soldiers understand the true cause?

For 'twas not slavery that brought first blood
Although slavery surely was wrong
Instead taxes rained upon the South in a flood
 Lincoln's spite made the bloody battles long

So alas! The war that began that day
In the year of Eighteen Hundred Sixty-one
Put brother against brother in a murderous way
Leaving thousands slaughtered before it was done!

By
Rosalene H. Abrams
October 1, 1999

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