STAR OF THE WEST. 



SUMMERSVILLE. 



663 





enough to see, the Star of the "West crossed 

 the bar and proceeded up the channel. Mean- 

 while the little steamer ahead continued on her 

 course, sending off rockets and burning blue 

 lights until after broad daylight. "When with- 

 in about two miles of Fort Moultrie and about 

 the same distance from Fort Sumter, a masked 

 battery on Morris Island, where was a red 

 Palmetto flag flying, opened fire on the Star of 

 the West. The distance appeared about five- 

 eighths of a mile. The American flag was flying 

 at the time from the flagstaff of the Star of the 

 West, and soon after the first shot the Ameri- 

 can ensign was hoisted at the fore. She con- 

 tinued on under the fire of the battery for over 

 ten minutes, several of the shots going entirely 

 over her; one shot passed just clear of the pilot 

 house, another passed between the smoke stack 

 and walking beams of the engine, another 

 struck the ship just abaft of the fore rigging 

 and stove in the planking, while another came 

 near carrying away the rudder. At the same 

 time there was a movement of two steamers 

 from near Fort Moultrie, one of them towing a 

 schooner, which was thought by the officers of 

 the Star of the West to be an armed schooner 

 intended, to cut them off. They regarded the 

 position of the steamer at this time as rather 

 critical, as they must approach Fort Moultrie 

 within three-quarters of a mile before they 

 conld keep away for Fort Sumter. The report 

 of Capt. McGowan says : " A steamer approach- 

 ing us with an armed schooner in tow, and the 

 battery on the island firing at us all the time, 

 and having no cannon to defend ourselves from 

 the attack of the vessels, we concluded that to 

 avoid certain capture or destruction we would 

 endeavor to get to sea." They then wore 

 round and steered down the channel, and the 

 battery continued to fire upon them until the 

 shot fell short. They crossed the bar outward 

 at 8.50 A. M., and returned to New York. 



" The steamer," says another account, " which 

 discovered the Star of the West, was the Gen- 

 eral Clinch, and she signalled the fact to the oc- 

 cupants of the battery at Morris Island. As 

 soon as she had signalled, Morris Island was 

 astir. Men were at their posts before orders 

 were given. They remained in anxious sus- 

 pense, ready for what they believed was sure 

 to come, namely, a volley from Fort Sumter. 

 The Star of the West rounded the point, took 

 the ship channel inside of the bar, and proceed- 

 ed straightforward until opposite to Morris 

 Island, three-quarters of a mile from the bat- 

 tery. A ball was fired athwart the bows of the 

 steamer. The Star of the West displayed the 

 Stars and Stripes. As soon as they were un- 

 furled, the fortification fired a succession of 

 heavy shots. The vessel continued with in- 

 creased speed. But one or two shots took 

 effect ; and she concluded to retire. Fort 

 Moultrie fired a few shots, but out of range. 

 The damage done to the steamer was trifling. 

 Only two out of seventeen shots took effect. 

 Fort Sumter made no demonstration, except 



opening the port-holes and running out the 

 puns which bear on Morris Island and Fort 

 Moultrie." 



What instructions were given by the Govern- 

 ment to the commander of the Star of the "UV-: 

 have not been made known. A correspondence 

 immediately took place between the commander 

 of Fort Sumter and the Governor of South Caro- 

 lina, in which the former stated that an unarmed 

 vessel of the United States had been fired on, 

 and wished to know if it had been with the 

 sanction of the Governor. The latter replied, 

 that any attempt to send troops into Charles- 

 ton harbor by the United States, to reenforce 

 the forts, or to retake and resume possession 

 of the forts within the waters of South 

 Carolina, would be regarded as an act of 

 hostility. 



This steamer -was subsequently chartered 

 again by the Federal Government, and sent to 

 Texas to receive and convey to New York a 

 part of the regular force withdrawn from that 

 State ; but on the 17th of April she was board- 

 ed off Indianola by a party of volunteers from 

 Galveston, and captured without resistance. 

 Between eight and nine hundred barrels of 

 provisions were on board at the time. 



STORES, WILLIAM Lucirs, LL. D., late 

 chief-justice of Connecticut, was born at Mid- 

 dletown, Connecticut, March 25, 1795, died at 

 Hartford, June 25, 1861. He graduated at 

 Yale College in 1814, studied law at Whites- 

 town, New York, and was admitted to the bar 

 in that State in 1817". Soon after he returned 

 to his native city, where he practised his pro- 

 fession till 1840. He repeatedly represented 

 Middletown in the State Legislature, and in 

 1834 was Speaker of the House of Representa- 

 tives of the State. He was elected to Congress 

 in 1829, and served as representative of that 

 district in the 21st, 22d, and 26th Congresses. 

 In 1840 he was elected an associate judge of 

 the Supreme Court of the State, and in 1857, 

 on the resignation of Chief-Justice Waite, 

 chief-justice. He was a man of profound legal 

 attainments, and his decisions were regarded 

 with the highest respect by the able jurists of 

 the State. 



SUMMERSYILLE is the county seat of 

 Nicholas County, the next east of Kanawha 

 County, in Virginia. It is about fifty miles 

 from Charleston, the central position of the 

 Kanawha Valley, and 25 miles from Gauley 

 Bridge, up the Gauley River. On the 26th of 

 August the Seventh Ohio Regiment, under Col. 

 Tyler, was surrounded at Summersville while 

 at breakfast, and attacked on both flanks and 

 in the front simultaneously. The troops, al- 

 though surprised, forced their way through the 

 enemy with considerable loss. About nine 

 hundred were engaged on the Federal side, and 

 double that number on the Confederate side. 

 No permanent advantage was gained by the 

 Confederate force, as a larger Federal force, 

 under General Cox, was stationed at Gauley 

 Bridge. 



