Description of ceremonies at Fort Sumter, 1865 May 28.

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Description of ceremonies at Fort Sumter, 1865 May 28.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/30846506

Essay describing ceremonies at the close of the Civil War in Charleston, S.C., at which Maj. Robert Anderson raised the U.S. flag over Ft. Sumter, listing prominent abolitionists in attendance, describing devastation of Charleston, and including his brief remarks during the ceremony; Townsend had been sent by the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton to serve both as his representative and in a supervisory capacity. Describes festivities marking end of Civil War, where dignitaries included Henry Ward Beecher, William Lloyd Garrison, Theodore Tilton, editor of the Independent, Judge-Advocate General Joseph Holt, Massachusetts Gov. John Henry Clifford, and other anti-slavery activists, including Englishman George Thompson. Charged with preserving the dignity of the occasion as well as suppressing any potentially embarrassing incidents, Townsend noted, "to avoid the speech making which many of the ultras panted for, I hit upon the plan of printing a programme & made it to be understood that we should stick to that." In order "to let off the enthusiasm a little," Townsend allowed the singing of the national anthem, which was followed by the raising of the U.S. flag. This essay mentions the reaction of Charlestonians to the assassination of President Lincoln, and also includes a vivid description of the damage to the city: "The lower part is destroyed in great measure by our shells. The middle part by two great fires, and only the upper part, sparsely built, remains. Most of the young & middle aged men of So[uth] Car[olina] are gone. The State is a ruin, & the spirits of the people are much broken." Includes undated newspaper clipping re other events during Townsend's visit to Charleston.

2 items.

University of South Carolina, System Library Service, University Libraries

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7291057

University of South Carolina, System Library Service, University Libraries

Related Entities

There are 9 Entities related to this resource.

Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65r5mbs (person)

Anti-slavery advocate. From the description of Circular and letter, 1848 Jan. 21, Boston, to Rev. Mr. Russell, South Hingham. (Boston Athenaeum). WorldCat record id: 231311718 Abolitionist and reformer William Lloyd Garrison was founder of the Boston abolitionist paper, The Liberator, and the New England Anti-Slavery Society. From the description of Papers, 1835-1873 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 232007257 Abolitionist and lectur...

Townsend, E. D. (Edward Davis), 1817-1893

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67f3jf2 (person)

Edward Davis Townsend (August 22, 1817 – May 10, 1893) was Adjutant General of the United States Army from 1869 to 1880. The son of David S. & Eliza (Gerry) Townsend and grandson of Vice President Elbridge Gerry, Townsend was educated at Boston's Latin School before graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1837. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Second U. S. Artillery and served as that regiment's adjutant and participating in the Second Seminole War and the relocati...

Tilton, Théodore 1835-1907

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61r7297 (person)

Theodore Tilton (1835-1907) was an American newspaper editor, journalist, poet, and supporter of women's suffrage. He and his wife were parishioners of the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher and Tilton worked as his assistant for eleven years, until 1874, when Tilton sued Beecher for adultery with Mrs. Tilton. The case received widespread public attention. Tilton subsequently moved to Paris where he lived for the rest of his life. From the guide to the Theodore Tilton Correspondence, 1865-1894,...

Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dr30vg (person)

Abolitionist; orator; pastor of Plymouth Church, 1847-1887. From the description of Papers, [ca.1847]-1937, 1847-1887 (bulk) (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 155459715 American Congregational clergyman, lecturer, reformer, and author. From the guide to the Henry Ward Beecher papers, 1851-1896, n.d, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.) Congregationalist minister. From the description of Sermon notes, [n.d.], 1893, 18...

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tz44c1 (person)

Abraham Lincoln (born February 12, 1809, Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky-died April 15, 1865, Washington, D.C.) was the sixteenth President of the United States from 1861 until his death by assassination. He was the son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Thomas Lincoln, and Nancy Hanks. In 1816, Lincoln moved to Pigeon Creek, Indiana, where he worked on his family's farm. Following his mother's death two years later, he continued working on farms until moving with his father to New Sa...

Holt, Joseph, 1807-1894

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6h41sn8 (person)

Joseph Holt, 1807-94, American public official, judge advocate general of the U.S. army (1862-75). A native of Kentucky, he became a well-known lawyer and prominent Democratic politician. In 1857, President Buchanan appointed him commissioner of patents in 1857, and in 1859 he became Postmaster General. In the beginning of 1861, before the outbreak of the Civil War, he was Secretary of War. A staunch opponent of the secession movement, Holt was instrumental in preventing Kentucky from seceding. ...

Clifford, John H. (John Henry), 1809-1876

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w69w0g9d (person)

Anderson, Robert, 1805-1871

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cj8p6r (person)

Anderson was born at "Soldier's Retreat," the Anderson family estate near Louisville, Kentucky. His father, Richard Clough Anderson Sr. (1750–1826), served in the Continental Army as an aide-de-camp to the Marquis de Lafayette during the American Revolutionary War, and was a charter member of the Society of the Cincinnati; his mother, Sarah Marshall (1779–1854), was a cousin of John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. He graduated from the United States Military Academy (Wes...

Thompson, George, 1804-1878

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jm2zsn (person)

George Donisthorpe Thompson, English slavery abolitionist. From the description of George Thompson manuscript material : 1 item, [ca. 1837?] (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 739732839 English abolitionist. From the description of Autograph entry signed : Salem, Ohio, 1864 Dec. 8. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 639601027 ...