Headquarter And Escort Duty

Anderson Troop, a regiment of cavalry, sometimes identified at the 15^th Pennsylvania Cavalry was discharged from Union service on March 24^th 1863.

Organized in Carlisle, Pennsylvania as an independent cavalry company, the Anderson Troop was mustered into union service November 30^th 1861.  The men were recruited for three years’ service under the special authority of the United States Secretary of War.  It was placed under the command of Captain William Jackson Palmer, and was designated for headquarter and escort duty with Union General Robert Anderson in Kentucky.

The men moved to Louisville, Kentucky in December 1861.  They would be at the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862.  The Troop took part General Don Carlos Buell’s Campaign in Alabama and Tennessee from June through August 1862 in connection with the 4^th United States Cavalry.  They spent their time scouting the flanks of the Confederate troop and skirmishing with Confederate Cavalry.  The men would also be involved in Battles of Perryville, Wilkinson’s Cross Roads and Stones River.  During the Battle of Perryville three member of the Troop were captured carrying dispatches between Generals Alexander M McCook and Buell, but managed to destroy the messages before they fell into enemy hands.

The Troop was discharged from Union duty March 24^th 1863.  Union General William S Rosecrans who ordered their discharge said of the Troop, "I part with you with as much regret as you yourselves may feel. You are young, and your behavior since I have been in command, gives promise of a career of usefulness and honor, whether in the service of your country, or in private life; may you realize your hopes, and the wishes of your friends."  During their service they had one 1 office killed; Lieutenant Evan W Grubb, and 5 men who died from disease.

The Castle Fell

Castle Pinckney was the first Union military position seized on December 27^th 1860 by a Confederate state government.

Castle Pinckney was built in 1810 on Shutes’ Folly Island about a mile off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina.  The fort was started in 1797 as a stick and earth structure to protect the city from naval attack and was named for American Revolutionary War hero Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.  It was replaced in 1809 by a brick structure that reminded people of a castle.  The fort was garrisoned in the War of 1812 and during the Nullification Crisis of 1832.  The rest of the time the fort was used as a storehouse for military supplies.

As the country closed in on Civil War, Castle Pinckney was a part of the Union defense of Charleston harbor which included Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter.  Pinckney was protected by 28 guns of various sizes in 1860.  Once week after South Carolina seceded from the Union, on December 27^th 1860 the Castle was stormed by a small force using ladders to climb over the parapet.  The Union soldiers garrisoned at Pinckney turned it over to a South Carolina militia without firing a shot and joined Union Major Robert Anderson at Fort Sumter.  This move made Castle Pinckney the first Union holding to fall to a Confederate force.

Castle Pinckney was manned after Fort Sumter fell by the Charleston Zouave Cadets.  After the First Battle of Manassas, Pinckney was used to hold 154 Union prisoners of war.  Although Pinckney was bombed heavily during the war it stayed in Confederate hands until after Charleston fell.  The Union reoccupied the fort February 18^th 1865.

The Surrender

Fort Sumter was surrendered on April 13th 1861


Confederate Brigadier General PGT Beauregard who was in command of the provisional forces in Charleston, South Carolina demanded the surrender of the garrison at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The commander of Fort Sumter, Major Robert Anderson refused, and the Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort on April 12th 1861. Unable to effectively return fire Anderson surrendered the fort around 2 pm on April 13th 1861. Terms were settled that evening, and Fort Sumter was evacuated the next day. The Union troops boarded a Confederate steamer for the night, before being transported the next morning the Union steamer the “Baltic”. Anderson took the flag from Fort Sumter north with him, were it became a uniting symbol for the Union.

Another good web site to check out on this subject
Fort Sumter April 12-14 1861