r me there with his
case-shot, which spattered all around. Had not a slight change of wind
taken place, the result might have been fatal to most of us.

Our firing having ceased, and the enemy being very jubilant, I thought
it would be as well to show them that we were not all dead yet, and
ordered the gunners to fire a few rounds more. I heard afterward that
the enemy loudly cheered Anderson for his persistency under such adverse
circumstances.

The scene at this time was really terrific. The roaring and crackling of
the flames, the dense masses of whirling smoke, the bursting of the
enemy's shells, and our own which were exploding in the burning rooms,
the crashing of the shot, and the sound of masonry falling in every
direction, made the fort a pandemonium. When at last nothing was left of
the building but the blackened walls and smoldering embers, it became
painfully evident that an immense amount of damage had been done. There
was a tower at each angle of the fort. One of these, containing great
quantities of shells, upon which we had relied, was almost completely
shattered by successive explosions. The massive wooden gates, studded
with iron nails, were burned, and the wall built behind them was now a
mere heap of debris, so that the main entrance was wide open for an
assaulting party. The sally-ports were in a similar condition, and the
numerous windows on the gorge side, which had been planked up, had now
become all open entrances.

About 12.48 P.M. the end of the flag-staff was shot down, and the flag
fell.[20] It had been previously hanging by one halliard, the other
having been cut by a piece of shell. The exultation of the enemy,
however, was short-lived. Peter Hart found a spar in the fort, which
answered very well as a temporary flag-staff. He nailed the flag to
this, and raised it triumphantly by nailing and tying the pole firmly to
a pile of gun-carriages on the parapet. This was gallantly done, without
undue haste, under Seymour's supervision, although the enemy
concentrated all their fire upon the spot to prevent Hart from carrying
out his intention. From the beginning, the rebel gunners had been very
ambitious to shoot the flag down, and had wasted an immense number of
shots in the attempt.

While the battle was going on, a correspondent of the _New York
Tribune_, who was in Charleston, wrote that the populace were calling
for my head. Fortunately, I was not there to gratify them. My relations
wi