The Civil War in America
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After months of negotiations broke down over the fate of the U.S. garrison at Fort Sumter, surrounded by Confederate-held Charleston, South Carolina, Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant (P.G.T.) Beauregard (1818–1893) offered Union Major Robert Anderson a final chance to surrender the fort. Anderson refused and inquired if Beauregard, his former student at West Point, would fire on the fort without warning. With a note written at 3:20 a.m., Beauregard alerted Anderson that he would commence firing in one hour.

(Transcription)

Sir: By authority of Brig. General Beauregard . . .


After months of negotiations broke down over the fate of the U.S. garrison at Fort Sumter, surrounded by Confederate-held Charleston, South Carolina, Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant (P.G.T.) Beauregard (1818–1893) offered Union Major Robert Anderson a final chance to surrender the fort. Anderson refused and inquired if Beauregard, his former student at West Point, would fire on the fort without warning. With a note written at 3:20 a.m., Beauregard alerted Anderson that he would commence firing in one hour.