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| The sinking of the Keokuk as illustrated in Harper's Weekly |
Charleston Stands
It
seemed to the Federals that the Confederates were unfazed. This was almost
true, and the Charleston defenders had reason to be elated. Losses at Fort
Moultrie were paltry. When he took a boat over there, General Ripley learned
that the most considerable damage was done to the flagstaff. It had been cut by
enemy shot, the top part falling down and crushing a Private Lusby. Lusby soon
died from his injury. The Confederates defiantly set their regimental flag on
the traverse to replace the one that had fallen. The other casualty at this
spot was a gunner, Private Harrison, who accidentally lost a finger while
helping push his gun into place.[1]
Indeed, Confederate losses were light, especially in terms of men. An ammunition chest exploded in Battery Wagner, killing 4 men and wounding 4 others. Fort Sumter, which was hit about 55 times, can be said to have had the worst of it. One Columbiad exploded and flew back into the parade grounds, and a rifled 42-pound piece was put out of action not by enemy fire, but by a defective gun carriage that was crushed by the recoil of the gun. Six men, one of them a slave or free black, were hit by debris from shattered brick and wood. Major Echols, one of the engineers, added, “Nearly all the window panes and some of the sashes in the fort were broken by concussion.”[2] Total Confederate losses in manpower mounted to 4 dead and 10 wounded.[3]
