04/11/1861
In the late afternoon, three officers on General Beauregard's staff, including Colonel James Chesnut, Jr., a recent U. S. senator, arrived at Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor, with a demand for the evacuation of the post. Major Robert Anderson, in command, refused, but indicated that he would have to surrender in a few days regardless, due to lack of food. He later offered, if not given other instructions, to evacuate on April 15, 1861. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation:
Benson J. Lossing, Pictorial History of the Civil War in the United States of America (Mansfield, OH: Estill & Co., 1866), 318-319.