South Carolina militia, under the command of Colonel John Cunningham, seized control of the Charleston Arsenal from the federal military storekeeper, Captain F.C. Humphreys, under his protest. A militia guard had surrounded the installation since November 9, 1860, after the election of Abraham Lincoln. South Carolina troops then began issuing arms and ammunition.  Material worth an estimated $400,000 was seized.  (By John Osborne) 
Source Citation
               Samuel Wylie Crawford, The Genesis of the Civil War: The Story of Sumter, 1860-1861 (New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1887), 122-123.
Record Data
Date Certainty
              Exact
          Type
          Battles/Soldiers