Chapter 55

Scarlett stood at the pier, her thick curly hair being blown out of her hat by the strong wind. She shaded her eyes from the sun and pulled her veil closer as she squinted at the approaching boat. It was a little ferry boat and a man helped her inside. She stood inside the boat, gazing intently across the sea at the little sea fort that was to be her destination. They reached the island safetly and Scarlett stepped onto the rocks and walked carefully up the winding path to the grounds of Fort Sumter.

She looked all around and impulsively removed her glove and ran her hand over the stout cannons that were still harnessed against the fort walls. A shiver ran through her spine and with a smile she pulled out a little diary and began to write the date and the words "Fort Sumter". She turned to a young man beside her and said "Now Tom, I want you to tell me everything that happened here. I want to know the details-"

The young man earnestly began the story of how the first firing at the Fort and the Star of the West began the Civil War.

Scarlett scribbled away quickly, making jottings and writing out short paragraphs. As she wrote, she began to realize that she had dismissed a great deal of history in her early years.

"So, the Fort was a place of authority for both the North and the South?" she echoed, wondering at how she could have missed the strong feelings that sparked the war between the Union and the Confederacy.

"Yes" replied the young man with enthusiasm. "We were seceding and we weren't sure of Abe Lincoln's intentions- Ma'am, the Yankees never wanted to do anything with the Blacks. They wanted to change everything ...everything that we held dear..our people, our way of life without actually understanding what was really going on here. "

"Yes...yes, I know" cut in Scarlett, not wanting to get into any complicated sentimental discussions. "Who is Major Anderson?"-"

"He was the leader of the small garrison, Ma'am - that was holding out here at the Fort. And when Mister Lincoln did send food to this fort, we opened fire on the boat that carried the food thinking there was going to be guns in there too-"

Scarlett wrote quickly, her tongue slipping out just a little with the effort. "I wonder if they simply couldn't have talked to the Yankees- after all the fort was a common place of authority and -"

"No Ma'am-" replied Tom, immediately. "Mister Lincoln was against us from the start- either way, it would have meant war-"

"How do you know?"

"Because Mister Lincoln said it wouldn't be democratic for the South States to separate from the Union.. He though the slavery problem was everybody's problem-"

"But that is not true!" cried Scarlett, growing furious with anger that Tom began to smile lightly. Scarlett noticed the smile and merely kept scribbling in her little book.

She began to walk down the path that ran along the fort walls. As Tom continued to explain and relate the events of the past, Scarlett discovered the reasons behind her father's passionate bellowings at Tara and why things had to take the course that they did.

"Of course the slaves would escape to the North and Yankees wouldn't want to concern themselves with capturing runaway slaves-" reasoned Scarlett to herself. "But to accuse the Southern people of going against democracy was too much! No wonder Pa was so angry!"

"Both General Beauregard and President Jefferson Davis agreed that it was hostility on Mister. Lincoln's part to send the fleet to Fort Sumter, even if they were carrying only food- He played a mean trick on us, Ma'am-"

Scarlett set her book down for a moment and smiled. "And to think we were all so proud about the Cause and that we've declared war...when all the while it was Mister Lincoln who had tricked us into firing our cannons!"

"Yes Ma'am-"said the young man, beaming.

Now Scarlett could understand why her beaus had run to training and practise with the fervor that they had gone with. They had fired the first salvo and now they had to keep up the spirit or else their pride would suffer- Now she could stop thinking of Ashley's barbeque party as the place where her heart was first broken to the place where she had heard the men dispute over the outcomes of the war and where they had rushed off to battle against the Yankees. She remembered how passionate they had been and how they had raced to their horses and-

Here Scarlett stopped writing and turned about abruptly. "I want to see the other forts- You did say there was a Fort Moultrie and Castle Pinckey? I want to look at them all!"