Geo^a fort Pulaski         Apr 16^th 1861

 

Brother, as it has been some time since i wrote to you before and there has been some little change taken place i take this opportunity of addressing you a few lines i received yours as an answer to my last. the mails is very onregular to and from these points i have nothing to complain of my health is good and the Ridgment in general is healthy and Curnal Brown of Rhode iland says the devil would not kill them and if he poots one of them in the guard house i takes half of his ridgment to keep him thare

 

We left Port royal on the 9 of Apr landed here on the same afternoon with 2 days rashings and no tents we have oil cloth blankets that answers for tents 4 can sleep under two. I suppose before this reaches you you wil hear of the fall of fort Pulaski I can give you some reliable information about that on the 10^th ult our commander sent over a flag of truse and demanded a surrender of the fort and received an answer from the enemy that he was not post thare to surrender but to protect the fort which he did to his utmost a accordingly our batteries opened fire betwen 8 and 9 oclock AM very briskly they were soon answered from the fort the fire continued all day brisk from both sides and all night but not so constant it was some time before our batteries got the right range but when thay did them long rifeled cannon done great execution many of them weighs 16 thousand lb and many of our morters throws 13 in shells and are 3½ ft in diameture our batteries consist of about 35 pieces all together next morning the firing increased and it was soon found that we had made a breach in one corner opposite the magizene the fire still continued strong from the enemy but no dammage to us with the exception of killing one man and slightly wounding one with a shell / in the time thear flag staff was shot away and thear flag came down but it soon went up again. as we had made two holes close together and likely to make them both into one and there magazene being in great danger they became alarmed and at a little past 2 oclock on the 11 of Apr down came the Rebbel flag of which i send you a small piece and up went a white flag in token of surrender. thare was a white flag and the stars and stripes sent over and the latter now floates over the fort protected by the yankies as they call them. the nearest of our batteries and the ones that done the most dammage is about 7/8 of a mile from the fort our batteries all have names such as Lyons Mc clelen Lyncoin and other distinguished men extending over a mile the enemy had no idea of any such strength against them as thay was planted under the cover of the night and they could not see them our curnal got orders on the morning of the second day if thay did not surrender before night our Rigement the 76 P.V was to attact it at the point of the baynot we have but 8 co 2 being left to guard prisners we would have been about 7 hundred against 3 hundred and fifty thare is no dought but we would have lost a good many and our company would have taken the front that is our plase since the 2 companies is out we all knew of it and thare was not a man appeared to be the least alarmed about it some was anxious our Ridgment is expected to do something we are pretty wel drilled some of the batteries was maned by the men from the Warbash and they worked them well the gun that done the most dammage to the fort and fired the last shot before the surrender threw herself backwards upside down clear of her mountings as though with joy the enemy claimes to have lost none but it has been assertained thay was several killed. 

 

On monday the 14 thare was some men handling a shell rather freely and it exploded killing three wounding two one has died since three times as much dammage as we had done in the whole fight thay ware our men in the fort i headed my letter from the fort i ought to have said Tybee Ighland we are encamped about 2 miles from the fort wile the fight was going on thare was a scuner got loose and went up towards the fort and our steamboat started after her but they sent a shell from the fort it done no dammage but they thought they ware far enough in that direction they could see us fellows standing on high sand banks watching the fight thay sent three or four shells near by but fell rather short but some left in double quick there is a high light house here but the rebels burnt the inside out before thay left the Ighland. there is a round tower here that they say is two hundred years old very strong thay had a gun on the fort thay called Zollecoffer she had her hole mouth knocked of by one of our shot thay had plenty of provision in the fort and the men was principly irish and dutch they were taken prisnors and sent away but whare i can not tell there commander said he did not expect to be treated as well as he was our troops was drawn up in open order and he walked through uncovered our men being at a present that means a sallute We are about 12 miles from Savanah and 25 from Port Royal, beleave fort Jackson betwen here and Savanah has not been attacked yet it is supposed that will be a small job as it only amounts about 10 or 12 guns and then i expect to have a chance at Savanah and that wont be very long we have not got Sherman here now General Hunter is commander of the army here in the South and i think he will poot them through 

 

General Gilmore is commander of this Ighland.

 

We have heard of a great battle at Ighland No 10 on the missipe but we hear many tales We was paid some time in febuary up to the 1 of January i had forty five dollars 5 cts of which i poot 35 dollars in our leutenents hands for safe keping and lent 5 to a frend to send home to his wife to make a little bigger pile til next pay there both safe i thought when i got 2 monts pay i could send 60 dollars at once i dont spend much whiskey here is 2.00 for bottle of 3 half pints to much for me.

 

Charles write to me soon as i would like to hear from you and the rest of the folks of course you will let them know from me when it is convenient

 

Direct your letter to Tybee Ighland Geo^a

Co D 76 R       P.V

 

I Still Remain Your Affectnet Brother

William W Shivers

 

I slept sound all night wile the fight was going on

since then our tents is come on we are ready for a fight in 15 minets warning

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