Sketches of Fort Moultrie by an Officer of Major Anderson’s Command
Description from Fort Moultrie 1809-1930—A Chronological List of Maps & Photos:
“Sketches of Fort Moultrie by an officer of Major Anderson’s Command,” published in the January 12, 1861 edition of Harper’s Weekly. These five illustrations constitute the only visual representation of the defensive measures which were adopted by Moultrie’s besieged Federal garrison, prior to their stealthy evacuation in favor of the greater safety afforded by Fort Sumter on the night of December 26, 1860, in order to avoid any possible take-over by South Carolinian forces. Charleston Harbor 1861 [b&w]
Note: the gun pent-covers being used as sentry-boxes in the upper left-hand corner of this multi-panel print, as well as an additional defensive screen atop the Guardhouse curtain at upper-right; plus the sheer size of the dig needed to produce the wet ditch and glacis around the eastern and southern faces of the fort, as can be seen in the lower-left and lower-right panels; etc.
Source: Copies of this print can be found on Page 24 of the January 12, 1861 edition of Harper’s Weekly (Volume V, Number 211), available through numerous university and municipal libraries. Special hand-tinted off-prints were also produced and sold separately in 1861, which today can be found in both public and private collections.
Image retrieved from:
“Sketches of Fort Moultrie in Harper’s Weekly, 1861.” Open Parks Network. Accessed December 26, 2020. openparksnetwork.org/single-item-view/?oid=OPN_NS%3AFF8EE….
Descriptive Information
Clockwise. Gun Cover used as a shelter for Guard. Entrance or Sally Port. Interior of an embrasure. Sea front constructing bastions. Wall and Ditch – East side.
Fort Moultrie, Charleston County, South Carolina, United States(32.75907,-79.85786)
Medium: illustrations (layout features)
Item Location: Fort Sumter NM/Charles Pinckney NHS Curatorial Storage Facility, located at Charles Pinckney National Historic Site
Box Box 2 of 3 Fosu 19th-c Illustrations Frank Leslie Harpers Weekly London Times, Etc.
Held By Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park
Permanent Link purl.clemson.edu/1E48BF484DDEB87E6DEB9B2DA72951B6
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Mike’s notes:
Special handed-tinted off-prints were also sold separately from newspapers. Numerous originals held today by public institutions and in private collections.
Note – This image has been digitally adjusted for one or more of the following:
– fade correction,
– color, contrast, and/or saturation enhancement
– selected spot and/or scratch removal
– cropped for composition and/or to accentuate subject