|
William
Henry Chase Whiting, born in Mississippi, graduated first in the West
Point class of 1845 and spent all of his antebellum career as an
engineering officer working on various coastal forts, rising to the
rank of Captain. He resigned his commission on February 20, 1861,
and was
appointed to the Confederate Army with the rank of Major. In this
capacity he was ordered to Charleston to inspect the various harbor
forts and report back to the Confederate government. Whiting eventually rose to become a general officer in the Confederate Army, seeing action in the 1862 battles around Richmond. He was wounded during the capture of Fort Fisher in January, 1865, and died in a Union hospital on Governors Island, New York, on March 10. |
|
|
MONTGOMERY, ALA.,
February 23, 1861. Maj. W. H. C. WHITING: MY DEAR SIR: You will proceed to
Charleston and deliver the note addressed to Governor Pickens, which you will
find herewith inclosed. After conferring with him as to the time and mode of
visiting the different posts in Charleston Bay, you will enter upon a
reconnoissance of the harbor of Charleston and its approaches. You will inspect
the various works in our possession and gain such knowledge as circumstances
will permit of Fort Sumter. In inspecting the works of the Confederate States
you will bear in mind the double relation they may have as works of offense and
of defense. You will make an inventory of the armament and of the munitions at
the forts and in store, noting particularly the different qualities of cannon
powder, as indicated by grain. Generally, I desire you to perform all the
duties which devolve upon an engineer charged with the examination of works,
and the preparation for active operations under circumstances such as those of
Charleston, in this emergency. Very respectfully, truly, yours, JEFF'N DAVIS. |
Back to Civil War Chronologies (Main page) Back to Chronology of the Fort Sumter Crisis Source: Official Records, Vol. 1, p. 258. Date added to website: January 10, 2025. |
