No Problem Here

Once the U.S. Army presence had been removed from Ft. Sumter after 34 hours of Confederate shelling, the citizens of Charleston continued to go about their daily lives. Parties were even held at the fort, and guests were shuttled back and forth from the city in rowboats. Certainly there were men from the area who went off to battle elsewhere, but things were pretty quiet around here - at least for awhile. But in June 1862, a little over a year after the war had begun, Federal troops landed on James Island, just a stone's throw from the Battery and engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat at Secessionville. Although the Confederates were greatly outnumbered, they managed to defeat the U.S. soldiers there, and the U.S. Army was prevented from entering the city. Another year would pass before their next attempt.