He recognized him immediately as a distinguished
fellow Virginian, a man of large wealth and uncompromising opinions on
Southern rights.
When Virginia had refused to secede, he cursed his countrymen as a set
of hesitating cowards, left the State and moved to South Carolina. He
had volunteered among the first and carried a musket as a private
soldier in spite of his snow-white hairs.
Pryor turned to the Commandant:
"I appreciate, sir, the honor you would do me, but I could not think of
taking it from one more worthy than myself. There is the man whose
devotion to our cause is greater than mine."
He introduced Edmund Ruffin and gave a brief outline of his career. The
boyish Commandant faced him:
"Will you accept the honor of firing the first shot, sir?"
The square jaw closed with a snap:
"By God, I will!"
The old man seized the lanyard and waited for the Captain and messenger
to reach the front to witness the effect of the shot.
They had scarcely cleared the enclosure when the first gun of actual
civil war thundered its fateful message across the still waters of the
beautiful Southern harbor.
They watched the great screaming shell rise into the sky, curve downward
and burst with sullen roar squarely over the doomed fort.
The deed was done!
Instantly came the answering cry of fierce, ungovernable wrath from the
millions of the North.
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