Early on the morning of Friday, March 8, Confederate guns began firing from Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island, and from Cummings Point on Morris. This in itself was not unusual. The Confederate gunners were constantly firing off blank charges for no apparent purpose other than practice or perhaps to intimidate the men at Sumter. During Friday’s demonstration the first three shots were indeed blanks, fired from Moultrie, followed by two more blank discharges from Cummings Point. A third shot from Cummings Point was a surprise.
