Manuscript document signed of the Ordnance Office. Charleston, 21 March 1861. 2 pages, 9 3/4 x 7 3/4 inch. Framed 12 1/3 x 10 1/2 inch. Docketed to verso. 

A finely preserved invoice written by the Ordnance office in Charleston, noting a transportation of goods to Morris Island for the usage of Captain J. P Jones and Captain George B. Cuthbert, for the use of the "Palmetto Guard." 

The Palmetto Guard, led by Captain George Barnwell (1828-1863), was established in pre-Civil War Charleston as a state-organized militia upon the secession of South Carolina in 1860. Notably participating in the April 1861 Battle of Fort Sumpter, this invoice is dated to March of that same year. The guard was sent to Morris island, mentioned in this invoice, where they would await the impending bombardment. Likely, this document records the order of supplies used in the future attack which would spark the commencement of the Civil War. Upon their successful capture of the fort, the distinct flag of the Palmetto Guard was raised above it, marking it as Confederate territory. 

A fascinating document, showing the initial sparks which soon entirely ignite into the proceeding four bloody years.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate][Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs][Fort Sumter]