Abner Doubleday presents a unique account from the Union side of the events leading up to and including the bombardment of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, which ignited the American Civil War. His first-person details from inside the garrison are hard to find elsewhere. He was such a staunch Unionist that he recalls being the only officer of the garrison in favor of the election of Lincoln. He continually protests against what he saw as the inaction of his own commanders and higher echelons. He felt that the Rebellion could have been nipped in the bud, had proper action been taken. From the foregoing, it should be apparent that sympathizers of the Confederacy will disagree with Doubleday on many points. I should point out that there is only limited evidence that Abner Doubleday had anything to do with the invention of baseball. He did, however, earn a Congressional Medal of Honor at Gettysburg.

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