Two other stories involved enlisted men from Company E. Two sergeants snuck off during the day and went upstairs to the parapet, where sat a ten-inch columbiad. It was already loaded and aimed at the Iron Battery, so they simply pulled its lanyard. The large ball just skimmed over the entrenched gun emplacement. If it had actually hit it, they concluded, the weight of this large ball might have done real damage, so they decided to try again.
But since there were just the two of them, although they could load the gun they did not have the strength to move it forward again from its recoiled position. One went to get help while his comrade lay low and held on to the lanyard. The Confederates, however, had turned their attention to his position out in the open and shells began to explode about him. Finally, he could not stand it and yanked the lanyard. The great cannon recoiled backward and flipped out of its chassis, part of it tumbling into the stairwell, just missing his companion, the other sergeant, who was running back up.
The two scuttled away quickly, before any officers could find them out, pleased with their efforts; the second shot had very nearly hit the target.
Source:
Detzer, David. “A Mere Point of Honor.” Allegiance: Fort Sumter, Charleston, and the Beginning of the Civil War. New York: Harcourt, 2002. 279. Print.
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