Alfred Roman, The military operations of General Beauregard in the war between the states, 1861 to 1865

[143] Engineers' reports quoted by General Beauregard. But though its walls, riddled by shot and shattered by shell, had crumbled into a mass of ruins; and though its enemies could now approach it, no longer fearing the thunder of its artillery, it still stood invincible, with its battle-flag floating to the breeze, defiant as ever. The battered inner faces of its magazines had ceased to afford security, and a single well-directed missile might at any moment, before the removal of the powder, have launched the entire garrison into eternity. That this was the enemy's object was known to every officer and man in the fort. Truly, it required fortitude and cool daring, as well as admirable spirit and discipline, to endure, undaunted, such an ordeal. And it is undoubted that the example thus given by Sumter, from the first attack of the turreted fleet, on the 7th of April, to the 23d of August, and later, contributed no little to the unparalleled resistance of Wagner, and of the other batteries around the harbor. So well had that example served to kindle the fire of emulation among the troops defending Charleston, that the same heroism prevailed everywhere; and it is matter of history to-day that the defence of Fort Sumter and that of Battery Wagner are looked upon as two of the most skilful, desperate, and glorious achievements of the war. They stand unsurpassed in ancient or modern times.