27. The Man Who Fired the First Shot in Defense of the Union
In 1861, Abner Doubleday was second in command in the federal garrison at Fort Sumter when it was fired upon by Rebels to start off the Civil War. He personally aimed the first cannon that returned fire, and forever after credited himself with firing the war’s first shot in defense of the Union. After the Sumter garrison capitulated and vacated the fort, Doubleday served in the artillery of the Army of the Potomac. By the time of the Second Battle of Bull Run in 1862, he had risen to command of a brigade. Following the Union defeat in that battle, he took charge of his division after its commander was wounded, and led it as it covered the rest of the army’s retreat.
At the Battle of Antietam, the division commander was again wounded, and Doubleday again took charge, and led his men in fierce fighting in which he was wounded. By the time of the Battle of Gettysburg, Doubleday had been appointed to permanent command of his own division in the Army of the Potomac’s I Corps. It was the first Union corps to arrive at the field of battle. It reinforced a cavalry commander who had been fighting a delaying action west of Gettysburg, in order to buy Union forces enough time to reach and occupy a strong defensive position south of the town.
