Henry Hunt, hailing from Michigan, responded with his own conviction that the "unity of our people will be eventually restored" when "the name of American will supersede that of northerner, and southerner." Excerpt of Bragg to Hunt, April 21, 1861 Bragg wrote to Hunt, noting the strangeness of their sudden enmity: "A few short months since companions in army, and almost brothers in friendship, it is hard to realize the fact that we are in hostile array against each other." But as a Louisianan, Bragg wanted his Northern friend to appreciate how the "people, en-mass" of the Confederacy were ready for the fight. Each was moved to explain their differences and to anticipate the consequences of the impending conflict. At the time, the Confederate general Braxton Bragg was in command in Pensacola, Florida, while Union colonel Henry Hunt was at Fort Pickens, just across the bay. ![]() The following exchange between two old Army friends illustrates the painful choices made by Americans after the surrender of Fort Sumter. This terrible conflict would divide families, separate former friends, and open rifts in communities. The attack on Fort Sumter marked the opening of the Civil War. When he refused, Confederates unleashed more than forty cannons on the fort and continued to hold it under fire for a day and a half. ![]() On April 12, 1861, Confederate officials informed Major Robert Anderson, US commander at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, that they would allow one hour for him to surrender his forces.
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