It was on April 12th. Captain H. D. Smith, wrote in an article "The U. S. Revenue Cutter Service", Century Magazine, Vol. 33, p575 (February, 1898) that Lieutenant W. D. Thompson fired the opening salvo of the naval war at the Nashville with the thirty-two pounder he commanded on the deck of the Harriet Lane. This is where history gets messed up. The The United States Mail Steamship Nashville was owned by a New York company called Spofford, Tileston & Co. From about 1854 until April 12th 1861, this ship ran a regular (at least once a month) route from New York to Charleston carring passengers and merchandise. She had her own berthing in the harbor of Charleston, and after Fort Sumter was evacuated, she was allowed into the harbor to discharge her passengers and cargo. She then sat at her berth for five months when in October she was put into Confederate service when some Charleston investors allowed the Confederate government to use her.

Why the Harriet Lane fired at the Nashville was because that ship was approaching Charleston without the U.S. Flag flying (was the claim) and to keep her from getting closer they fired accross her bow. Why Captain H. D. Smith wanted to give high credit to the Harriet Lane for such an act is a bit laughable. First shot...LOL!

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David Upton