During this conversation the Dolphin was going at a great speed; but in altering her course to keep to the right side of the Charleston Harbour she was obliged to enter a channel which took her for a moment near Fort Sumter; and when scarcely half a mile off all the guns bearing on her were discharged at the same time, and a shower of shot and shell passed in front of the Dolphin with a thundering report.
Amint azonban elfordult, hogy a charlestoni öböl jobbpartjához közeledjék, át kellett haladnia egy bejáró csatornán, mely a Sumter-erőd közelében vezetett el. Néhány percnyi utat félmérföldnyire az erőd alatt kellett megtenniük.