On this day, 154 years ago the FIRST shots of the Civil War were fired

On this day, 154 years ago, in 1861, Charleston Harbor, The Citadel Cadets manning a battery of artillery on Morris Island, fired the real FIRST shots of the Civil War. The steamship SS Star of the West had been sent to resupply MAJ Robert Anderson and his men at FT Sumter. Supposedly loaded with only subsistence items, the ship actually carried additional troops and munitions. The Cadets fired a shot over the bow of the ship as it near FT Sumter as a warning shot. Several more shots were fired, hitting the ship three times, before it turned about, aborting its mission.
The Star of the West Medal is awarded annually to the "best drilled cadet" at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. In June 1893, The Citadel Superintendent, Colonel Asbury Coward, took the corps to Aiken, South Carolina for their annual encampment and graduation exercises. The excellent military work of the cadets suggested to Dr. Benjamin H. Teague, a Confederate Veteran, and a collector of Confederate relics, to present to the Citadel a medal for the winner of the Best Drilled Cadet competition. Among his many curios, Dr. Teague had a piece of oak from the Steam Ship Star of the West. He sawed a small piece of this wood into the shape of a star and had it mounted on a gold medal. The recipient would wear the medal for one year and then pass it to the next recipient. The class of 1910 holds the record for the most recipients. Five cadets have won the award twice and one has won the award three times. The winner's names are inscribed on the "Star of the West" monument. Unfortunately the original medal with the wood has been lost to history.