In “A Sig­nal at Christ­mas,” the atmos­phere in South Car­oli­na sur­round­ing Christ­mas Eve is high­light­ed by the state’s seces­sion con­ven­tion, which issued a “Dec­la­ra­tion” stat­ing its ratio­nale for leav­ing the Union, pri­mar­i­ly around the issues of slav­ery and states’ rights. Del­e­gate Christo­pher G. Mem­minger empha­sizes griev­ances against the Union for not hon­or­ing slave­hold­ing rights, cit­ing bro­ken con­tracts and vio­la­tions of the Con­sti­tu­tion. This dec­la­ra­tion notably quotes Thomas Jef­fer­son, advo­cat­ing the peo­ple’s right to alter or abol­ish a destruc­tive gov­ern­ment.

Mem­minger points out that the free states have denounced slav­ery, dis­rupt­ed South­ern peace, and elect­ed a pres­i­dent whose views threat­en the insti­tu­tion of slav­ery. He adamant­ly asserts that South Car­oli­na is dis­solv­ing its ties with the Union, adopt­ing the sta­tus of a sep­a­rate and inde­pen­dent state with the pow­er to engage in for­eign rela­tions. On the prac­ti­cal front, South Car­oli­na sends envoys to nego­ti­ate for fed­er­al prop­er­ty with­in its bor­ders.

Amid this back­drop, Major Ander­son secret­ly plans to move his mil­i­tary gar­ri­son from Fort Moul­trie to Fort Sumter, pick­ing Christ­mas Day for its dis­cre­tion. The hol­i­day dis­tracts many, allow­ing him to exe­cute his plans unno­ticed. On Christ­mas Day, the mood in plan­ta­tion homes con­trasts sharply: fine foods and lav­ish ban­quets are served, and spe­cial allowances are made for enslaved indi­vid­u­als, grant­i­ng them moments of social inter­ac­tion and respite from strict super­vi­sion. Some planters ignore the day alto­geth­er, while oth­ers use it as an oppor­tu­ni­ty for gen­eros­i­ty and cel­e­bra­tion.

Despite the fes­tive atmos­phere, ten­sions are pal­pa­ble as con­cerns about slave upris­ings increase dur­ing the hol­i­day sea­son. Sto­ries emerge of poten­tial insur­rec­tions, reflect­ing the unrest brew­ing beneath the sur­face. Let­ters from North Car­oli­na ridi­cul­ing South Carolina’s seces­sion add to the mix of emo­tions swirling around dur­ing this piv­otal time.

Par­al­lel­ly, Edmund Ruffin’s depar­ture to join Flori­da’s seces­sion plans on Christ­mas Eve is imped­ed by mishaps, delay­ing him and lead­ing him back to Charleston until the fol­low­ing day. Even as he deals with per­son­al tragedy—the loss of his grandson—he remains tuned into the polit­i­cal cli­mate. On Decem­ber 26, he hears can­non fire from Fort Moul­trie, a sign of the chang­ing tides, leav­ing him spec­u­lat­ing about its sig­nif­i­cance. This chap­ter encap­su­lates a peri­od filled with both fes­tive dis­trac­tions and loom­ing unrest, influ­enc­ing the course of his­tor­i­cal events.