eleven o'clock
The answer was a lusty cheer , in which the officers joined as wildly as their men . Then cheers began coming from all directions , showing that the reading of the signal had had the same effect upon other crews . When the Stars and Stripes , the vessel that was to lead in the attack , went by to take her station at the head of the line , her men were yelling at the top of their voices ; and when their cheers died away everything became quiet , and the fleet settled down to business . The first shot was fired at eleven o'clock . It was from a hundred-pounder on the leading vessel , and was directed against Fort Bartow . It was the signal for the opening of the contest , and was quickly followed by such an uproar that Marcy Gray could hardly hear himself think . He had always thought that a twenty-four pound howitzer made a pretty loud noise , but it was nothing to the deafening and continuous roar of the heavy guns that in a moment filled the air all about him .