At this time, orders came for this gun and others of the battery placed in nearby hills in sight and sound of each other to commence firing. The gun on the farthest hill went off with a roar and a faint stream of smoke was blown backward from the pit. Inside the pit in which the correspondent stood, a voice shouted out the range figures and the lieutenant repeated them. A voice inside the pit a moment later yelled that the gunner was ready to fire. The lieutenant gave the command to the gunners: "Watch your bubble."

The lieutenant, who was standing on a pile of mud which had been removed from the pit, continued to smoke. The lieutenant, who was standing on a pile of mud which had been removed from the pit, continued to smoke. The lieutenant shouted the word "ripe!" and the lieutenant shouted the word "ripe." The gun barked quickly, the noise being followed by a metallic clank and the shell case was ejected and the gun made ready for the next load. The lieutenant told the correspondent the story of the first shot of the war, punctuating the narrative throughout with the orders "ready to fire;" and "fire," which each time was followed by the report of the gun and the whizzing of the shell. 