On April twelfth in sixty-one

Off Carolina's shore,

A silent early morning

Would be silent nevermore,

The balconies of Charleston

Filled up that fiery night,

To raise a hearty toast

To the dawning of the fight.

And somewhere in the living past

The frozen hands of time,

Still mark that fearful minute

When the whims of fate combined,

To spark a flame that raged until

'Most everything was gone,

Ignited by the shell

In that Carolina dawn.

In that Carolina dawn,

When the shell lit the sky,

All hope for peace was gone

In the blinking of an eye,

The men rose up to cheer,

While the women kneeled in prayer,

And the battle lines were drawn

In that Carolina Dawn

Yes, those Union forces held the fort

As bravely as they could,

'Til the smoke and fire ravaged

Through that tinderbox of wood.

In that Carolina dawn,

When the shell lit the sky,

All hope for peace was gone

In the blinking of an eye,

The men rose up to cheer

While the women kneeled in prayer,

And the battle lines were drawn

In that Carolina Dawn.