Edgefield District stoneware storage jar, signed Dave South Carolina, dated April 25, 1861 ovoid double-handle form, inscribed: + LM April 25, 1861, Dave. (Good overall condition, one chip to underside of handle) H14" *Provenance: Descended in the family of original owner to present private collector. *Note: This rare pot made by Dave the Slave potter after the start of the Civil War. When President Lincoln planned to send supplies to Fort Sumter, he alerted the state in advance, in an attempt to avoid hostilities. South Carolina, however, feared a trick; the commander of the fort, Robert Anderson, was asked to surrender immediately. Anderson offered to surrender, but only after he had exhausted his supplies. His offer was rejected, and on April 12, the Civil War began with shots fired on the fort. Fort Sumter eventually was surrendered to South Carolina.