THE PRESIDENT'S DESIRE FOR RECONCILIATION.

307

a July 4, 1861.

convincing the President of the feasibility of the plan, and that sound policy required that the attempt should be made, whether it should succeed or not. "It was believed," as the President said in his Message, already referred to," that to abandon that position, under the circumstances, would be utterly ruinous; that the necessity under which it was done would not be fully understood; that by many it would be construed as a part of a voluntary policy; that at home it would discourage the friends of the Union, embolden its adversaries, and go far to insure to the latter a recognition abroad; that, in fact, it would be our national destruction commenced."

Although satisfied of the feasibility and the necessity of strengthening Major Anderson, by sending him provisions and men, the President, extremely anxious for peace and reconciliation, hesitated to make any movement that might lead to collision with the insurgents. He favored Mr. Fox's propositions, and that gentleman, with the approval of the Secretary of War and General Scott, visited Charleston harbor. In company with Captain Hartstene, of the Navy, who had joined the insurgents, he visited Fort Sumter on the 21st of March, by permission of Governor Pickens,' and ascertained that Major Anderson had provisions sufficient for his command until the 15th of April; and it was understood between them that he must surrender or evacuate the fort at noon on that day. Mr. Fox gave him no assurances, such as Judge Campbell mentioned, of relief, nor any information of a plan for that purpose.

On his return to Washington, Mr. Fox reported to the President that any attempt to succor Major Anderson must be made before the middle of April. The President was perplexed. He yearned for peace, if it could be had without dishonor. The Virginia Convention was then in session, and he sent for one of the prominent members of that body, known to be a professed Union man, and assured him that if the Convention would adjourn instead of staying in session, menacing the Government, he would immediately direct Major Anderson to evacuate Sumter. Had the Virginia politicians desired peace, this reasonable request would have been complied with. On the contrary, this professed Virginia Unionist replied: "The United States must instantly evacuate Fort Sumter and Fort Pickens, and give assurances that no attempts shall be made to collect revenue in Southern ports." This was a demand, in effect, for the President to recognize the band of conspirators at Montgomery as a government possessed of sovereign powers.

Mr. Lincoln was now satisfied that a temporizing policy would not do. He had said in a little speech to the New Jersey Legislature," February 1. when on his way to Washington, as we have observed, "it may be necessary to put the foot down firmly." sented itself, and the President did "put the foot Overruling the persistent objections of the General-in-Chief, and other military

That necessity now predown firmly."

1 On that occasion, Mr. Fox carried a letter to Governor Pickens from General Scott, in compliance with orders from the President. Pickens sent the following note to Major Anderson :

"I have permitted Mr. Fox and Captain Hartstene to go to you under peculiar circumstances, and I deeply regret General Scott could not have been more formal to me, as you well know I have been in a peculiar position for months here, and I do this now because I confide in you as a gentleman of honor."

'Lieutenant Norman J. Hall, one of Anderson's trusty men, furnished Mr. Fox with a memorandum of supplies in Fort Sumter.

308

AN EXPEDITION FOR RELIEVING FORT SUMTER. authorities, and regarding the affair more as a naval than as a military operation, he at once sent for Mr. Fox, and verbally authorized him" a March 29. to fit out an expedition for the relief of Sumter, according to that gentleman's plan. The written order for that service was not given until the afternoon of the 4th of April, when the President informed Fox that, in order that "faith as to Sumter" might be kept, he should send a messenger at once to Charleston, to inform Governor Pickens that he was about to forward provisions, only, to the garrison, and that if these supplies should be allowed to enter, no more troops would be sent there. This was done. Colonel Lamon (afterward marshal of the District of Columbia) was sent as a special messenger to Governor Pickens, who was also informed that supplies must go into Sumter peaceably, if possible, if not, by force, as the Governor might choose.

Mr. Fox arrived in the city of New York the second time, on his important errand, on the evening of the 5th of April, and delivered to Colonel H. L. Scott, of the staff of the General-in-Chief, a copy of his instructions. That officer ridiculed the idea of relieving Sumter, and stood as an obstacle in the way as far as possible. The plan was highly approved by Commodores Stewart and Stringham; and, as Mr. Fox's orders were imperative, he performed his duty in spite of all official detentions, and with that profes

sional skill, untiring industry, and indomitable energy which, as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he displayed throughout the entire war that ensued, he fitted out the expedition (having made some previous preparations) within the space of forty-eight hours. He sailed on the morning of the 9th, with two hundred recruits, in the steamer Baltic, Captain Fletcher.The entire relief squadron consisted of that vessel, the United States ships Powhatan, Pawnee, Pocahontas, and Harriet Lane, and the tugs Yankee, Uncle Ben, and Freeborn; and all of them were ordered to rendezvous off Charleston.' The frigate Powhatan bore the senior naval officer of the expedition, and men sufficient to man the boats for the relief party.

GUSTAVUS VASA FOX.

Soon after leaving New York, the expedition encountered a heavy storm. One of the tugs (the Freeborn) was driven back; a second (Uncle Ben) put into Wilmington, North Carolina, and was captured by the insurgents there; and the third, losing her smoke-stack, was not able to reach Charleston bar until it was too late. The Powhatan was also lost to the expedition.

1 The frigate Powhatan, Captain Mercer, left New York on the 6th of April. The Pawnee, Commodore Rowan, left Norfolk on the 9th, and the Pocahontas, Captain Gillis, on the 10th. The revenue cutter Harriet Lane, Captain Faunce, left the harbor of New York on the 8th, in company with the tng Yankee. The Freeborn and Uncle Ben left on the previous day. The Yankee was fitted to throw hot water.

2 The energy displayed in getting the Powhatan ready for sea was wonderful. She had been put out of

FAILURE OF THE RELIEF EXPEDITION.

309

While passing down New York Bay, Captain Meigs, who was QuartermasterGeneral during the war, and Lieutenant (afterward Rear-Admiral) Porter went on board of her, with an order from the President to take any man-ofwar they might select and proceed immediately with her crew to Pensacola. Under this order they took possession of and sailed away in the flag-ship of the relief expedition.'

The Baltic reached Charleston bar on the morning of the 12th, just as the insurgents opened fire on Fort Sumter. The Pawnee and the Harriet Lane were already there, with orders to report to the Powhatan, but she had gone to Fort Pickens, then, like Fort Sumter, threatened by armed insurgents. All day long the ocean and Charleston harbor were swept by a storm. A heavy sea was rolling inward, and there were no signs of abatement until the morning of the 13th. It was then determined to seize a schooner lying at anchor near, load her with provisions, and take her to Fort Sumter the following night. She was accordingly prepared, but before the time for her departure, Fort Sumter was in the hands of the insurgents. How that happened will be related in the next chapter.

It was fortunate for the Republic that the effort to relieve Major Anderson was made at that time. It gave practical assurances to the country that the new Administration would employ all its energies in support of the Constitution and the laws; and it also gave to the Government one whose services can only be appreciated by those who know their amount and value. The judgment and energy displayed by Mr. Fox caused him to be appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He was then in the prime of life, and endowed with great physical endurance. As the lieutenant of Secretary Welles, invested with wide discretionary powers, he was to the Navy what the General-in-Chief is to the Army.

commission, and was lying up," and her crew were on the receiving-ship North Carolina. She was put into commission at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and sent to sea in the space of three days.

1 The order (issued by the President) changing the destination of the Powhatan did not pass through the Navy Department, or it would have been arrested there. It was calculated to prevent the success of Fox's expedition, because the Porchatan carried the sailors and launches provided for the landing of supplies and re-enforcements. The President was not aware of this when he signed the order. In the whole matter there was nothing more serions than a blunder, which was caused by the secrecy with which two expeditions were simultaneously fitted out, namely, one for the relief of Fort Sumter, and the other for the relief of Fort Pickens. Mr Fox was not aware of the change in the destination of the Powhatan until he arrived off Charleston bar.

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PREPARATIONS FOR ATTACKING FORT SUMTER.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE SIEGE AND EVACUATION OF FORT SUMTER.

F

OR three weary months after the expulsion of the Star of the West from Charleston harbor, Major Anderson and his little garrison suffered and toiled until their provisions were exhausted, and a formidable army, and forts or batteries, all prepared for the reduction of Fort Sumter, had grown up around him. The temporizing policy of the late Administration had compelled him to keep his guns muzzled while the treasonable operations were going on, and the new Administration continued the same policy until it was prepared to act with some vigor.

From the hour when the South Carolina politicians declared that State to be an independent sovereignty, they had striven with all their might to sustain that declaration. The garrison in Sumter was a standing refutation of it, and every effort was used to wipe that disgrace from the newly made escutcheon of the Palmetto Empire. The Charleston Mercury almost daily published articles calculated to inflame the public mind, and, in spite of the prudent restraints of the band of conspirators at Montgomery, cause Sumter to be attacked. Its appeals were frantic, and assumed every phase of entreaty, remonstrance, and menace. Styling Fort Sumter "The Bastion of the Federal Union,” it said:"No longer hoping for concessions, let us be ready for war; and when we have driven every foreign soldier from our shores, then let us take our place in the glorious republic our future promises us. Border Southern States will not join us until we have indicated our power to free ourselves-until we have proven that a garrison of seventy men cannot hold the portal of our commerce. The fate of the Southern Confederacy hangs by the ensign halliards of Fort Sumter."

The Convention and the Legislature of South Carolina worked in unison for the great end of securing the independence of the State. The latter appropriated eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars for general purposes; nine hundred and eighty thousand dollars for military and cognate expenses; and fifty thousand dollars for the postal service, when the National mail-routes should be closed. They also made preparations to organize a force of ten thousand men; and Milledge L. Bonham, a late member of Congress, was appointed major-general of the forces of that State. Volunteers from every * part of the "Confederacy" flocked into Charleston; and at the close of March, not less than seven thousand armed men and one hundred and twenty

1 Charleston Mercury, January 24, 1861. The "Southern Confederacy" was not yet formed.

FORTIFICATIONS AROUND CHARLESTON HARBOR.

311

cannon were menacing Anderson and his little garrison. These were under the command of Major Peter Gustavus Toutant Beauregard, a Louisiana Creole, who had deserted his flag, resigned his commission," and received from the Montgomery conspirators the appointment of . February, brigadier-general. He arrived at Charleston on the 4th of March.

MILLEDGE L. BONHAM.

1861.

Fort Sumter was built for defense against external and not against internal foes. Its stronger sides were toward the sea; its weakest side was toward Morris Island, three-fourths of a mile distant, and the nearest land. On that side were its sally-port and docks. The builders never suspected that a hostile gun would be pointed toward that face; now Morris Island was selected as the position for one of the most formidable of the batteries of the insurgents, which was built of heavy yellow pine logs, with a slanting roof toward the fort of the same material, over which was laid a shield of railway iron, strongly clasped, and forming a perfect foil to bomb-shells. The embrasures were closed with iron-clad doors; and within were three 64-pounder columbiads. This was known as the Stevens Battery, so named in honor of its inventor and constructor, Major P. F. Stevens, who was conspicuous in the attack on the Star of the West. There were two other batteries on Cummings's Point of Morris Island, the principal one being known as the Cummings's Point Battery, which was armed with two 42-pounder columbiads, three 10-inch mortars, and a 12-pounder Blakely gun from England. All of the troops on Morris Island were under the command of Brigadier-General James Simons, who had been Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives, and the artillery battalion was in charge of Lieutenant-Colonel De Saussure. The iron-clad battery was served under the immediate direction of Captain George B. Cuthbert. The batteries at Cummings's Point were manned by the Palmetto Guards. The spiked guns of Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan's Island, had been restored to good order, and

others added to them. Traverses had been constructed, the ramparts strengthened by sand-bags, and eleven heavy siege-guns and

IRON-CLAD BATTERY ON MORRIS ISLAND.

several mortars had been placed in position. Beside Fort Moultrie and some small channel batteries, there were six formidable ones on Sullivan's Island bearing on Fort Sumter, some of which will be mentioned hereafter. All the forces on that island were commanded by Brigadier-General Dunnovant, and the artillery battalion was in charge of Lieutenant-Colonel R. S. Ripley, late of the National Army. On Mount Pleasant was a battery of two 10-inch mortars; and on James Island, nearer Charleston, was Fort Johnston, which