Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1860-12-21
The Secession Movement.
THE FORTS IN CHARLESTON EIAR-
BOR.

BOR.
Our readers will see, in another arti-
Gle. that Gen. Cass has resigned his po-
sition ofSecretary of State in Buchanan's
Administration, in consequence Of the
refusal of the President to strengthen
the forces at Charleston, to enable the
officers to protect the forts and other
property of the United States against
their contemplated capture by the dis
unionists of the South. That they may
see the condition of these forts, we here
give description of them by the intelli-
gent correspondent of the New York
I Tribune. which is as follows.
/ CHARLESTON, S, c., Dec. II, 1860.
/ Now and then something crops out
which goes a great way to disclose what
is going on under the surface. Thus,
/ for instance, the pledge which is required
/ of the several candidates for Governor,
indicates the existence of the settled
purpose, to which I have SO often allu
ded. not to allow the Federal Govern
ment to hold the Forts in Charleston
Harbor. The pledge is that, elf elected
Governor he will resist the re-enforce-
ment of the troops in Charleston Har
Dor, whether such reinforcement is at
tempted before or after the State has Sc
ceded." Here is the virtual declaration
of the purpose by South Carolina ulti-
mately to possess the Forts; that should
| the Government undertake to send more
troops for the purpose of holding them,
South Carolina will instantly attack
with the view the capturing them; IN
other words, the sovereign State ofSouth
Carolina will not permit the Federal
Government to protect its own property
or exercise jurisdiction within her bor-
ders The fact is, the possession OF the
Forts in question is absolutely necessary
to the plans of South Carolina. With
them she thinks she can compel negotia-
ton. and, in fact coerce the Government.
She will not suffer the Forts to be
strengthened, because it is within the
/ line Of her plans to take them either
'sbefore or after secession shall have
been ordained, as circumstances shall de-
eide She may want to attack them at
a moments warming, in order to precipi-
tate. the catastrophe and bring about
coercion as the means OF rushing on the
other Cotton States, or sue may want
them to resist the revenue laws. When
ever she decides that she wants its forts,
South Carolina has made up her mind to
have them; and very naturally she wants
to get them at the least cost Of life posi-
Bile. This being her game, she is able
to bully, cajole, coax, and coerce the
Government into letting her have her
own way. Instead of South Carolina
being coerced, she is absolutely coercing
the Federal Government; she has been
doing it all the while, and will continue
to do it 50 long as the Administration
submits, which we may assume for GER
tainty will be to the end
Pretty much everything here now is
in the military way. The volunteer
companies keep up their drills, and await
the day when they shall be led against
Fort MoultIie There has recently
been presented to the Legislature me-
mortal, signed by some half-dozen of
the leading military spirits in Charles
ton, 'in view of the imminence of wal
between the Northern States Of this
Confederacy and this State, either alone
or in connection with other Southern
States" After giving the views of the
signers as to the proper manner Of
offering the military, the gentlemen
proceed to argue at length the necessity
of an Engineer Corps. This is South
Carolina's weak point. She has no able
engineer officer at her command, and has
been bidding high for one. The cease
of military bridge, which it is neces-
sary to build in the face Of an enemy,
is spoken of 1t is we'll understood
here that allusion is made to the posi-
ton of Fort Moultris, and the emer-
gency likely to arise in attacking it
In order to give the reader some idea Of
this and the other Notifications in this
harbor, l will state briefly their location
They are three in number, namely
Fort Moultrie, Fort Sumter, and Castle
Pinckney. The fort is on Sullivan 5
Island, which is principally within the
corporate limits Of the City of Charles.
ton. This island is separated from the
main land by narrow channel, which
sometimes at low tide may be forded
though it would be very unmilitary
thing for an attacking expedition to rely
on this method of approach. 1t is pre-
cisely here that the bridge spoken of, as
is now clearly foreseen, will be wanted,
and it is said that the means of supply
ing the want is in a considerable state
of forwardness, though the results thus
far have not been altogether satisfactory.
Fort Moultrie is on the seaward side of
the island, nearly mile distant from
this channel, so that its passage would
be measurably "in the face of an enemy -
and directly so should the commanding
officer erect batteries at the point of
landing, which, however, is not certain
to be done. Sullivan's Island is quite
thickly built up, generally with wooden
tenements, and horse railroad traverses
the whole distance. The Fort itself is
an extensive work, we'll provided with
everything but men. Its guns are,
many of them, of the largest and best
description, and nearly all the recent
improvements in explosives have been
introduced, in the use Of which the men
are we'll drilled. Indeed, 1 may state
with confidence that the officers and men
at Moultrie very much excel in this par
ticular. Recently-within the last ten
days-a trench has been dug around
the entire Fort, and, without going into
minute detail, it will be enough to say
that everything is being done necessary
to place the work in the best possible
condition of defense She has recently
received six months provisions. What
is wanting in men will in a measure be
made up by discipline and completeness