, 1861-03-07
TIE HERO OF FORT PICKENS.
Letter from Lieut.. A. +. :Slem1uer.

FORT PItK1Sa, t!a, |beo. ~, lsd1
DEAR BgoraER As special messenger will |
leave here for Washington, tomorrow, III
ask him to carry some private letters, with his
public ones, and let you know sone little |
about Fort Pickena and the Inhabitants there:
Of I only wish It were not SO much Of 8 one |
sided arrangement, as we need letters down
here more than you fortunate people up North |
but letters never. It quite surprises me to see
me name figuring SO extensively in the newspa-
pers. have simply done my duty; but sup
pose the doing It; under such q pressure Of
opposition, makes it appear creditable. The
troops are leaving the opposite shore. disgust
ed at playing SOLDIER suppose. They say
there are only about three hundred remaining,
and these are regulars having enlisted for one
year. My messenger to the yard, this morn
Ipg, said they were afraid We would attack
them now. We could do SO, and get possession
again Of everything In an hour, II We were only
mounted nearly all the guns~-that is, all that
are really necessary to enable this work to be
defended by force OF 500 men. We have
worked like horses to accomplish this, but
great things eau be done by small means when
one knows how. This email command has
done more than Chase or Lomax could have
done with their 1000 men, and they know It.
Having seen our guns 20 up SO rapidly, they
swear We have had reinforcements. In fact,
the papers say, nothing else could be expected,
that we have smuggled in men from the YES
sells. It ia true we could have done so, and
they be none the wiser; bnt not 3 man has
been added to this command from them. IN
fact, 30 particular are we, that not even an Off
Ger has come ashore with the exception Of
Capt. Vodges, and he only once, when the YES
sells first came.
These Southern papers are publishing all
sorts OF false reports auout me. One is that
was heard'to soy that If they had attacked the
fort any time during the first fifteen days 1
would have surrendered 1t without firing
gun. Of course this is not true. Ny men
stood at the guns every one Of those daya, and
if they had come they would have learned the
definition Of one Kind Of grippe
The people onithe opposite shore think we
are in q much more defenslble condition than
when they first came. The moral effect Of the
guns on top is great. When the move was first
made worked most where they could not see
me, and they thought but little was doing; but
| WHEN my men were put to work on the bar
| bette gums, and they eaw them 20 up almost
| like magic, as they thought {they could scarce
| IL move their own guns}, they began to think
| troub1ous times were coming. There are only,
| as 1 eaid before, about four hundred men at
the barracks. Fort Barrancas md old btcCrea
only enough to garrison them. They are
| very much afraid that some flne morning they
/! will find the ships in the harbor, with the i'll
telligence to them that they can leave within
two hours, unless they prefer to be food fol
powder.
Col Chase and Capt. Randolph are both il
Montgomery, leaving Col Forney in com
nand.
He is West Point graduate, and was en-
gagged in putting up the batteries before tha
work was stopped.
Col. Chase vas putting mp battery nearth'
lighthouse, and mounting eight-inch eolum
biads On it. This battery would have raket
our front, go I wrote protesting against i'll
continuance at preaeIt, and also against tn
erection Of all batteries bearing on the fort
Col. Chase told the Secretary Of War that
he would not land the troops In the Brooklyn
lie, on his part, would not attack the fort, an
would Immediately discontinue all prepare
tions for SO doing: Of course. this batter
building was violating the agreement, and the
have admitted it by not going on. They thin!
hare no right to mount any more gun
| either, but that is all they know about il
There was no nrmistice Oh my side at all, e.
cept about the landing Of the troops, aud thu
was the Secretary's. I am at perfect liberty
| mount every gun in the fort ii choose, an
to make such other defenses as can invent {
copy. a. J. SLEMMER,
First Lieut., 1st Artillery, commanding Fol
Pickens.