Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1861-08-16
who Began the war.


| A few of our readers at the South are blam-
| ing us for supporting the United States Gov
ernment in what they characterize Its unholy
war upon the South" If we know our own
/ hearts we wish to do justice to all concerned,
and we viii simply ask those OF our Southern
readers who feel aggrieved because we support
/ the Government, "WhO began the war;" This
is an important question, and should not be
answered except by reference to stubborn facts.
| We will state a few which cannot be denied.
During the administration of James Buchan-
an, the Secretary of War. John B. Floyd, of
! Virginia, began the work of depicting the
/ United States arsenals in the \ Orthern States;
and he transferred from a siI gle arsenal ll4,-
| 900 muskets to Southern arsenals. We have
this on the authority OF a Richmond paper
These United States atsenals were seized by
| the State authorities, and the guns pnt into
the hands of the State militia, in many instun.
ces while the States in question were in the
Union. Large sums of mouey were appropri-
atcd to arm those States-and for what pur-
pose? Will any sane man deny that the ob-
ject was 10 use them against the Federal Gov
ernnIent? If so let the facts speak for them
selves.
In reference to the forts, Joseph Holt, OF
Kentucky, Acting Secretary Of War; III bis
letter to Mr.. Hayne, of South Carolina, Who
came to demand the retrocesson of Fort Sum
ter to that State, says Oh behalf of the Feder-
al Government, "We are equally opposed to
the coercive policy practiced BY South Carroll
ma, and after reducing the pretensions ef the
Federal Government to the lowest standard,
we are constrained to hold that the United
States have at least as much right to be left in
the undsturbed occupation of the property
which they lawfully hold, as South Carolina
has in the undsturbed occupation Of that
which she holds in contravention of the legal
title vested in the Federal Government"
We believe all will acknowledge that so far
as the legal title to that fort is concerned it was
vested in the Federal Government.
The next fact that brings US to the imIGadi,
ate point Of war is fond in the correspondence
of Gen. Beauregard and Major Anderson. At
l. o'c oclI p. NJ, April I, the former address
ed the latter, iDquiring 1.-THE time at which you
will evacuate Fort Sumter, and agree that in
the meantime you will not use your guns a
gainst us unless ours shall be employed against
you" Major Anderson replied at ~. o'clock
on the morning Of April 12th that "I will if
provided with the necessary means of trans
por;ation, evacuate Fort Sumter by noon of
the 5th, should 1 not receive, prior to that
time, controlling Instructions from my Govern
ment, or additional supplies; and that will
not in the meantime open my fire upon your
forces, unless compelled to do so by some hos
tile act against this fort Or the flag of my Gov
ernment" Who began the attack? Is it not
a fact that Gen. Beaufegard opened fire on the
Fort in two hours fro!n the date of Anderson :
reply? Who can deny this fact? Certainly no
one. How was this attack received by the gov
crnnsent at Montgomery? Mr. Davis was not
abe to answer the call of the multitude; but
his Secretary of War, Walker, used the follow
ing language: M n.an,'' he said, "e0uld tell
where the war would end; but he rould fssef1s-
esy that the fhag Which now aounts the breeze
here, would float over the dome of the old Cap
itol ut Washington b2fore the lst Of May. Let
them try Southern chivalry; and test the extent
of Southern resources, and it might float erent-
uelly over Faneuil IEaIF itself"
Secretary Walker says the war was COM
menced that day, April 18th, and of course he
had reference to the attack on Sumter. He
Furthermore says, and as u high officer at the
head of the War Department, the intimation
had a marked official Significance, tEGt he would
tprophesy the capture of Washington, for Ger,
tainly no one could ever suppose that he ex-
pecteJ to have the Confederate flag f3at over
the Capitol without first driving out the Fed
eral Government and this could not be done
without carrying the war TO that city. Fur
thermore, if it should ever float over Faneuil
HalE It could only be by the subjugation o
Boston, to say nothing of any othoT portion Of
the North, The proclamation of the President
was not issued until three days after the attack
upon Fort Sumter and yet in the face Of such
Elacts as the foregoing, our Southern friends say
we making unholy, wanton warfare upor
them. We ask them in all candor if it would
not appear upon the face of history one of the
most cowa5dly things in the world to see free
4 people tamely allowing their Government driv
en- from place and power without any effort tc
sustain it?--[Scientilic American.