Maryland free press., 1862-11-07

a moments unnecessary delay. She lett Fortress
Monroe On the q oG January.
hr Get oral spsms not to have then known that
| NF. Floyd was out at Ctiee.
| Never did request meet more prompt cnrn
| pliance. II was received on Sunday eveoiug,
| Dece pber S0.h. On Monday noining gave in.
struct lions To the War ard Navy D psrtments
aud on Monday evening General Scott came "a
| congratulate ms that the secretaries rad issued
the ecessarv orders TO the army and navy Off
GERS, sAd that they were in his possession The
BrOt klyn, with iroops, military stores and Provi.
sous, was to sail for shwith from Fortress Monroe
to Fort tSumter. am, therefore, utterly al loss
to imagine why the General in his 8 .atsment
should have asserted that 'the South CaroliHs
commissioners had already been many days in
| Warrington, and no movement of detssse ION the
part of this United Ststes) was permitted. -
These commissioners arrived in Washington TN
tag 27tb D .cembof: General Scotts request was
made 30 the President the sch. IL was con-
pied with the Slst, and single day is all that
represents the "many days'' of the General.
Again, General Scott asserts, in the face ofthcsc
sets, that tn c President refused TO allow any at
! tempt to be mQde-t0 rein orce Fort Sumter-be-
cause be was holGirg negotiations with the South
/
afterwards Secretary Holt and myself endeav'
ored, in vain, to obtain ship -ofHar for the pur.
pose, nd were finally obliged to employ the pas
| seager steamer ''S-ar of the West" Will it ce
seiersd that the substitution of the stStar of the
| WesL' for the powerful war steamer Brooklyn, Of
"hicn he new complains. vas by the advice Of
GsG,ral Scott hinsei / have never heard this
dnuoled until read tbe statement.
Attbn Interview already referred to between
the General and myself. on the evening Of Mon
day, the 3lst of December, ] suggested to him
! that, although had not received the South Car
olins Com uf.onsrs in their official capacity, but
merely as private gentlemen, yet it might be con
sidered an improper act to send the Brooklyn
with rsnforcements to Fort Sumter until had
received an answer from them to my letter Of the
preceding day; thai the delay couId.not continue
more than forty.eisht hours. He promptly con
Cured in this suggestion as geullemany and
proper, ard the oroers were not transmitted to
tho Brooklyn on that evening. Ny anticipations
wars correct, for the morning Of tre q of jan
usry received their rsoient noie end s-nt it back
to them. In the meantime, however, the Gsner.
al had become convinced, by the representations
OF g gentleman whom ioibsar to name, that Tx
better plan, SIS the Secretaries of War and tic
i.'y Informed me, 20 secure escresy and SUCCESS
and reeca the fort, would be 10 ssnd rsst side
wheel mercantile steamer from New York with
the reinforcement. Accordingly the "Slar OF the
West" was selected for the duty. Tae Gubstita
ton c. this mercantile steamer Cor the Brooklyn,
which weu!d have been able to defend herself in
case Of attack, vas reluctantly yielded by ne TO
the high military judgmen OF Go. Sect.
The change of progrsth ale ,qaireG bTiefspacs
OF time, Sut the Star OF the West left New YORK
for Charleston on the erening OF the Ssh of Jsnu
aFT. On the very day, however, whsn this i'll.
isted s.eaelcr left New York, q telegram was dis
patched by Gsre-al Scot: 10 Coloac Scot. to coun-
termsuG hsr departure; but it did not reach it's
destination until after she had gonc to sea. The
reason for this countefmand shalt be stated iu the
srguage of Secretary Holt, to b6 found in letter
addressed By him to Mr.. Thompson, the late Sec
retsry Of the laternr, on the Ssh March 1851. and
p~Si 81 81 IN tbs National IIteingepcsr. Nh. uuit
says:
"The countermaad spoken of 10y Nr. Thomp-
sony was not more cordially sanctioned by tie
President than it was By General Scott ard my
self; not because OF aoy dissent from the order
on the part presisens, bat bec.uss of letter re
cfived that day from Mai Anderson; stating, in
eject that be regarded himself secure 10 bis posi-
tion; and yet more from intelligence which late
on Saturday evening (5:h Janurfy, 1861 reached
the Department that heavy battery mad BEEN
erected among the sand hills, at the entrance to
Charleston harbor, which wa,,ii -~""0t, ueitr'J
any .~-.---a vessel (snd such was the Star of
the We:t) which might attempt to make its way
to Fort Sumter. This important information
slt fed the government that there was no pre- sent
necessity for sending reinforcements, and that
when sent they should go, not in a vessel of com
merce, but Of war. Hence the couutermand was
dispatced by telegraph to New York; but the ves-
sci had sailed short time before it reached the
officer (Col Scntt) to whom it was addressed"
A abatement OF th re fsc.a, established ty dates,
proves conclusively that tho President was not
only willing but anxious in the brief.st period to
reinforce Fort Sumter.
On the 4th Of January, the day before the de
partuent of the Star CT the West from New York,
/, General Scott in his statement admits, succor
was sent TO Fort Taylor, key West, and to Fort
Jtffsrsop, Tortugai Island, which reached these
points in time for their security. lie nevertheless
spetulItes on the consequences which might have
tolo wed had the teihiorcemsnts not reached their
destination in due time; aud even expresses the ex-
sorcinary opinion that, with the possession of
these forts, "the rebels might have purchased an
esly recognition
shall next advert to the statement that the !
expedition under CIptan Ward, "of thieo or four
small steamers belonging to the cosst survey"
was kept back BY something like a truce or ar
mistic, [made bere,l embracing Charleston and
Pensacola hsrbots, agresd upon between the Pres
i dent ard certain pi incpa seceders If the South /
Carolina, Florida, LodI.iana, &c. Aud this truce
lasted to the end OF the administration" Things
altogether distinct in their nature are often so
blended in this statement that it is diIicYt to sep
arate them Such is eminently the case in connec
lii G The facts relative to Charleston With Psnsa
cola.
Having already treated of the charge of having
kept back reintorcemeuts from Pensacola, l shall
now say something of the charge of having Slso
kept them back from Charleston. Neitheir
truce. nor quasi truce, nor anything like it, was
ever concluded between the President and any hu.
man authority concerning Charleston. On the
the South Carolina commissioners, first
aud last, and all the time, were Informed that The
President could never surrender Fort Sumter, nor