Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-08-11
FIRST GUN OF THE WAR.
JUDGE BLACK AND JEFFERSON
DAVIS AT LOGGERHEADS.
Firing on Fort Sumter-Mr. Davis
Tells Tales en- Himself.

phia Press at his pleasant home at York
defended the administration of Jane:
Buchanan from assaults made by Mr.. Jeffer-
son Davis In his recently published book,
during which he gave some interesting facts
connected with the history of the inception
of the late war. He remarked that Mr..
Davis, when he stated that Mr.. Buchanan
was timid because he did not give
up the forts in Charleston harbor, said what
was not only inaccurate, but absurd. The
| Abolitionists abuse Buchanan because he
did not reinforce Sumter. They; of course,
| do him Injustice. But Mr.. Davis now
charges him with timidity because he did
not evacuate the forts. and let secession
have everything its own way. That is
ridiculous. Mr.. Davis also makes a sinner
of his judgment when he expresses the
opinion that II Sumter had been given up,
no other State than South Carolina would
have gone out. In truth and in fact, Mr..
| Davis, and all the other secessionists,
desired that evacuation for the sole purpose
of making their predetermined departure
easy and safe.
THE ERROR OF THE ADMINISTRATION.
Judge Black proceeded to say that Mr..
Buchanan committed an error in not rein
after Liucoln's election, or certainly as soon
as 1t became manifest that South Carolina
wanted the possession of them. Mr.. Buch-
anan understood as well as anybody that
the forts must be kept, and was thoroughly
determined not to give them up. Immed-
ately after the election he directed Floyd,
then Secretary of War, to see that the forts
were fully manned and proVisioned. "It,
said he, addressing the Secretary, "those
forts should be taken by South Carolina In
consequence of our neglect to put them in
defensible position, 1t were better for you
and me both to be thrown into the Potomac
river with millstones tied about our necks."
Floyd replied very solemnly-that is, more
solemnlY than he usually spoke-that
his own convictions accorded with those of
the President, and said that duty should be
Immediately and completely performed. He
| did not believe that the slightest difficulty
could or would be encountered in doing it.
Not word was said on the subject pro or
con. by any other member. Things rested
thus until some time after, when General
Cass told me that the order for the rein
forcement had not been executed, and the
South Carolina authorities were proceeding
upon some kind of assurance that it would
not be. He was sure Of this, he said. He
declined to give me the source of his In
! formation, but knew 1t was Mr.. Prescott,
! the Assistant Secretary of State. Coming
from him, 1t seemed to be authentic, and
we both agreed that the President ought to
be informed. General Cass declined to do
1t or go along with me for that purpose, but
insisted that alone should CO..
THE PRESIDENTS POLICY.
went, and assuming that the President
would be as indignant as was at the default
of the War Department, l proposed that If
he would sign short peremptory order
which 1 then and there drew up, and let me
carry it to the department, / would not
leave the building until 1t was executed.
| He did not accede to this. He was much
annoyed at what he called my interference
with the business OF another department.
l soon found that he himself doubted the
wisdom of attempting to send reinforce
| ments, and that he was basing his action or
| inaction upon grounds which he did not ex-
| plain to me. / was very much dissatisfied,
and so told General Cass, who was even
more troubled than l. After several weeks
of mental suspense and much urging by his
| friends and family, he General Cass)
concluded TO resign. The policy the Presi
| dent thought proper to pursue, and the one
| l urged upon him as the better mode, were
both TO preserve the peace and hand over
the government In as good order as possible
| to the succeeding administration and give
Lincoln a chance to do that which seemed
| good in his own eyes. The President was
satisfied that II no movement was made
looking to the increase of our force In
Charleston harbor, the revolutionary StStes
would await the advent of the new admin
istration. did not believe in this. Neither
did Gen. Cass, nor Holt, nor Stanton when
he came in. Supported by them con-
tinually urged Mr.. Buchanan to put
Fort Sumter into a state of perfect
ueIeIse- Then there certainly would be no
attsck' Or-1,rYise i would be taken The
Iailure 10 nIo1se Sumter, which thought
and still think was 0Ae cardinal error of the
administration, was cSssed mainly nv the
misrepresentation of Gel-araI SCOTT con--
cerning the military situation. He continn.
ally declared that it could not be Sona With
any force at his command, for certas, REQ.
sons which firmly believe to be untfI9
and which, tried my best, and tried in vain,
to get from him in writing, so as to hold
him responsible to the country. But he
evaded me all through. Except for his per-
nicious counsels l am satisfied that no war
would have been inaugurated at Fort Sum-
ter. 1t might have come, but not there or
by that cause.
LETTER TO GENERAL SCOTT.
Judge Black here furnished the Press cor
respondent with letter he wrote to General
Scott, dated January 16, 1861, In which he
propounded the following interrogations to
the General: l. Is it the duty of the gov
ernment to reinforce Major Anderson 2.
II yes, how soon is it necessary that those
reinforcements should be there? B. What
obstacles exist to prevent the sending of
such reinforcements at any time when it
may be necessary to do sog
The letter then proceeds to state that If
things remained unchanged the question of
Major AndersOn's surrender was one of time
only, and If relief should be sent to him it
must be sent before 1t is too late to save
him. 1t argues that the difficulty of reliev-
ing Major Anderson was not SO serious as 1t
appeared to the minds of some persons.
There was nothing In the way except the
guns of Fort Moultrie, and the letter inquiries
il It would not be an act of self defense
on the part of Major Anderson to silence
Fort Moultrie, il 1t be necessary to do so,
for the purpose of insuring the safety of a
vessel whose arrival at Fort Sumter is
necessary for its safety. IL an un-
armed vessel could not pass, why not
send the Brooklyn or the Macedonia?
Judge Black then proceeds to say that
Gen. Scott was constantly whispering into
Mr.. Buchanan's ear his peculiar views in
relation to the right of States to secede, and
thwarting the efforts some members of the
Cabinet were making for the reinforcement
of the forts. Before single State had for
mulated an ordinance of secession Gen.
Scott had given his views to the world as
carly as tue lObu Ol OeC6LuOtI, 1COU. In
which he assumed the right OF any groups
of States to secede, and deprecated the
laceration and despotism of the sword"
The paper might have been written at the
Headquarters of the South Carolina militia,
and received with applause. Upon the Sd
of March, determined to be in time with his
views for the new administration, he met
Mr.. Seward with paper, again giving his
political opinions and deprecatiDg the hor-
rors Of civil war, the tenor OF which is best
stated in one phrase; "Let the wayward
sisters depart In peace" What impetus his
action and published utterances gave to the
secession movement can best be determined
from that document. General Scott an
swered the letter saying that as soon as he
had leisure moment he would call at the
State Department and keep on calling until
he seen the Secretary of State. He never
called, and Judge Black states that he met
him at a dinner party three weeks after.
when he pleasantly referred TO the letter.
PROPOSITION REJECTED.
Mr.. Davis says he expressed the opinion
to the President that the wisest and best
course would be to withdraw the garrison
from the harbor of Charleston, and pledged
his life that the property of the United
States should not be molested. Judge
utter disdain. The demand for the eVacua-
tion Of Fort Sumter was the most impudent
in the history of the world. 1t belonged
to the United States, and its right
was not impaired in the least by
South Cardinals act of secession.
The Press correspondent adds that
Judge Black drove Floyd out of the Cabinet
! and brought Stanton Into It, and obtained
the assistance Of Holt in the War Depart
i