The National tribune., 1907-01-31


seems to have been the first real in
timation tltft the people of Charleston
received of reinforcement. The blue
ramparts, taIsifa view of their new
location and Surroundings, while the
flagstaff ae@ Fft AIoultrie was down.
The -guard-Roa& Nina, with her COM
plement of Hoofs, which had been pa
trolling the- harbor, approached near
4 enough to Kbrt Sumter to discover that
in some inexp3Fable way her sentry
duty had g6he Tor naught. She steamed
back to the#cityYwith the greatest haste
and communicated the mortifying in
formation 20 the officials. Messengers
were sent out at once to ring the door
i bells at every HOUSE and inform the
| inmates of what had occurred.
/ Anderson, who was very punctilious
with regard to the payment of debts,
had sent Capt. Foster back to Fort
Moultrie to pay off the claims of the
woriemen he had left behind. Lieut..
| Davis accompanied Capt. Foster with a
small detachment as guard. DR..
Crawford went over with them also to
look after some of his medical prop
erty, which he had been obliged TO
abandon at the time of their departure.
They found the people around the fort
| entirely ignorant of their absence, the
place itself deserted and quiet, and they
made good use of this to set fire to the
gun carriages and destroy all ammuni-
ton and military material that could
not be brot away. Foster and Davis
found one OF the schooners at the
dock. upon which they loaded the sup
plies and ammunition which had been
| left behind the night before. AS the
guard boat had been Withdrawn, they
met with no molestation on their re-
turn to Fort Sumter. The intense ex-
element which pervaded Charleston
could be seen with glasses from the
| fort, in the crowds that gathered at
every available point and the paradinG
of the streets by military organizations
with bands of music. 1t looked fire.
quently as if the excitement would cul-
inmate in boat attack by the mob,
maddened by appeals from the raDbie-
| arouSing demagogs, and the garrison
held itself in readiness to resist any
| such movement.
The Governor Orders Mnj. Anderson to
Return.
| Early in the afternoon Gov. Pickens
decided upon his course of action. He
sent his Aid-de-Cam Col. johnson
Pettigrew, to Maj Anderson, accom-
panied by Maj. Ellison Capers. Sur
geon Crawford gives this account of the
momentous interview between them:
Maj. Anderson, with his officers,
was in small room in the second
story of the officers quarters in the
gorge of the work, where they had
past the night. Col Pettigrew and his
companions were ushered into the
room. The greeting was reserved and
formal. when, after declining seats,
Col. Pettigrew Immediately opened his
mission.
MAI Anderson said he, can I
| Il. ~ So
these officers, on the subject for which
L am here?'
| Certainly. SIR replied Maj. Ander
son; these are all my officers; I have
no secrets from them, sir.
1.-THE Commissioner then informed
Maj. Anderson that he was directed to
say to him that the Governor was much
surprised that he had reinforced this
work Mai. Anderson promptly re-
sponded that there had been no rein
forcement OF. the work; that he had
moved his command from Fort Moul-
trie to Fort Stmter as he had right
| to do. being in command of all the
| forts in the harbor.
'"To this Col Pettigrew replied that
when the present Governor (Pickens)
came into office, he found an Under
standing existing between the previous
Governor tGis3 and the President of
the United States, by which all PROF.
erty within the limits OF the State WAS
| to remain as 1t was; that no reinforce
ments were, to be sent here, and partic-
ularly to this post; and that there was
to be no attempt made against the pub
| lie property here by the State: and that
the status in the harbor should remain
unchanged He was directed also to say
| to Maj Anderson that 1t had been hoped
| by the Governor that peaceful solu-
! tion Of the difficulties could have been
reached, and that resort to arms and
| bloodshed might have been avoided;
but that the Governor thot that the
action of Maj. Anderson had greatly
| complicated matters: and that he did
not now see how bloodshed could he
avoided; that he had desired, and In
| tended, that the whole matter might
be fought out politically and without
the arbitration of the sword, but that
| now it was uncertain, If not impossi-
| BILE.
"To this Mai. Anderson replied that.
as far as any understanding between
the President and the Governor of the
State was concerned, he had not been
| informed; that he knew nothing of IL,
| that he could get no information or
positive orders from Washington, and
| that his position was threatened every
| night by the troops of the State. He
was then asked by Maj. Capers, who
accompanied Col. Pettigrew, 'How?'
| when he replied, BY sending out
steamers armed and carrying troops on
board; that these steamers past the fort
going north; and that he feared lan5-
| ing on the island and the occupation
of the sand-hiIls just north of the fort;
and that 100 rihemen on that hill,
| which commanded his fort, would
make it impossible for his men to serve
| their guns; and that any man with a
military head must see this. To pre-
vent this said he. earnestly, I re-
moved on my own responsibility, my
sole object being to prevent bloodshed.'
MAI. Capers replied that the steamer
was sent out for patrol purposes, and
as much to prevent disorder among his
own people as to ascertain whether any
irregular attempt was being made to
reinforce the fort, and that the idea of
attacking him was never entertained
by the little squad who patroled the
| harbor.'
MAI. Anderson replied to this, that
he was totally In the dark as to the in
tentiOns of the State troops, but that
he had reason to believe that they
meant to land and attack him from the
north; that the desire of the Governor
to have The matter settled peacefully
and without bloodshed was precisely
his own object in transferring his COM
mand to Fort Sumter: that he did II
upon his own responsibility alone. and