The National tribune., 1907-01-17

| of this. and received a letter full of re
grets, but no other satisfaction, and Col
Gardner did not think it wise to max.
another effort. ..
Capt. Foster had been diligent in do
| ing his share of the work, had hiret
| laborers in Charleston, and brought or
| from Baltimore about $50 mason:
whom he had formerly employed. Thest
cleared away the sand ridge from thu
sea faces of the fort, and began re-
building the wall. The South Caroline
mobs demonstrated a good deal ou-
side the fort, but did not venture with
in. Capt Foster wanted 40 musket:
to arm some laborers to guard thu
powder which he had deposited in For
Sumter. This seemed harmless enough
| but it excited the people of Charleston
| so greatly that Floyd Immediately telc
| graphed an order to Gardner to return
| the muskets to the arsenal, tho at tht
same time the Secretary of War wa!
sending 1000 more United States rifle!
| to Charleston. and had ordered still
another 5000 to be dispatched thither
He also, for purposes not clearly appar'
ent even to this day. sent Maj. Dor
Ca1os Buell. to Fort Moultrie with or
| ders to inspect the garrison and 1t:
discipline. This seemed mockery tt
the loyal officers there, and studiec
ignoring of their more pressing needs
Conditions Become More Encouraging.
Every day the situation around the
little garrison of Fort Moultrie became
more depressing. 1t seemed that they
were to be made the football of the
fiercely contending factions, with the
people of the North abandoning them
to their fate. The election FOf Mr.. Lin
coin was followed by the most violent
demonstrations in Charleston, and the
\, n nth Vyin
and insulting, with the people Of 1.-The
North apparently Indifferent to the
fate of the garrison. Horace Greeley
added greatly to the gloom by an ed
itorfal~on Now 9. asserting that the
South had a perfect right to seeede
whenever a majority thought proper,
and expressing his opposition to a
Union pinned together with bayonets.
There were declarations by prominent
Northern men in favor of the separa-
ton, provided the Border States would
go with the North. There were other
propositions to reorganize Gthe Union,
with the New England States left out.
Greeley and the rest who agreed with
him seemed entirely reconciled to CIV
ing up to the South everything-the
control of the Chesapeake Bay, Of the
Mississippi River and the Rio Grande.
This alone illustrates the sshort-sight-
besleadersVofr public thought. The peo-
pie of the country never would have
permitted all their main gateways,too obe
in, the hands Of a. hostile power.
While the other Southern States were
nUta talking secession as rahidly as
South Carolina, they were voting great
amounts of money to put troops'in''tir
field andrprepare for war. In her pre-
vious efforts for secession South Caro-
lima had followed the policy lef "co-
operation" as it was then called. That
is, she would secede in concert with
the Cotton States. Now she announced
that the policy Of cooperation had
failed, and that she would secede alone
without reference to the course of any
other State, and the Governor sum-
moned the Legislature together in ex-
traordinary session, one of the objects
being to call convention.
Fitz John Porter's Visit.
While Secretary Floyd had sent Maj.
Fftz John Porter to inspect the fortifi-
cations and had given him open in
structions which would appear well in
print, there is no doubt that these were
accompanied by secret verbal instruc-
tions which materially modified them.
Floyd had also sent more quietly Maj.
Withers to Charleston with what in
structions we shall never know, as
Withers was a pronounced Secessionist,
and soon resigned his commission to
become Major General in the Con-
federate army. Before he was relieved
Col. Gardiner had sent requisition for
six months provisions which was filed.
Upon FitZ John Porters recommends
ton Col. Gardiner was relieved of COM
mand and Maj. Anderson assigned. in
the meanwhile the energetic Capts.
Foster, Doubleday and Seymour had
put Fort Moultrie in as good a condi-
ton for defense as was possible. The
sand hill on the sea face was dug away,
the breaches in the wall were closed,
the guns were mounted and loaded
with canister, a good supply of hand
grenades was found in the magazine,
and these were put in shape for use.
The insolent threats of the mob We're
replied to by Capt Doubleday by an
occasional practise fire of an eight-inch
howitZer loaded with double charges of
canister, which, raining upon the wa
ters, produced a healthy cooling of SEN
timent among the rampant Inobites. He
also placed some practise torpedoeS out
around the fort with a small charge
which would explode when a plank
was slept upon. A picket fence was
thrown around the outside of the wall,
which greatly excited the.s Charleston
editors, who proclaimed that Sharp
ened stakes would not intimtdate free
men," 1t Is to the credit of Gen. Huger
and other prominent South Carolinians,
who subsequently did the hard fighting
of the war, that they discouraged and
represt the mob exhibitions as much as
POSSIBLE. They proposed to fight If the
State seeded, but would have no riot
Gus demonstrations prior to that for
NAL act. On the other hand, the de-
spised poor white trash,"u who were
afterwards to pay in blood for their
excesses, were being lashed into fury
by such demagogs as BarnwelI Rhett.
Every possible tale was told them of
the intention Of the Republicans to put
the negros above them, and they were
promised that IL the Confederacy was
established the slave trade would be
reopened and negros would sell So
cheaply-$30 apiece was one figure
that every man could become a slave
owner.
Maj. Anderson Assumes Command.
Nov. 21, 1860, Maj. Robert Anderson
arrived and assumed command There
seemed to be peculiar fitness for this.
as his father had distinguished himself
in the defense of old Fort Moultrie dur
ing the Revolution, had been taken
prisoner by the British and confined for
a long time in Charleston. He approved
of what had been done, and announced
his purpose to resist any assault, espe-