Year: 1861

friends Of the Union, embolden its adverse


ries and 60 far to insure to the latter recog


milton abroad and that in fact it would b,


our National destruction. This could not b,
| allowed. Starvation was not yet upon tn,


garrison, and ere it would be reached For
Pickens might be reinforced This last would


be clear indication Of policy, aud weult


better enable the country to accept the evac


uatlon of Sumter as military necessity
Then an order WAS at once directed to b.


sent for the landing of the srceps from th'


steamship Brooklyn into Fort pckens. Thu


order could not 90 by land but must take tn,


surer aud slower route by sea.


The first returning news from The ordc,


was received just one week before the fall OF
Sumter. The news itself was that the Office
commanding the Sabine. to which vessel tn.


troops had been transferred from the Brock


lyn. acting upon some armistice of the late
administration and Of the existence Of which
the present administration, up to the time
the order was dispatched had only too vague
and uncertain rumors to fix attention, had
refused to land the troops. TO now reinforce
Fsrt Pickens before the crissis would be
reached at Fort Sumter was irlposs ibIe, rem.
dered so by the mere exhaustat.on of pro-
visions in the latter named Fort In pre-.
caution against such contingency the Gov
ernment had q few days before commenced
preparing an expedition as well adapted as
might be to relieve Fort Sumter, which expe-
dition was intended to be ultimately used or
not according to circumstances. The strong.
est anticipated case for using it was now
presented, and it was resolved to scnd IL for
ward, as had been intended. In this con
tingency it was also resolved to notify the
Governor of South Carolina that he might
expect that ali attempt wonld be made to
provision the Fort and that, if the attempt
should not be resisted, there would be no at.
tempt to throw in men. arms, or ammunition,
without further netice or in case Of an attack
upon the Fort This notice was accordingly
given, whoreupon the Fort was attacked and
bomb barded to It's fall, without awaiting the
arrival ofthe provision expedition.


it is thus seen that the assault upon and
reduction of Fort Sumter were in no sense a
matter of self defence on the rart of the as
sailants. They we'll knew that the garrison


N the Fort could by no possibility commit
aggression upon them. They knew they
were expressly notified that giving bread to
the few brave and hungry men III the gar
rison was all that would on that occasion be
attempted unless themselves, by resisting SO
much, should provoke more. They knew
that this Government desired to keep the
garrison in the Fort, not to assail them, bat
merely to MAINTAIN visible possession, and
thus to preserve the Union from actual and
immediate dissolution, trusting as herein be-
tore stated to time, discussion, and the ballot
box, for final adjustment; and they assailed
and reduced the Fort for precisely the reverse
the Federal Union, and thus force it to i'm
mediate dissolution. That this was their OBJ
ject the Executive well understood; and hav-
ing said to them in the Inaugural address.
You can have no conflict without being
yourselves the aggressors,' he took pains not
only to keep this declaration good, but also
to keep the case SO far from ingenious soph-
istry that the world should not misuA derstand
it. By the affair at Fort Sumter, with it's
circumstances, that point was
reached. Then and there, by the assailants
of the Government began the conflict with
out q gun in sight or expectancy to return
their firing, save only the few in the Fort
sent to that harbor years before fol- their own
and still ready to give that pro-
lection in whatever was loyal.-Ia THIS act,
ali else, they have forced upon
the country the distinct issue of immediate
dissolution or blood and this embraces more
than the fate of the United States. 1t presents
~. Ill Df
whether Constitutional Republic or Democ
racy, government of the people, the same
people, can or cannot maintain its integ-
rty against its own domestic foes 1t presents
the question whether discsntented persons
too few in numbers to control the administra-
ton according to organic law in any case, can
always upon the pretenses made in this case
or any other pretenscs break up their gov
ernment and thus practicly put an end to tree
government upon the earth. 1t forces US to
ask is there in all republics this inherent
and fatal weakness! Must Government of
necessity, be too strong for the liberties OF
the people, or too weak to maintain its own
existence? So viewing the issues, no choice
was left but to call out the war power of the
Government and so to resist the force en-
ployed for its destruction by force tor its
The call was made and the
response of the country was most gratifying,
in unanimity and spirit the most
expectation. Yet none of the States
commonly called slave States, except Del
eware, gave regiment through the regular
State organization. A few regiments have
been organized within some other Of those
States individual enterprise, and received in
to the Government service of course. The
seeded States, SO called, and to which Tex
as had been joined about the time of the in
auguration, gave no troops to the cause OF
the Union. The border States, so called,
were not uniform in their action, some Of


IL.