mikegriffith1
Mike Griffith
- Thread starter
- #481
You are again relying on neo-Confederate sources that omit large amounts of contrary evidence or that minimize contrary evidence. Let's take a second look at one of the paragraphs you quoted from Larson's book:
And why was that? Why? Because SC officials began reducing the food supply soon after the election, as is well documented.
Of course Anderson rejected Pickens' offer. He wasn't about to have himself and his unit seem to be relying on charity from Pickens when he and his men were perfectly capable of buying the necessary food themselves. Captain Doubleday explained:
Many unfavorable comments having been made, even in the Southern States, more particularly in Kentucky, in relation to Governor Pickens’s treatment of us, he relaxed his severity, and on the 21st sent us over some fresh beef and vegetables; as if we would consent to be fed by the charity of South Carolina. Anderson showed a good deal of proper spirit on this occasion. He declined to receive the provisions, but notified the governor that, if we were not interfered with, we would purchase our own supplies in Charleston market. The governor consented to this; but nothing came of it. There seemed to be a combination among the market-men not to sell us any food.
You should have highlighted these sentences insted of the sentence that said Pickens authorized Anderson to buy supplies in Charleston. Your own source admits that delivery of supplies was erratic, that Pickens' authorizaton was disingenuous, that Pickens demanded that Anderson get permits from him just to buy minor supplies, and that Anderson complained about these things.
I notice you didn't lay a finger on the evidence that early on the Sumter garrison began running low on food.
Huh??? Umm, yes, of course he did. I've never disputed that. The online sources you keep refusing to read talk about this fact. You act like you have discovered some stunning piece of information, when you are citing a fact that no one has denied and that has been discussed ad nauseum in the literature.
Sigh. . . . Just sigh. . . . Again, for the umpteenth time, the plan was to evacuate Sumter after reinforcing Pickens. By the end of March, the Sumter garrison's food supply was almost gone, as is well documented, which is why Lincoln also authorized a relief convoy to Sumter, but that convoy was specifically ordered not to reinforce Sumter but only to deliver food as long as they were not fired upon, unlike the Pickens convoy.
You simply refuse to address these facts and refuse to read the ample evidence that establishes them.
You can keep repeating this Lost Cause mythology until the Sun burns out, but that won't make it come true. Yes, Lincoln absolutely intended to abandon Sumter in exchange for reinforcing Pickens, but you won't dare yourself to read the dozens of pages of evidence that prove this fact, even though the evidence has been documented by two authors who were entirely fair to the Confederacy and who harshly criticized the Radical Republicans.
You can't even admit that Lincoln and Welles specified that the Sumter convoy was not to reinforce the fort unless fired upon because that debunks your narrative that Lincoln was trying to provoke war.
You have no idea what you're talking about. Even a responsible neo-Confederate scholar such as Mitchem admits that Fox's convoy was toothless without the Powhatan, but you can't even admit this obvious fact. Even Fox himself said the Powhatan was "the main portion, the fighting portion, of our expedition." You might want to read his report on the subject.
It is silly for you to argue that Fox "got scared." Fox was a war-hungry hardliner who was anxious for combat. He was furious about the last-minute removal of the Powhatan from his convoy. He was also angry and chagrined that his convoy was unable to take part in the fighting at Sumter. But you have to assume he got scared because you don't want to admit that he didn't think he had the needed firepower without the Powhatan.
The Pawnee and the Harriet Lane were insufficiently manned, and the Pocohantas did not even arrive near Charleston Harbor until the morning of April 13, over 24 hours after the attack on Sumter had begun, and did not dare try to enter the channel, in addition to the fact that Sumter was nearly destroyed by then. The Pawnee was under orders not to even get closer than 10 miles from the harbor's lighthouse until the Powhatan arrived, but the last-minute removal of the Powhatan from Fox's convoy rendered the Pawnee useless.
As military historian John Pelzer notes, the absence of the Powhatan crippled Fox's mission:
Powhatan’s transfer had a devastating impact on Fox’s mission. The Northern warship carried the armed launches and crews necessary to land troops and supplies from Baltic. To make matters worse, Fox did not learn of Powhatan’s diversion until April 13, a week after it had taken place. (Mission to Relieve Fort Sumter)
Historian Michael Burlingame:
One way was to sabotage the Sumter expedition by stripping it of its key component, the warship Powhatan, which was to transport howitzers, armed launches, and hundreds of troops. That vessel, it was understood, was the only one in the navy capable of carrying out the mission. (https://share.google/cmIbJu9zW8JFqBPEv)
On April 6, Lincoln sent a special messenger to Gov. Pickens informing him of the relief convoy and promising that if no resistance is offered, no troops, arms or ammunition would be moved into the fort, only food. The messenger arrived on April 8 and spoke with Pickens, with Gen. Beauregard present. Beauregard then informed Davis of the message, including the assurance that only food will be delivered as long as the convoy and/or the fort were not attacked. But good ole' Jeff Davis, doing the Radicals' bidding, decided to attack the fort in response to this assurance.
