Editor in Chief Bill | 10 Dec 2011 12:04 p.m. PST |
In the April issue of Naval History magazine, Craig L. Symonds writes: On his first day in office, President Abraham Lincoln faced one of his most vexing problems: Should he despatch a naval expedition to resupply the besieged garrison at Fort Sumter, or simply withdraw the force? What should Lincoln have done? * withdraw the force * resupply the garrison * resupply and reinforce the garrison * other (explain) |
Big Red | 10 Dec 2011 12:13 p.m. PST |
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flooglestreet | 10 Dec 2011 12:15 p.m. PST |
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d effinger | 10 Dec 2011 12:30 p.m. PST |
He did exactly what he should have done. Nothing more or less, he sent supplies and no men. He took the morale high ground and THEY fired the first shot of the war. Case closed. Historians all agree. Don |
enfant perdus | 10 Dec 2011 3:04 p.m. PST |
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ScottWashburn | 10 Dec 2011 4:06 p.m. PST |
Yes, this is one of those pesky legal issues that the South never seemed to think about while it was in the act of seceding. Even if secession was legal (I think it probably was) it still did not UNMAKE the United States. The US still existed and any territory owned by the US government was still owned by the US government. This included the western territories and forts sitting in the middle of southern harbors. Even if the North had just 'let the South go its way' the disposition of those territories would be a matter of negotiation. Once the South opened fire, the die was cast. |
Grelber | 10 Dec 2011 5:29 p.m. PST |
The object of sending supplies was to extend the status quo giving the two sides time to negotiate. The troops would still have been there, without reinforcements or additional guns and ammunition. Since what Lincoln wanted was to negotiate a unified country, the talks were unlikely to have worked out for him, even given a great deal more time. With the new Confederate government rushing to put up fortifications around Charleston harbor, I doubt that any of the solutions you've listed would have yielded a Northern militarily victory. What Lincoln opted for was a response that was politically viable. Grelber |
Old Contemptibles | 10 Dec 2011 6:42 p.m. PST |
* resupply the garrison He had no choice. In his view the CSA did not exist and all states were still in the Union. That was his attitude through the entire war. The ball was then in the Southerners court. They Southerners should have just ignored the fort or blockaded their own harbor forcing the Federals to fire the first shot. |
Shagnasty | 10 Dec 2011 9:18 p.m. PST |
They should have starved them out. Let Lincoln be the aggressor. |
Femeng2 | 11 Dec 2011 4:55 a.m. PST |
Supplied them. It was illegal. Simply said, the southern slaveholders did not accept the results of the 1860 election. Wouldn't even accept their own state legislators, which is why rigged conventions were held. |
Bill N | 11 Dec 2011 6:45 a.m. PST |
Resupply the garrison. Lincoln's problem wasn't how to maintain a fort in Charleston harbor. His problem was how to mobilize support in the north to defeat southern secessionists. Convincing the Confederacy to commit the first act of overt warfare accomplished this result. |
Grand Duke Natokina | 11 Dec 2011 9:31 a.m. PST |
Resupply, but not reinforce. The Fort was a pile of rubble by the end of the siege. |
d effinger | 11 Dec 2011 9:42 a.m. PST |
The fort wasn't a pile of rubble at the of the end of the April 1861 bombardment. It was rubble at the end of the war. Don |
capncarp | 11 Dec 2011 6:23 p.m. PST |
Nuke it from orbit and blame the Rebels for using "infernal devices" |