"9 January 1861" Topic
5 Posts
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 Editor in Chief Bill   | 25 Dec 2011 1:05 p.m. PST |
On 9 January, guns open fire on the Star of the West (and the U.S. flag) while trying to resupply Fort Sumter. Should this have been the shot that started the American Civil War? (President Buchanan ignored the incident.) |
 Murphy  | 25 Dec 2011 3:17 p.m. PST |
Good question but since a few shots at a ship didn't have the political "umph" necessary to start a war or put the nation on course for a war, I would have to say no… Sumpter was the "Pearl Harbor", of it's day…a lone isolated fort standing in the face of adversary and outgunned, but holding on until it couldn't anymore and then surrendering with "dignity"… (or at least that is what they would want you to believe)… Lincoln needed a reason to put a million men under arms and not look like an invading aggressor on the international scenes, and sadly enough, the Confederate Government, and the political hothead played right into his hand…
And it was enough to send two countries into the abyss of madness for four years. |
 Saginaw  | 25 Dec 2011 8:57 p.m. PST |
Well worded, Murphy. Also, even though the Star of the West was under U.S. colors, she wasn't a U.S. Navy ship, but a civilian steamer chartered by the War Department. In addition, contemporary accounts indicate that President James Buchanan was politically and personally paralyzed on whether to prepare for war or to avoid it. |
| Old Contemptibles | 25 Dec 2011 10:00 p.m. PST |
Didn't I see a smilier topic posted recently? |
| dglennjr | 26 Dec 2011 4:32 p.m. PST |
Sorry, but a shot was fired in anger from/at U.S. troops stationed in Fort Barrancas/US Navy Yard (Pensacola, FL) towards appoaching, armed civilians (local militia) on the night of January 8, 1861. link link As a hisotrian of Florida Military Affairs, Lt. Adam Slemmer gets my vote for one of the most under-rated ACW officers. |
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