OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Secretary of State William H. Seward meets with an intermediary to Confederate envoys and submits an extraordinary memo to President Abraham Lincoln offering to head the administration behind the scenes.
Tag: Fort Sumter
Provisions Are Very Nearly Exhausted
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: President Abraham Lincoln consults his cabinet regarding the fate of Forts Sumter and Pickens. With his ministers still divided as to what should be done, Lincoln comes to a fateful decision.
Rendering Adherence to This Union Perpetual
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: General Winfield Scott writes a shocking letter to President Abraham Lincoln recommending the abandonment of not only Fort Sumter but Fort Pickens as well.
Separate Nationality is a Fixed Fact
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: President Lincoln sends special agents to Charleston, South Carolina, to assess the situation at Fort Sumter and to see if any Unionist sentiment can be found in the state. Lincoln receives disappointing news.
Fort Sumter: Evacuation or Reinforcement
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: President Abraham Lincoln convenes his cabinet to discuss what to do about Fort Sumter amidst differing opinions. Lincoln weighs the costs of abandonment versus holding the fort, and then decides to send someone there to assess the garrison’s condition.
Desiring a Peaceful Solution
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Three Confederate commissioners arrive in Washington to negotiate the peaceful transfer of Fort Sumter from U.S. to Confederate hands. Secretary of State William H. Seward takes it upon himself to discuss the situation with the commissioners despite President Abraham Lincoln’s instruction not to do so.