OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Abraham Lincoln begins his first full day as president by receiving an ominous message from Robert Anderson at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
Tag: Robert Anderson
Fort Sumter Should be in Our Possession
Major Robert Anderson’s Federal garrison at Fort Sumter faces isolation while South Carolina officials seek its surrender. But the South Carolinians will need the new Confederate government to back them up.
The General Tendency is to Hostile Measures
Tensions in South Carolina escalate as Robert Anderson’s Federal garrison remains at Fort Sumter. Despite requests for withdrawal, President Buchanan upholds the garrison’s position. The South Carolina militia takes defensive actions, leading to a standoff. Both sides avoid engagement while preparing for potential conflict, maintaining an uneasy truce in Charleston Harbor.
The Star of the West Under Fire
The merchant vessel Star of the West arrives at Charleston Harbor to relieve the Federal garrison at Fort Sumter. But the South Carolinians have other ideas.
A Gloomy Foreboding of Impending Disaster
The new year opens with South Carolina commissioners responding to President James Buchanan’s refusal to withdraw the Federal troops from Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
Inviting a Collision and Possibly Civil War
The adversarial relationship between Secretary of War John B. Floyd and the rest of President James Buchanan’s cabinet worsens when news arrives that Major Robert Anderson had moved his Federal garrison to Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Floyd leads the southern cabinet members by insisting that Anderson withdraw, while northern members insist that Anderson stay.