[Quick set-up: South Carolina is considering secession from the Union (which would spark the Civil War), and everyone knows it. But since it’s still part of the United States, the Federal garrison at the local Forts Moultire and Sumter are awkwardly sitting in what will soon become enemy territory. The local papers loved to say that they weren’t advocating the taking of these forts by force, but kept implying, publicly, that it would be super easy to do. Wink wink, nod nod.]
One day in December, two laborers at Fort Sumter were killed when a cannon they were mounting plunged down upon them. Dr. Crawford, responsible for tending to Foster’s workers, went out the next day. While there he encountered several South Carolina militia officers checking on the fort. They were so audacious they then crossed over to Moultrie and tried unsuccessfully to inspect it as well. A few days later the Mercury published a detailed article on Fort Sumter, along with a large drawing of it, and in the middle of its description the newspaper noted in passing that the fort was so strong, whoever held it could “defy any attack by a fleet of vessels.”
Furthermore, the Mercury implied that taking Sumter would be relatively easy, because “an entrance may, at the present state of construction, be easily made.” An assault force, it was stated, could put scaling ladders against the walls and slip into the wide-open embrasures on the second floor.
Source:
Detzer, David. “Commanders and Chiefs.” Allegiance: Fort Sumter, Charleston, and the Beginning of the Civil War. New York: Harcourt, 2002. 83, 84. Print.
Original Source(s) Listed:
Mercury, December 12, 1860.
Crawford to his brother, December 12, 1860, SWC.
Mercury, December 21, 1860.
Further Reading:
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