He [Robert Anderson] was too exhausted to put pen to paper coherently so Gustavus Fox offered to take dictation for him. He wanted this message sent to Simon Cameron, secretary of war:
Sir – Having defended Fort Sumter for thirty-four hours, until the quarters were entirely burned, the main gates destroyed by fire, the gorge wall seriously injured, the magazine surrounded by flames, and its door closed from the effects of the heat, four barrels and three cartridges of powder only being available, and no provisions but pork remaining, I accepted terms of evacuation offered by General Beauregard, being the same offered by him on the 11th inst., prior to the commencement of hostilities, and marched out of the fort Sunday afternoon, the 14 inst., with colors flying and drums beating, bringing away company and private property, and saluting my flag with fifty guns.
Robert Anderson, Major, First Artillery
It was but a single sentence, long, awkward, packed with facts… and with emotion.
Source:
Detzer, David. “Mystic Chords of Memory: A Postscript.” Allegiance: Fort Sumter, Charleston, and the Beginning of the Civil War. New York: Harcourt, 2002. 312. Print.
Further Reading:
[Robert Anderson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Anderson_(Civil_War\))
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