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... SIR: This letter will be landed to you by Captain G. V. Fox, ex-officer of the Navy, and a gentleman of high standing, as well as possessed of extraordinary nautical ability. He is charged by high authority here with the command of an expedition, under cover of certain ships of war, whose object is to re-enforce Fort Sumter. To embark with Captain Fox you will cause a detachment of recruits, say about two hundred, to be immediately organized at Fort Columbus, with a competent number of officers, arms, ammunition, and subsistence. A large surplus of the latter-indeed, as great as the vessels of the expedition can take-with other necessaries, will be needed for the augmented garrison of Fort Sumter...

I don't see anything inconsistent with what President Lincoln told the rebel authorities.

Two hundred recruits and the 65 men in Sumter were not going to faze the rebels. I don't know exactly, but I bet there were at least 10,000 armed rebels in and around Charleston.

Maybe a source on that can be cited. General Scott definitely told the president that at least 20,000 men would be required to open the port.

It's -so- funny how hard the neo-rebs work to catch ol' Honest Abe in a lie.

Walt

I don't see anything inconsistent with what President Lincoln told the rebel authorities.

ROFLMAO.

Two hundred recruits and the 65 men in Sumter were not going to faze the rebels. I don't know exactly, but I bet there were at least 10,000 armed rebels in and around Charleston.

Those 200 were not all the troops and that is a moot point anyway, as even adding ten extra troops and the ammunition would make Lincoln a liar.

Maybe a source on that can be cited.

It's from the "Official Records", Series One, Volume One, "Operations in Charleston Harbor", Chapter One, page 236. See, I, unlike you, can respond to requests for sources. Hmmmmm.....

General Scott definitely told the president that at least 20,000 men would be required to open the port.

And other officers said less. There were many different plans submitted and discussed, Scott's was but one of them.

It's -so- funny how hard the neo-rebs work to catch ol' Honest Abe in a lie.

LOL - It's -so- easy for anyone to do it. And -much- funnier to watch you deny the record, panic and then flood the thread with things that either disprove your own point or have nothing to do with the topic.

I don't see anything inconsistent with what President Lincoln told the rebel authorities.

That is because you blind yourself to the possibility that The Lincoln was anything less than a perfect and virtuous god. You ignore what you do not want to see and commit a great and sinful idolatry in the process.

"It's -so- funny how hard the neo-rebs work to catch ol' Honest Abe in a lie."

One doesn't have to work very hard to catch "ol' Honest Abe" in a lie. You have to work a lot harder to catch him telling the truth. On the other hand, to catch him in a half-truth is easy, because half-truths were his specialty.

"If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views."

The statement is a half-truth because, while his indifference to the fate of the slaves is sincere enough, his commitment to the "Union" was merely a cover for his real commtment to the furtherance of the "American system" of Henry Clay.