The material is re-posted here (and slightly edited) because of the interesting writing and content:
“...it was the well-publicized movement of a Union war fleet of approximately eleven ships carrying approximately 2,000 troops and munitions sailing under orders to form on April 12 off Charleston harbor and begin any action necessary to collect tariff revenues from the State of South Carolina...(Source of Sumter war fleet taken mainly from-“Days of Decision” by Maury Klein)”>
The following chronology is necessary to establish the foundation for the confusion that exists in the fleets’ size and its mission.
April 1, 1861-Lincoln sent a secret message to Admiral Foote at the Brooklyn Naval Yard to outfit the “Powhatan” for military use. Foote was instructed under no circumstances to notify the Navy Department of this action.
When the “Powhatan” sailed to Charlestown it was disguised as a merchant ship flying the flag of Great Britain with the ships name painted out.
April 3, 1861-South Carolina batteries fired on the errant cargo ship Rhoda H. Shannon as it entered the harbor channel.
April 6, 1861-Gideon Wells, the Secretary of the Navy under orders from Lincoln, ordered the two gun ships, “Pocahontas” and “Pawnee”, along with the armed revenue cutter “Harriet Lane” to be ready to sail on this date.
April 7, 1861-The steam transports, the “Illinois”, “Baltic” and the “Atlantic” leave New York Harbor. These ships carried troops, munitions and supplies. Their departure and cargos were duly noted in New York newspapers.
Beauregard stops Major Anderson’s supply delivery. (Very significant date)
The passenger steamer “Baltic” and three ocean going tugboats, the “Yankee”, the “Uncle Ben” and the “Freeborn”, were added to the Charleston Harbor fleet. The tugboats were to be sent into the harbor first to mark the channel and then transfer troops from the ships to shore.
April 8, 1861-A written notice was sent by the Lincoln Federal Government without date or signature, which was read to Governor Pickens of South Carolina by Mr. Chew of the U. S. State Department, to the effect that the garrison in Fort Sumter would be supplied with provisions, peaceably, if permitted, forcibly, if necessary.
April 10, 1861-The New York Evening Post praised the revelation of the Union government's purpose to defend its property and maintain the laws. The Evening Post printed that if the rebels fire at an unarmed supply ship the responsibility (of war) will be on their heads.
April 12, 1861-At 3am the “Baltic” arrived at the rendezvous point ten miles out of Charleston Harbor with Gustavus Vasa Fox, the planner and leader of the expedition, aboard. The armed revenue cutter “Harriett Lane” was already there and the “Pawnee” arrived at 6am. Fox had planned to put ashore 500 troops at Sumter on this morning to reinforce Andersons force of 86 troops. The three tugs, the “Powhatan”, and the “Pocahontas” had not arrived.
MY NOTE: The Harriett Lane had arrived the evening of the 11th and taken post at the Harbor entrance. Shortly thereafter, she fired across the bow of civilian shipping vessel The Nashville, forcing her to stop. It was at that point that the blockade of Charleston was instituted, thus the first act of war on behalf of the Union expedition.
Beauregard, aware of the Union fleet off shore and its intentions, ordered Major Anderson to surrender the fort immediately or suffer the consequences. Major Anderson refused to surrender the fort. At 4:30 am, Capt. George S. James, commanding Fort Johnson's east mortar battery, ordered the firing of a signal shell that told the other batteries to begin firing upon Sumter. The first battery to open fire was manned by students of the Citadel. The bombardment lasted 33 hours.
Fox, having entered the channel around 10am in the Baltic and being escorted by the armed revenue cutter “Harriett Lane”, heard the cannonading and returned to the rendezvous point off shore. Fox, extremely agitated because the “Powhatan” had not yet arrived and Commander S. C. Rowan of the “Pawnee” had refused to enter the harbor channel with him, delayed the attack until the next day pending the arrival of the “Powhatan” and the “Pocahontas”. Fox later preceded to call off the fleets’ mission. Fox noted in his report that “war had commenced” and he was unable to complete his mission.
The final flotilla consisted of three tugs, the civilian steamer Baltic loaded with non-monition type supplies, the revenue cutter Harriet Lane loaded with non-munition type supplies, warships Pawnee and Pocahontas, and the Powhatan loaded with howitzers, fighting launches and three hundred troops.<<>>p358>>
The point here is what the South Carolinians thought was heading their way and not what actually arrived. They were primed for the worst and expected the worst. War fever, inspired greatly by newspaper articles, was at a crisis level on both sides. Lincoln had declared what he was going to do in his inaugural address and the seceded states didn’t have any reason to doubt his aggressive intentions.
The fleet that was speculated by northern newspaper accounts to be headed for Charleston reported the departures of the following ships:
Harriett Lane- three 9-inch Dahlgrens, one 30-pounder Parrott Rifle, and one 12-pounder -to be used as an armed escort ship for the troop carrying passenger steamer Baltic
Pawnee-15 gun warship-crew of 94
Pocahontas-6 gun warship-crew of 95
Powhatan-warship-many guns plus 4-12 pounders-300 sailors and launches (Klein p414)
Baltic-civilian merchant/passenger steamer-10 small boats-300 men (troops)
(Klien p358)
Illinois-civilian merchant/passenger steamer-carrying an unspecified number of troops (Klien p406)
Atlantic- civilian merchant/passenger steamer-600 troops aboard (U.S. Navy History records)
Yankee-ocean tug-returned to port
Uncle Ben-ocean tug-returned to port
Freeborn-ocean tug-never got to sea
The Sumter supply fleet consisted of eight warships carrying 26 guns and 1,400 troops. (Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government by Jefferson Davis Volume 1 p284)
The Union fleet the South Carolinians expected to see off their coast are the ships named above. However, the only ships that reached the rendezvous point on the morning of April 12th were the:
Harriett Lane-arrived around 1am.
Baltic-with Fox aboard arrived at 3am.
Pawnee-arrived at 7am.
According to Klein: “some merchant vessels reached the bar and anchored, giving distant observers the impression of a large fleet.” (Days of Defiance p414 ref to New York World, April 23, 1861.)
“The people in Charleston thought that there were six men-of-war in the offing.” (History of the Civil War, 1861–1865 James Ford Rhodes ref to Mary Chestnut Diary 33, 39 and G. V. Fox, O. R. N., IV, 249; Chadwick, 333)
What had become of the other ships?
Pocahontas-arrived late off the Charleston coast at 2pm on 13th
Powhatan- never arrived at Sumter and sailed to Fort Pickens after receiving contradictory orders
Illinois- sailed to Fort Pickens
Atlantic- sailed to Fort Pickens
Yankee- returned to port prior to arriving at Sumter
Uncle Ben- returned to port prior to arriving at Sumter
Freeborn- was detained by its owner and never went to sea
In summation:
It may be logically concluded that the “relief fleet”, including the gunboats, expected by the South Carolinians to arrive at Charleston consisted of eleven ships carrying troops, munitions, and supplies.
It may be logically concluded that the “relief fleet”, including the gunboats, that was actually ordered to Charleston consisted of eight ships carrying troops, munitions, and supplies.
It may be logically concluded that only four ships of the “relief fleet, carrying troops, munitions, supplies and including gunboats, actually reached Charleston.
It may be logically concluded that from shore on the morning of April 12 the Union “relief fleet” appeared to be much larger than it actually was because of the other various non-involved ships that had arrived that morning and anchored off shore.
It may be logically concluded (also actually known) that the relief supply ship “Baltic” intended to disembark troops (300 or 500 in number) at Fort Sumter to increase the manning of the fort by a multiple of four or five times it original complement. This is hardly the action of a ship “carrying supplies only”.
Please note: information acquired from different sources can and often do contradict each other. I have seen the number of troops transported to Fort Sumter by the Northern fleet range as high as 2500 men and as low as no troops at all. I have read where the cannonading of the fort began at 3:30am and not at 4:30am as recorded in Beauregards official report. The duration of cannonading is given as 33 and 34 hours. Also I have found three different dates given when Sumter’s’ food supply was cut off by Beauregard. April 2, April 5 and April 7 (OR, pp. 248, 290). I have seen the number of Anderson’s troops variously given as 60, 68, 80, 86, and 100.
The apparent discrepancy of the number of troops aboard the Baltic results from the fact that Fox had planned to put ashore 500 men at Fort Sumter but he reported he actually had only 300 men for that purpose on the morning of the 12th.
Also, another ship was seen leaving the New York port and sailing in the direction of the “Powhatan”. Lt. F. A. Roe was aboard this ship and carrying a message from Seward to deliver to Lt. Porter, the Captain of the “Powhatan”, informing him of the mix up in orders. Although the ship carrying Lt. Roe was not part of the fleet movement the people on shore observed it as part of the port activity during the fleet departures. Lt. Porter ignored Lt. Roes’ message from Seward instructing him to proceed to Fort Sumter.
I regret that I have been unable to document the source that described southern sympathizers watching the ships of the war fleet being loaded while in port. The source described southern sympathizers openly observed making notes of the troops, munitions and supplies being loaded onto the ships. The information they obtained was relayed to the authorities in South Carolina as well as to the authorities of the Confederacy. There was not any attempt by Union authorities to interfere with the activities of these southern sympathizers.
End of post.
there was NO NEED whatever to "rescue anyone" from starvation or anything else. instead, lincoln's action was an OBVIOUS attempt to START a WAR, for NO reason, except his lust for power & for $$$$$$$$$$$ for his "merry band of WAR CRIMINALS, THUGS & WAR PROFITEERS". period. end of story.
NOTE: a local gunsmith even returned a Union officer's personal revolver (in those days officers bought their own sidearms & swords/sabers.- they were PERSONAL property, rather than "war goods".), properly repaired, to his customer.
the UDC Museum in Charleston has MANY records of the "deliveries".
free dixie,sw
Your whole tale kind of falls apart there. Eleven ships? Two thousand troops? What kind of fantasy world are you and Maury living in? None of that is supported by the Official Record or any reputable book on Sumter that I've read. Six or seven ships. About 300 troops. And a load of food and supplies.
Other posters will now inform you that your information is bogus and irrelevant because of ..... well, whatever. Because it adds things they think unhelpful to the essential understanding needed, which is that the South needed burning down.