NATIONAL AFFAIRS: Gen. Scott and Col. Totten at a Special Meeting of the Cabinet; Editorials-The Finances of the Confederated States, Illinois to Mississippi (3/16/1861)

There is a good deal of anxiety in Republican circles concerning the President's health, and the effect upon it of his manner of doing business. He has no system or method whatever, but allows his time and strength to be exhausted in listening to office-seekers, and doing other drudgery, which belongs to the Departments. Until Wednesday morning he had not even taken a ride for recreation. From 6 o'clock in the morning until long after midnight, he permits himself to be made the passive victim of the thousands who would readily sacrifice his life and the safety of the nation to their own selfish eagerness for office. This course of action can have but one result. It has killed two good Presidents, and will inevitably deprive the country of another, if it is not changed. A false delicacy prevents his friends from making proper representations to Mr. LINCOLN on this subject, and the danger is that his profound and unselfish anxiety to see everybody and give nobody any ground to complain of injustice, will sap his strength and shorten his life. The Departments have clerical force sufficient to digest all applications for office, and he should require the Secretaries to bring him the results of such a sifting process, instead of taking the whole mass on his own shoulders. And, except in cases certified to be important by the proper Department, or where he has some special personal interest or feeling in the matter, he should refuse to allow anybody to talk to him about office. His time and strength and intellectual energy are required by the country for higher duties.

Free Republic University, Department of History presents U.S. History, 1855-1860: Seminar and Discussion Forum
Bleeding Kansas, Dred Scott, Lincoln-Douglas, Harper’s Ferry, the election of 1860, secession – all the events leading up to the Civil War, as seen through news reports of the time and later historical accounts

First session: November 21, 2015. Last date to add: Sometime in the future.
Reading: Self-assigned. Recommendations made and welcomed.

Posting history, in reverse order

https://www.freerepublic.com/tag/by:homerjsimpson/index?tab=articles

To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by reply or freepmail.

Link to previous New York Times thread

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3942343/posts

National Affairs: Gen. Scott and Col. Totten at a Special Meeting of the Cabinet – 2-3
Gen. Scott to His Correspondents – 3
Congress of the C.S.A. – 3
Movements of Hon. A.H. Stephens – 3
The Virginia State Convention – 3
The New-Hampshire Election – 3
The Massachusetts Appointments – 4
Naval Intelligence – 4
Is the “Slaughter Pen” a Failure? – 4
The Traitor Twiggs – 4
Amusements this Evening – 4
News of the Day – 4-5
Editorial: The Finances of the Confederated States – 5-6
Editorial: The Proposed Amendment to the Constitution – 6
Editorial: Illinois to Mississippi – 6-7
A Radical Difference – 7
Editorial: But Will They Come? – 7-8
Lager Bier-dom in a Ferment – 8
Chivalry Chafing – 7

[President Lincoln]... "He has no system or method whatever, but allows his time and strength to be exhausted in listening to office-seekers, and doing other drudgery, which belongs to the Departments. "

Exhausting on Lincoln or not, the end result was that Lincoln's government was not at war against him in anything like the manner of President Trump's administration.

In 1883 Congress passed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, which greatly reduced the numbers of patronage jobs, but also created a class of civil servants we know today as "the Deep State".

Report from Montgomery: "News has been received here, apparently from a reliable source, that five United States war vessels left New-York on Tuesday night, well armed, and with a large number of marines and ample provisions on board, believed to be destined to some southern port."

Now, wasn't it just yesterday we learned from Charleston of hundreds of Union troops being carried incognito on Union merchant ships to Charleston to reinforce Fort Sumter?
"Today" (March 14, 1861) we hear of a whole war fleet being launched by President Lincoln against "some southern port".
And yet the news says Lincoln is planning to abandon Fort Sumter... ?

DiogenesLamp has often told us that the "real cause" of civil war were Lincoln's orders to launch a "war fleet" to "attack Confederates" in Charleston.
Those orders, DiogenesLamp tells us, explain & justify Jefferson Davis' military assault on Maj. Anderson's troops in Fort Sumter.

And yet... and yet... as of March 14, 1861 we learn from news reports of the time, that there were already two "war fleets" in route to "attack Confederates".
But somehow these alleged "war fleets" did not trigger Jefferson Davis to order Fort Sumter be "reduced" if not surrendered immediately.

" There would be to us an advantage in so placing them that an attack by them would be a necessity, but when we are ready to relieve our territory and jurisdiction of the presence of a foreign garrison that advantage is overbalanced by other considerations."

"Movements of Hon. A.H. Stephens – 3"

CSA VP Stephens is on his way to Savanah, GA, to deliver a very important speech, March 21, 1861, on the nature & purpose of the Confederacy.
Rumor says he may mention something about a "cornerstone" -- whatever could that mean?

I'm very excited, will stay up late that night to watch it on C-MSNBC!

;-)

"Editorial: The Finances of the Confederated States – 5-6"

And yet again, in answer to numerous DiogenesLamp arguments we see the weaknesses of Confederate finances exposed -- the essence of it being: they have none.
They have no surplus capital with which to fund their own crops -- must borrow even that money -- much less to fund a Confederate government now girding for war.

By contrast, Union finances are solid & steady, or so the Times editors tell us.
They are not sounding the kinds of alarms DiogenesLamp tells us are the "real reasons" for Lincoln's alleged "war fleet" to "attack Confederates" in Charleston.

"Editorial: The Proposed Amendment to the Constitution – 6"

And, what do you know!
Especially for DiogenesLamp, the Times here reports on his most favorite whipping boy -- the Corwin Amendment.

The Times strongly opposes slavery but supports Corwin's amendment because of it's protections against centralizing authority in Washington, DC.

"The right of secession is inadmissible, but the right of the States to regulate their domestic affairs in their own way, is a feature of first importance in our Republican system of Government.

It is to preserve this essential feature of our Constitution, and not to add anything new and untried, that Mr. CORWIN and his colleagues of the Committee of Thirty-three proposed the amend that instrument.
The amendment offered is eminently proper in itself, is as necessary to the interests of Freedom as of Slavery, and at the same time, its adoption would go far to soothe the excited public feeling of the South, strengthen the hands of the friends of Union, and restore peace and harmony to the country.
We cannot imagine a solid objection to it, and it may be hoped that it will be ratified by all the States."

With such a ringing endorsement from the New York Times, how could Corwin's amendment not become law?

The fleet at fort Pickens instituted a truce with the locals, and it held just fine until it was threatened by Lieutenant Porter showing up with the Powhatan and trying to engage in a fire fight with the confederate shore batteries. He was only stopped by captain Meigs, and only then by Meigs interposing his ship in front of the Powhatan's path.

Porter said he felt like ramming him, but hove to instead.

The second fleet was the one going to Charleston, and for which the Powhatan was supposed to be the command ship. The other ships were ordered to take no action until captain Mercer arrived to coordinate the confrontation.

Lincoln's secret orders detached that ship unbeknownst to the other ships of the fleet. The Charleston operation was effectively paralyzed, but neither the Confederates or the other members of the fleet were aware of this.

The Confederates had to act on the belief that the Powhatan would shortly arrive and commence the attack upon them.

"The fleet at fort Pickens instituted a truce with the locals, and it held just fine until it was threatened by Lieutenant Porter showing up with the Powhatan..."

As of "today", March 15, 1861, neither the Powhatan nor any other of Lincoln's "war fleet" have yet received orders to depart New York.
The point of this article is that the Confederate press has now reported on two different "war fleets" as already left New York -- the first with Union soldiers in disguise aboard civilian Union ships going to Charleston Harbor.
The second "war fleet" is said to be five US Navy warships with reinforcements and supplies aboard now headed for "some Southern port".

These Confederate news reports are, of course, fake-news, nothing like that is happening "today", but Confederates don't know it, they think they're already being attacked by Lincoln's "war fleets".

Still, Confederates didn't use these alleged "war fleets" as their excuse to assault either Fort Sumter or Fort Pickens.
And the reason for that is... ?

New York -- the first with Union soldiers in disguise aboard civilian Union ships going to Charleston Harbor.

That incident refers to the USS Brooklyn. Yes, it did depart loaded with soldiers meant to be snuck into Sumter. It transferred these troops to the Star of the West which then kept them below decks in an effort to sneak them in past the batteries, but during the transfer of troops from the Brooklyn to the Star of the West, they were seen by other ships. These ships got to port and notified the confederates about what was happening.

And this is why the Star of the West was fired upon when it entered the channel.

The second "war fleet" is said to be five US Navy warships with reinforcements and supplies aboard now headed for "some Southern port".

I've seen telegrams from Washington DC to Mobile dated in March of 1861 and warning the confederates about an effort to send war ships. If the understanding of it got garbled so as to mean they had already been sent, I place no great importance on it.

It was what was warned would happen in March, even though I don't think the ships actually left until early April.

DiogenesLamp: "That incident refers to the USS Brooklyn. Yes, it did depart loaded with soldiers meant to be snuck into Sumter. "

That happened in early January and it is "now" two months later, we are getting reports of several Union merchant ships arriving in Charleston Harbor with up to 500 Union troops hidden aboard to reinforce Fort Sumter.

I'm saying the Confederate rumor mills were running wild, but none of these reports drove Charleston authorities to demand immediate surrender from Maj. Anderson, followed by military assault on Fort Sumter.

DiogenesLamp: "I've seen telegrams from Washington DC to Mobile dated in March of 1861 and warning the confederates about an effort to send war ships. "

The New York Times often reports on many Union warships coming & going to places both near and very far away.
For example, on page 3 of the March 15, 1861 edition, a column titled "IMPORTANT NAVAL INTELLIGENCE" lists several Union ships coming & going, including the Powhattan's recent arrival in New York.

The Times' report lists many smaller ships plus five "heavy" Union warships with 118 guns total remarking:

"This is a larger naval force than was ever concentrated on any one squadron since the organization of the United States Navy.
It exceeds the Paraguay expedition by seven in the number of vessels, and by over a thousand in the number of men.
It consists of more ships than the channel fleet of England, although of only half as many men..."

My point again: Confederates did not use Lincoln's "war fleet", even when reported in route to "some Southern port", as their excuse to start war at Fort Sumter in mid-March, 1861.

And that is because... ?

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