President Buchanan's Secretary of War to Major Anderson on being surprised by Anderson's report of movement from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter: It is not believed, because there is no order for any such movement. Believe it. Lincoln sent a confidential message to General Scott. Scott appears to have reached out and touched Major Anderson.
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OFFICIAL RECORDS: Series 1, vol 1, Part 1, page 73
SPECIAL ORDERS, HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
Numbers 137.
New York, November 15, 1860.
Major Robert Anderson, First Artillery, will forthwith proceed to Fort Moultrie, and immediately relieve Bvt. Colonel John L. Garnder, lieutenant-colonel of First Artillery, in command thereof; who, on being relieved, will repair without delay to San Antonio, Texas, and report to the commanding officer of the Department of Texas for duty, with that portion of this regiment serving therein.
By command of Lieutenant-General Scott:
L. THOMAS,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
[nc: italics IN original; boldface added]
Hon. E.B. Washburne
My dear Sir:
Last night I received your letter giving an account of your interview with Gen. Scott, and for which I thank you. Please present my respects to the general, and tell him, confidentially, I shall be obliged to him to be as well prepared as he can to either hold or retake, the forts, as the case may require, at and after the inauguration. Yours as ever
A. Lincoln
Cite: The Living Lincoln, 1995, edited by Paul M. angle and Earl Schenck Miers, page 368.
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OFFICIAL RECORDS: Series 1, vol 1, part 1, page 2
Numbers 1. Reports of Major Robert Anderson, U. S. Army, of the evacuation of Fort Moultrie, S. C.
[Numbers 11.] (sic - 1?) FORT SUMTER, S. C.,
December 26, 1860-8 p.m. (Received A. G. O., December 29.)
COLONEL: I have the honor to report that I have just completed, by the blessing of God, the removal to this fort of all of my garrison, except the surgeon, four non-commissioned officers, and seven men. We have one year's supply of hospital stores and about four months' supply of provisions for my command. I left orders to have all the guns at Fort Moultrie spiked, and the carriages of the 32-pounders, which are old, destroyed. I have sent orders to Captain Foster, who remains at Fort Moultrie, to destroy all the ammunition which he cannot send over. The step which I have taken was, in my opinion, necessary to prevent the effusion of blood.
Respectfully, your obedient servant,
ROBERT ANDERSON,
Major, First Artillery, Commanding.
Colonel S. COOPER, Adjutant-General.
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OFFICIAL RECORDS: Series 1, vol 1, part 1, page 3
[Telegram.]
WAR DEPARTMENT,
Adjutant-General's Office, December 27, 1860.
Major ANDERSON, Fort Moultrie:
Intelligence has reached here this morning that you have abandoned Fort Moultrie, spiked your guns, burned the carriages, and gone to Fort Sumter. It is not believed, because there is no order for any such movement. Explain the meaning of this report.
J. B. FLOYD,
Secretary of War.
[Telegram.]
CHARLESTON, December 27, 1860.
Honorable J. B. FLYD, Secretary of War:
The telegram is correct. I abandoned Fort Moultrie because I was certain that if attacked my men must have been sacrificed, and the command of the harbor lost. I spiked the guns and destroyed the carriages to keep the guns from being used against us.
If attacked, the garrison would never have surrendered without a fight.
ROBERT ANDERSON,
Major, First Artillery.
False. Here is the relavant communication surrounding Major Anderson's move from Ft. Moultrie to Ft. Sumter.
FORT MOULTRIE, S. C., December 11, 1860.
Memorandum of verbal instructions to Major Anderson, First Artillery, commanding at Fort Moultrie, S. C.
You are aware of the great anxiety of the Secretary of War that a collision of the troops with the people of this State shall be avoided, and of his studied determination to pursue a course with reference to the military force and forts in this harbor which shall guard against such a collision. He has therefore carefully abstained from increasing the force at this point, or taking any measures which might add to the present excited state of the public mind, or which would throw any doubt on the confidence he feels that South Carolina will not attempt, by violence, to obtain possession of the public works or interfere with their occupancy. But as the counsel and acts of rash and impulsive persons may possibly disappoint those expectations of the Government, he deems it proper that you should be prepared with instructions to meet so unhappy a contingency. He has therefore directed me verbally to give you such instructions.
You are carefully to avoid every act which would needlessly tend to provoke aggression; and for that treason you are not, without evident and imminent necessity, to take up any position which could be construed into the assumption of a hostile attitude. But you are to hold possession of the forts in this harbor, and if attacked you are to defend yourself to the last extremity. The smallness of your force will not permit you, perhaps, to occupy more than one of the three forts, but an attack on or attempt to take possession of any one of them will be regarded as an act of hostility, and you may then put your command into either of them which you may deem most proper to increase its power of resistance. You are also authorized to take similar steps whenever you have tangible evidence of a design to proceed to a hostile act.
D. C. BUELL,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
Major Anderson got his orders from the same man who chose him to go to Charlston in the first place, Secretary of War John Floyd.