Hayne’s Hope
From the editor: The Hayne family has been prominent in South Carolina since John Hayne settled there in 1700. His grandson, Isaac Hayne was one of the most well known Americans to be executed during the Revolutionary War. Serving as a captain in the Colleton County regiment of the South Carolina militia, Hayne was captured when Savannah surrendered in 1780 and forced to give his parole. A year later, with British influence in the area on the wane, Hayne accepted a commission as colonel in the militia. His reasoning was that "allegiance due to a conqueror ceased with his expulsion from the subdued territory." (1) Unfortunately, British military commander Lord Francis Rawdon did not agree and he ordered Hayne, who was captured a second time, to be executed as an example to discourage other Loyalists from breaking their oaths. Hayne’s grandson, also named Isaac, was elected as South Carolina attorney-general in 1848, and was one of the signers of the Ordinance of Secession in December 1860. Isaac W. Hayne was also tapped by Governor Francis Pickens to travel to Washington, D.C., as part of a Joint Commission, which signals a truce between the Federal forces in Fort Sumter and Pickens’ state militia. It is Hayne’s argument that Fort Sumter should be surrendered due to the “undoubted right of eminent domain.” The informal truce in South Carolina is to last until President James Buchanan gives his answer to Hayne’s tenuous legal claim.
January 13 1861 (Sunday)
A day after disembarking his men in New York harbor, Lieutenant Charles R. Woods, Ninth U.S. Infantry, reports on his unsuccessful enterprise: “Finding it impossible to take my command to Fort Sumter, I was obliged most reluctantly to turn about, and try to make my way out of the harbor before my retreat should be cut off by vessels then in sight…. From the preparations that had been made for us I have every reason to believe the Charlestonians were perfectly aware of our coming.”
FORT COLUMBUS, N.Y.H., January 13, 1861.
Col. [Lorenzo] THOMAS, Assistant Adjutant-General, U.S.A., Washington. D.C.
COLONEL: I embarked on the evening of Saturday…from Governor's Island, at 6 o'clock pm, on a steam-tug, which transferred us to the steamer Star of the West. My command consisted of two hundred men, recruits from the depot…. On Tuesday afternoon… arms and ammunition were issued to all the men. About midnight same evening we arrived off Charleston Harbor, and remained groping in the dark until nearly day, when we discovered the light on Fort Sumter, which told us where we were. The other coast light marking the approaches to the harbor had been extinguished, and the outer buoy marking the channel across the bar gone…. As soon as we had light enough we crossed the bar, and steamed up the main ship channel. This was on the first of the ebb tide, the steamer ahead of us firing rockets and burning lights as she went up. We proceeded without interruption until we arrived within one and three-quarter miles of Forts Sumter and Moultrie--they being apparently equidistant--when we were opened on by a masked battery near the north end of Morris Island…. We went into the harbor with the American ensign hoisted on the flagstaff, and as soon as the first shot was fired a full-sized garrison flag was displayed at our fore, but the one was no more respected than the other. We kept on, still under the fire of the battery, most of the balls passing over us, one just missing the machinery, another striking but a few feet from the rudder, while a ricochet shot struck us in the fore-chains, about two feet above the water line, and just below where the man was throwing the lead. The American flag was flying at Fort Sumter, but we saw no flag at Fort Moultrie, and there were no guns fired from either of these fortifications…. A brisk fire was kept up on us by the battery as long as we remained within range, but, fortunately, without damage to us, and we succeeded in recrossing the bar in safety, the steamer touching two or three times…. Our course was now laid for New York Harbor, and we were followed for some hours by a steamer from Charleston for the purpose of watching us…. Capt. John McGowan, commanding the steamer Star of the West, deserves the highest praise for the energy, perseverance, and ability displayed in trying to carry out his orders to put the troops in Fort Sumter…I am, colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
CHAS. R. WOODS, First Lieutenant, Ninth Infantry, Commanding.
January 14 1861 (Monday)
With the members of the ‘Joint Commission’ on their way to Washington, D.C., to meet with President James Buchanan, South Carolina Governor Francis Pickens reopens the lines of communication with Fort Sumter. Captain John G. Foster, Engineer Corps, explains the new agreement: “The arrangement is for one of my boats to receive the mail at Fort Johnson, whither it is to be brought every day at 12 o'clock, and to deliver the mail from the fort at the same time, to be taken to the office in the city. The reason assigned for this particular arrangement is, that it will avoid all chances for encounters and bloodshed between our boats' crews and riotous persons on the wharves in the city.” However, Foster is pessimistic about the long-term chances of retaining control of the fort. “If the whole South is to secede from the Union, a conflict here and a civil war can only be avoided by giving up this fort sooner or later. We are, however, all prepared to go all lengths in its defense if the Government requires it.”
FORT SUMTER, S.C., January 14, 1861.
General [Joseph] G. TOTTEN, Chief Engineer, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C.: The Carolinians are hard at work on Fort Moultrie raising sand-bag and earth merlons between all the guns that look in this direction, in a similar manner to the merlons that I constructed on the front facing the sand hills. The force on the island is about 700 men, as I saw them drilling this evening in about that number. I think that they have transferred several of the guns from Fort Moultrie and Castle Pinckney to the batteries on Morris Island, with the object of strengthening them, since they have found by the firing on the Star of the West that they are well placed. There is another battery on the upper end of Sullivan's Island, out of the reach of our guns, to guard the Maffitt Channel. The main ship channel is so much obstructed by the four hulks that they sunk in it on the 11th that vessels find the greatest difficulty in getting out or in, even with the harbor pilots, who know their position exactly. The middle channel is the only one that can be used with safety by vessels that wish to run the gauntlet with re-enforcements for us…. The weather since the command has occupied the fort has been very bad, and the whole force, including the camp followers, have been suffered to quarter in the officers' quarters…. I regard it, however, as of small moment in comparison with the necessity for keeping the command well housed and also as well warmed as the small stock of fuel will allow…. Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J.G. FOSTER, Captain, Engineers.
In Key West, Florida, Captain John Brannan, First U.S. Artillery, withdraws his command of forty-four men into Fort Taylor. He reports, “In consequence of the recent seizure by unauthorized persons of several forts and arsenals in the Southern States, I have placed my entire command in Fort Taylor for the purpose of protecting it.” At present, Fort Taylor houses “sixty sea-coast and garrison cannon, viz: Fifty 8-inch columbiads and ten 24-inch flanking howitzers, with caissons, and four 12-pounder field howitzers, mounted; 4,530 projectiles, suited to the guns; 34,459 pounds of powder; 2,826 cartridge bags; 962 priming tubes, and 759 cartridges for small arms.”
Report of Capt. John M. Brannan, First U.S. Artillery.
SIR: In consequence of the secession of this State and the seizure of the forts and arsenals in other Southern States. I have moved my command to Fort Taylor, and shall defend it to the last moment against any force attempting to capture it. I have four months' provisions and 70,000 gallons water, but we cannot stand a siege against any organized army, and therefore should be re-enforced immediately. Two vessels of war should be stationed here to protect the entrance to the harbor and prevent a landing beyond the range of my guns. Mail facilities having ceased through Florida, all orders for this post should be sent via Havana from New York through the American consul. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J.M. BRANNAN, Captain, First Artillery, Commanding.
Other Union activity reported on this date:
1. Ordnance Sergeant Frederick Dardingkiller reports “the party of citizens who occupied” Fort Caswell, N.C., located on the mouth of the Cape Fear River, has departed. “Mr. Hedrick [Cape Fear Minutemen], who signed receipts to me for the ordnance stores, has returned them to me in good order.”
Other Confederate activity reported on this date:
1. The Virginia Assembly approves a convention to consider secession
2. Fort Pike, located at the entrance of Lake Pontchartrain, is seized by Louisiana State troops commanded by Major Henry Clinch, First Louisiana State Militia.
January 15 1861 (Tuesday)
Colonel William Chase, commanding between eight and nine hundred Florida State militiamen, sends a second demand for the surrender of Fort Pickens, in Pensacola Harbor. Chase, a former officer in the Corps of Engineers, had supervised the construction of the fort. Lieutenant Adam J. Slemmer, First U.S. Artillery, reports, “Colonel Chase…accompanied by Commander [Ebenezer] Farrand, late of the U.S. Navy, asked for a consultation.” Slemmer promises to “consider” the offer and “give my answer the next morning.”
HEADQUARTERS PENSACOLA DISTRICT, January 15, 1861.
Lieut. A.J. SLEMMER, U.S. Army, Commanding Fort Pickens, Harbor of Pensacola: As commissioner on the part of the governor of the State of Florida, I request the surrender of Fort Pickens and the public property it contains into my hands, to be held subject to any agreement that may be entered into between the commissioners of the State of Florida and the Federal Government at Washington…. If the Union now broken should be reconstructed Fort Pickens and all the public property passes peacefully under Federal authority. If a Southern Confederacy separates itself from the Union would it not be worse than folly to attempt the maintenance of Fort Pickens or any other fortified place within its limits! Listen to me, then, I beg of you, and act with me in preventing the shedding the blood of your brethren. Surrender the fort. You and your command may reoccupy the barracks and quarters at Barrancas on your simple parole to remain there quietly until ordered away, or to resume the command of the harbor should an adjustment of present difficulties in the Union be arrived at…. I beg of you to receive this communication in the same spirit in which it is offered. I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
WM. H. CHASE.
In San Antonio, Texas, seventy-one year old David Twiggs, a native of Georgia and a forty-nine year veteran of the Army, asks to be relieved of command of the Department of Texas. He writes: “All I have is in the South, and as my health will not allow me to take an active part in the scenes that will probably be enacted, I must be a looker-on.” Twiggs’ command includes 2,500 men (approximately 20% of the men in the entire peacetime army) and munitions and equipment worth over two million dollars.
SAN ANTONIO, January 15, 1861.
Lieut. Gen. [Winfield] SCOTT, U.S. Army, Washington: I am placed in a most embarrassing situation. I am a Southern man, and all these States will secede. What is left will not be the "United States," and I know not what is to become of the troops now in this department. Louisiana, Alabama., Mississippi, and Georgia will certainly secede. As for coercion, that I consider impossible to keep them in the Union. A guard would have to be put at every house in the country, and that would not keep them in the Union. The feeling is universal, and the people are determined to secede. Coercion might have done at first; now it cannot. As soon as I know Georgia has separated from the Union I must, of course, follow her. I most respectfully ask to be relieved in the command of this department on or before the 4th of March next…. I am, General, with the greatest respect and regard, your obedient servant,
D.E. TWIGGS, Brevet Major-General, U.S. Army.
Other Union activity reported on this date:
1. The Departments of California and Oregon are merged into the Department of the Pacific, commanded by Colonel A.S. Johnston, 2nd U.S. Cavalry.
Other Confederate activity reported on this date:
1. Colonel Isaac Hayne, S.C. State Militia, informally meets with President Buchanan at the Willard Hotel, in Washington, D.C.
2. South Carolinian commissioners meet with the French Foreign Minister in Paris, France.
3. Missouri Governor Claiborne Jackson calls for a secession convention to meet in Jefferson City on February 28th.
5. After ordering Forts Caswell and Johnston restored to Federal command due to there being taken in an “irregular manner,” N.C. Governor John Ellis writes to President Buchanan: “Should I receive assurances that no troops will be sent to this State…all will be peace and quiet here.”
January 16 1861 (Wednesday)
Secretary of State Joseph Holt reassures Fort Sumter commander Major Robert Anderson, First U.S. Artillery, that he made the right decision not to retaliate during the firing on the Star of the West. “Had their act been perpetrated by a foreign nation, it would have been your imperative duty to have resented it with the whole force of your batteries. As, however, it was the work of the government of South Carolina, which is a member of this confederacy, and was prompted by the passions of a highly-inflamed population of citizens of the United States, your forbearance to return the fire is fully approved by the President.”
WAR DEPARTMENT, January 16, 1861.
Maj. ROBERT ANDERSON, First Artillery, Commanding Fort Sumter: Your late dispatches…have relieved the Government of the apprehensions previously entertained for your safety. In consequence, it is not its purpose at present to re-enforce you. The attempt to do so would, no doubt, be attended by a collision of arms and the effusion of blood--a national calamity which the President is most anxious, if possible, to avoid…. Should your dispatches be of a nature too important to be intrusted to the mails, you will convey them by special messengers. Whenever, in your judgment, additional supplies or re-enforcements are necessary for your safety, or for a successful defense of the fort, you will at once communicate the fact to this Department, and a prompt and vigorous effort will be made to forward them. Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. HOLT.
Other Union activity reported on this date:
1. The Crittenden Compromise is defeated in the full Senate by a vote of 25-23, with all 25 negative votes being cast by Republicans.
Other Confederate activity reported on this date:
1. Georgia's secession convention convenes in Milledgeville.
2. The state legislatures of Arkansas and Missouri vote to hold secession conventions.
January 17 1861 (Thursday)
Yesterday, Lieutenant Slemmer refused the demand that he surrender Fort Pickens. The fort is described by a correspondent for the New York Times: “An admirably constructed fortification at the extremity of a long, shallow sand-spit, that separates the Bay from the Gulf for some distance, and the fort is so situated as really to command the entrance to the Bay completely.” (2) Slemmer writes to Colonel William Chase: “We have decided…that it is our duty to hold our position until such a force is brought against us as to render it impossible to defend it, or until the political condition of the country is such as to induce us to surrender.” Today, Slemmer resumes the work of upgrading his defensive position.
Report of Lieut. Adam J. Slemmer, First U.S. Artillery.
SIR: On the 17th I mounted one 12-pounder gun and one 8-inch sea-coast howitzer on the northwest bastion. I had previously mounted three 32-pounders in the southeast bastion, and rendered effective the 24-pounder flank-defense howitzers, besides placing my field battery on the ramparts for effective service…. I am, sir, very respectfully, your most obedient servant,
A.J. SLEMMER, First Lieutenant, First Artillery, Commanding Post.
January 18 1861 (Friday)
The sixty-six man expeditionary force commanded by Major Lewis G. Arnold, Second U.S. Artillery, arrives at Fort Jefferson, on the Dry Tortugas Islands, seventy miles off the coast of Key West, Florida. He reports, “I found on my arrival here…that Fort Jefferson could not be successfully defended from a judiciously-planned and concerted attack with a formidable force without having each front of the work and each bastion armed with artillery.” Following the advice of Captain Montgomery Meigs, Engineer Corps, Arnold sends a steamer to Fort Taylor to request additional weaponry from Captain John Brannan.
HEADQUARTERS FORT JEFFERSON, TORTUGAS, January 18, 1861.
Col. [Samuel] COOPER, Adjt. Gen. U.S. Army, Washington City, D.C.: I have the honor to report that I arrived at Fort Jefferson today with my command; garrisoned and assumed command of the post, in accordance with the instructions of the General-in-Chief…. Strength: four commissioned officers and sixty-two enlisted men….I would respectfully inquire if Fort Jefferson is a double-ration post? If not, I request that it be announced as such in orders from the War Department, from the 18th instant. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
L.G. ARNOLD, Brevet Major, U.S. Army, Commanding.
Senators from six of the seven seceding states organize a meeting in Washington, D.C., in advance of the February 4th convention in Montgomery, Alabama. For their first order of business they advise Florida Governor Madison S. Perry and South Carolina Governor Francis Pickens not to attack the Federal garrisons holding out at Forts Pickens and Sumter. Florida Senator Stephen Mallory advises, “First get the Southern Government in operation.”
WASHINGTON, January 18, 1861.
His Excellency Governor PERRY, Tallahassee, Fla: We think no assault should be made. The possession of the fort is not worth one drop of blood to us. Measures pending unite us in this opinion. Bloodshed now may be fatal to our cause.
[John] SLIDELL. (Louisiana), [Judah] P. BENJAMIN. (Louisiana), [Alfred] IVERSON. (Georgia), [John] HEMPHILL. (Texas), LOUIS T. WIGFALL. (Texas), [Clement] C. CLAY, JR. (Alabama), [Benjamin] FITZPATRICK. (Alabama), [Jefferson] DAVIS. (Mississippi)
S. R. MALLORY. (Florida)
When David Twiggs learns that his native state of Georgia is set to vote in favor of secession, he is adamant that he will not remain in the Federal army. “After secession I know not what will be done, I know one thing, and that is, I will never fire on American citizens.” However, Twiggs is still uncertain of what is to be done with the men and installations located in his Department of Texas.
HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF TEXAS, San Antonio, January 18, 1861. (Received January. 30, 1861.)
The ADJUTANT-GENERAL, Washington, D.C.: No doubt but the State will erode by the last of this month. All is quiet in my department (except the Comanches). No attempt has been made to interfere with the public property. All that has been done has been in the Department of the East; and where was the redoubtable hero that boasted he had two hundred thousand men on hand to regulate the South? Verily, military men should be cautious how they threaten the people. After secession I know not what will be done…. Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
D.E. TWIGGS, Bvt. Maj. Gen., U.S. Army, Commanding Department.
Other Confederate activity reported on this date:
1. Although results from the January 2nd vote have not been released, the Georgia Secession Convention holds a ‘test’ vote, with the Secessionists defeating the Cooperationists by a vote of 166 to 130.
January 19 1861 (Saturday)
Unaware that Colonel William Chase has been ordered by Governor Perry not to conduct offensive actions against him; Lieutenant Slemmer continues his defiant occupation of Fort Pickens.
FORT PICKENS, FLA., January 19, 1861.
Col. W.H. CHASE, Commanding the Forces of Florida, &c.: In reply to your communication of yesterday I have the honor to state that as yet I know of no reason why my answer to your communication of the 16th should be changed, and I therefore very respectfully refer you to that reply for the answer to this. By order of First Lieut. A.J. Slemmer, First Artillery, commanding Fort Pickens:
[Jeremiah] H. GILMAN, Second Lieutenant, First Artillery, A. Post Adjt.
Other Union activity reported on this date:
1. S.M. Felton, president of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, summons Detective Allan Pinkerton to a meeting in New York City. Felton wants to determine if threats to assassinate President Lincoln during his trip to Washington, D.C., are credible.
2. The U.S. paymaster’s office in New Orleans is seized by Louisiana State troops. Paymaster A.J. Smith reports, “My office, furniture, blanks, &c., have been taken by the State.”
Other Confederate activity reported on this date:
1. The ordinance of secession is adopted in Georgia by the vote of 208-89. Georgia is the fifth state to secede since the election of Abraham Lincoln.
Sources for Week 3:
1. Taliaferro Preston Shaffner, History of the United States, vol. 1 (Oxford, 1863) p. 593.
2. New York Times, January 14, 1861.