By Todd Hatton
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkms/local-wkms-963596.mp3
Murray, KY – Every week, we remember the Commonwealth's role in the U.S. Civil War with the Kentucky Civil War Dispatch. Today, we look at the showdown developing over a pile of bricks in Charleston harbor, and the three Kentuckians who hold war and peace in their hands.
On this date in 1861, supply ships were on their way to Fort Sumter, South Carolina, having been sent by Kentucky-born President Abraham Lincoln. The fort's commander, Maj. Robert Anderson, was also a Kentuckian. How would Jefferson Davis, the Kentucky-born Confederate president, react to Lincoln's move?
Fort Sumter put both presidents in a bind. In his inaugural address, Lincoln had promised to hold the fort, which squatted on a tiny artificial island in Charleston harbor.
To Davis and the Confederates, the brick walled fort was a symbol of Union power in the city dubbed the "Cradle of the Confederacy."
If Lincoln let Sumter fall, he would appear weak. If he sent more men and more ammunition, he might provoke war, something he wanted to avoid.
So, Lincoln chose a middle course. He would provide only food to the fort.
But would Davis draw a distinction between sustenance and reinforcements? If he permitted Lincoln to ship any supplies to the fort, he, and not the U.S. president, might appear weak.
Davis was reluctant to start a war, too. In Battle Cry of Freedom, historian James McPherson wrote "If Confederates opened fire on the unarmed boats carrying food for hungry men,' the South would stand convicted of an aggressive act. On its shoulders would rest the blame for starting a war. This would unite the North and, perhaps, keep the South divided."
However, McPherson noted that if the Confederates permitted the re-supply of Fort Sumter, "the Union government would have won an important symbolic victory."
McPherson called Lincoln's course "a stroke of genius." He explained that the president was "in effect telling Jefferson Davis, Heads I win, Tails you lose.' It was the first sign of the mastery that would mark Lincoln's presidency."
On April 6, Lincoln sent a special messenger to tell South Carolina authorities that unarmed vessels carrying only provisions were sailing for Sumter.
"This put the ball in Jefferson Davis's court," McPherson wrote. "The Confederate president was also under great pressure to do something.'"
And Davis would indeed do something on April 9. He ordered Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard to reduce Fort Sumter if possible before the relief ships arrived.
A West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer, Beauregard was considered an expert artillerist. When he graduated the U.S. Military Academy in 1838, he was the artillery instructor's prize pupil.
The professor asked Beauregard to stay at the academy as his assistant. The pupil agreed. That professor was Maj. Robert Anderson.
Anderson graduated from West Point in 1825. He knew many members of the class of 1828, including the man who had issued the command for Beauregard to fire on Fort Sumter -- Jefferson Davis.
WKMS produces Kentucky Civil War Dispatches from West Kentucky Community and Technical College history professor Berry Craig. The Murray State alumnus is the author of Hidden History of Kentucky in the Civil War and True Tales of Old-Time Kentucky Politics: Bombast, Bourbon, and Burgoo.