April 7 - 12, 1861

And The War Came

Lincoln had made his decision to relieve Forts Sumter and Pickens. The messengers to Charleston and Pensacola had been dispatched. Two expeditions, one headed to Sumter, the other directed to Pickens, were in the process of embarking. Now there would be days of waiting until the fate of these efforts was known. Throughout the Union, there was a general anticipation that the long period of standoff between Washington and Montgomery was about to end.

Lincoln had set his plan in motion, but its outcome was no longer subject to his control. Already, and still unknown to him, the flagship of the Sumter fleet, the Powhatan, was headed for the wrong fort, Pickens. Furthermore, nature was proving uncooperative. A storm struck the Atlantic just as the Sumter expedition left port, blowing gale winds, rain, and high seas. The ships had to make their way through this "unpropitious" weather to reach Charleston. Most significantly, the action of Confederate officials would also determine the consequences of Lincoln's decision.

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Bibliography: Current, Lincoln and the First Shot, pp. 120-23, 154; Stampp, And the War Came, p. 287; ORN, pp. 249, 251.