MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD. ORE.
MONDAY, JANUARY 2. 1961
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THIS
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CIVIL WAR
WARLESTqfll
4eCASTLI
PINCKNEY
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'V
FORT JOHNSONp
Of
FORT SUMTER:
CUMMINGS
POINT
FOCAL POINT-This newsmap, drawn es
pecially for this article on the history of the
Civil War, spots Charleston Harbor, an
area that was the focal point of attention
in the United States in late 1860 and early
1861. Maj. Robert Anderson had moved his
Union garrison from Ft. Moultr.'5,,a death
trap in the harbor, to Ft. Sumter, where he
tiiv t nun miw iMmu
had room to fight. The move precipitated
a cabinet crisis, and, in the last days of his
administration, turned President Buchanan
solidly northern. The cabinet crisis was
to bring to light Secretary of War John B.
Floyd's involvement in a scandal which was
'to cost the U. S. government $870,000.
(UPI Telephoto)
Buchanan Turns Northern
By MERTON T, AKERS
UPI Correspondent
In the final week of 1860,
President Buchanan finally
turned solidly Northern.
. Events had come a full cir
cle in less than a month and
the man who started it all was
none other than Maj. Robert
Anderson, a hardy artillery
man who obeyed orders.
His coup against the South
Carolinians in moving his
pint-sized garrison from Ft.
Moultrie, a death-trap in the
Charleston, S. C, Harbor, to
Ft. Sumter, where he had gun
nery room to fight, stirred of
ficial Washington.
Word of Anderson's moVe
on Dec. 26 sparked a five-day
cabinet crisis. Before it was
over President Buchanan was
forced into a decision by an
gry cabinet members and or
dered reinforcements for the
spunky major. The fact thai
the order later was watered
down and the reinforcements
never reached Ft. Sumter mat
tered not at the moment. The
decision served notice on the
Southern conspirators in the
capital that the administra
tion was now headed by a
Northern cabinet. The South
erners were set ba'ck on their
heels and had to replan their
moves.
Floyd Challenges Anderson
Secretary of War John B.
Floyd, a Virginia secessionist
with a low boiling point,
heard of Anderson's move
from his friends in South
Carolina early on Dec. 27. He
refused to believe it and tele
graphed Anderson:
tlntelligerice reached here
this morning that you have
abandoned F.t. Moultrie,
spiked your guns, burned the
carriages and gone to' Ft. Sum
ter. It is not believed because
there is no order for any such
movement. Explain 'he mean
ing ot tnis report.
The message dispatched
Floyd called on his Southern
friends in Washington for
help.
The nesponse came before
noon. Sens. Jefferson Davis
of Mississippi and R. M. T.
Hunter of Virginia with Wil
liam) Trescott, until lately as
sistant secretary of state, has
tened to the White House. Da
vis acted as spokesman.
He asked President Buchan
an if the had 'heard that day
from Charleston. The Presi-'l
dent said he had not:
"I 2ave a calamity to an
nounce to you," Davis said in
his gravest tones. Then he
told of Anderson's move.
"Now, Mr. President," Da
vis went on as if announcing
the crack of doom, "You acs
surrounded with blood and
dishonor on all sides."
"My (od," the harried
If
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(NOT FIRE)
President wailed, "are misfor
tunes never to come singly;"
Buchanan Delays
Davis and his colleagues
demanded that Buchanan or
der Anderson back to Moul
trie. Buchanan begged off as
the cabinet, having heard the
news, began to check in-the
Northerners, Secretary of
State Jeremiah Black, Attor
ney General Edwin M. Stan
ton and Postmaster General
Joseph Holt, with blood in
their eyes.
By then, Floyd had an an
swer from Anderson:
"The telegram is corrcst. I
abandoned Ft. Moultrie be
cause I was certain if at
tacked my men would be sac
rificed, and the command of
the harbor lost. I spiked the
guns and destroyed the car
riages to keep the guns from
being used against us."
The war secretary was fur
ious. This was against orders,
he protested. Send Anderson
back to Moultrie at once be
fore there is bloodshed, he
stormed at the President.
Black challenged this out
burst. He called for the ong-(
inal order and it was brought
over from the War Depart
ments Floyd was wrong al-'
though his endorsement was
on the order.
F'oyd Changes Tactics
Floyd tried another course.
The orders said that Anderson
might move his garrison if
there was "tangible evidence"
of an impending attack. No
such evidence existed, Floyd
contended. But Black count
ered that if the major was not
to be the judge of impending
attack, then the order was
meaningless.
Floyd again changed tac
tics. President Buchanan had
pledged to Gov. Henry F."Gist
earlier that the harbor garri
son would remain Ct, status
quo, Floyd S?id. Now the
President had dishonored his
pledge.
This was news indeed to the
Northerners. They wanted
chapter and verse on the
pledge.
Secretary of Interior Jacob
Thompson, a Mississippi se
cessionist, joined Floyd in in
sisting the President had made
such a pledge.
The President listened si
lently. The angry Floyd immedi
ately wrote what amounted to
an ultimatum to the President
and widened the demand.
Either permit him to order
Anderson out of Charleston
defenscsj-not jnst back to
Moultrie-or else. The "or
else" presumably meant he
would resign.
Stanton, never one to pull
his punches, said heatedly that
if the President gave in to
Floyd's demands the crime
would be )''ve Benedict Ar
nold's and any president or
dering A n d e rs o n out of
Charleston would be guilty of
treason.
At that President Buchanan
spoke up:
Oh, no, not so bad as that
my friend. Not so bad as that."
The President c n o s e lo
await official word from An
derson before making up his
mind.
Ambassadors' Call
The President had a curious
entry in his appointment book
for the next day, Dec. 28. He
was to see-unofflcially-a del
egation from South Carolina,
sent to Washington to treat
with a "foreignpower" - the
United States - about the
Charleston forts. R. W. Barn
well, Harvard graduate, form
er senator, former representa
tive, ex-college president,
headed the delegation. With
him were J. H. Adams, Yale
graduate, ex-governor, and a
secessionist who favored re
opening the African slave-
trade, and James L. Orr, form
er speaker of the House.
Buchanan saw Inem as pri
vate citizens, not as "ambosa
dors." He reminded them that
that South Carolina had seized
Ft. Moultrie, Castle Pinckney,
the Charleston ar,senal, " the
post office and the custom
house. The delegation re
minded the President he had
broken the .pledge. They
talked two hours. Finally Bu
chanan said:
"Mr. Barnwj:,, you are
pressing me too importuncly.
tYou don't6 give me time to say
my prayers. I always say my
prayers when required to act
on any great state affair."
That night the cabinet met
again in another stormy ses
sion to consider the delega
tion's d'fnands.
o Thompson "carried the'bali
while Floyd lay on a sofa.
Black, Stanton and Holt0drove
Thompson from position to po
sition until the Mississippian
began lo talk "polmouth. " Af
ter all, he said, South Caro
ling was a small state, with
a minority of white inhabi
tants. The United States was
big, powerful, rich. It could
afford to concede a point.
This was more than Stan
ton could take. He attacked
CJoyd and spread before the
cabinet what it already knew
but talked little about-a scan
dal In Floyd's department.
"Mr. President," Stanton
said, "only the other day it
was announced that a million
dollars had been stolen from
Mr. Thompson's department.
"The bonds were found to
have been taken from the
vault where they should have
been and tht notes of Mr.
Floyd were substituted for
them. Now it is proposed to
give up Sumter. All I have
to say is that no administra
tion, much less this one, can
afford to lose a million of
money and a fort in the same
week."
Behincl. n Scandal -
Stanton's figure of a million
was a shade high. The amount
was $870,000. The bonds made
up an Indian trust fund and
were in keeping of Goddard
Bailey, a clerk in the Interior
Department and a distant rel
ative of Floyd's.
A firm of contractors, Rus
sell. Waddell and Majors, had
supplied the Army and was in
financial trouble because Con
gress was slow to pay. Floyd
issued notes to them certifying
that the Army owed the mon
ey. The Contractors used the
certificates for credit, but'
when the paper came due they
could not pay. Batley was
induced to hand over the
bonds in his keeping to the
contractors, putting in their
place Floyd's certificates.
Whether Floyd knew about
this substitution was never es
tablished. He was indicted,
but the charges were dropped
after he went over to the Con
federacy. The cabinet met again the
next night, Dec. 29, but with
out Floyd. He had resigned
that day. His story was that
he quit because , Buchanan
would not remove Anderson.
The country thought it was
because of the bond scandal,
Cabimt Crisis Thrtalans
Buchanan had written a re
ply to the South Carolina
delegation. The Northern cab
inet members disapproved be
cause it gave in to the South
erners, the Southerners be
cause it did not go far enough.
They wrangled for an hour or
so and broke up again.
Black lay awake all night.
Dawn of Sunday, Dec. 30,
found him with his mind made
up. He told his colleagues if
Buchanan sent his answer to
the delegation, he would re
sign. Stanton said he would,
too. Isaac Toucey, secretary
of Navy, told Buchanan, and
the President crumpled. His
administration couldn't stand
another upheaval. He gave
his answer to Black and Stan
ton for revision. They changed
it from appeasement to defi
ance. Before night Buchanan
sent his reply. It was stiff.
He had been asked to remove
U.S. forces from Charleston
under threat:
"This I cannot do; this I
wfcll not do."
FOLDS UP FINALLY
Atlanta - OIPIi-The last Civil
war agency of the Georgia,
siaic government weni out oi
existence today. The state De
partment of Confederate Pen
sions and Records which han
dles pension payments to 172
widows of Confederate sol
diers, officially became a part
of the state Department of
Veterans service.
Medford Youth Attends
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kan.-One Med
ford student is among a rec
ord total of 10,036 attending
the University of Kansas this
year, according to the director
of admissions.
Theodore Earl Lowson, son
of Dr. and Mrs. Earl L. Law
son, 301 Windsor ave., Med
fcftd, is.) a sophomore at the
university.
The student body includes
representation from0all VOSi
Kansas counties, the 50 states,
the District of Columbia,
Puerto Rico, plus a record
high of 309 foreign Cstudcnts
from 62 countries.
Organization for European
Economic cooperation.
TURKEY GETS AID
Washington - H'PIl -oThe In
ternational "Monetary Fund
has authorised Turkey in 1961
to draw up to $37.5 million in
currencies held by the fund.
The fuiid also announced Fri
day that TurkePy will receive a
$50 million credit from the
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