As he handed it to the three aides, he remarked that if the Confederates did not batter the fort to pieces, the garrison would be starved out in a few days anyway.Ĭhesnut, Chisholm, and Lee carried back both the written message and the oral communication, which they supposed Anderson might have meant as an unofficial plea for time. They joined him in unanimous defiance, and the major drafted a polite refusal. Anderson read the demand and asked for time to consult with his officers. He might also fire a salute to his flag, and Beauregard would supply him with transportation to any US Army post that he chose. If Anderson marched his men out of the fort, they could take their arms and private property. Lee, delivered the general's message to Anderson. Three of General Beauregard's aides, James Chesnut, A. Confederacy Demands Fort Sumter's Evacuation Beauregard replied that the demand would be presented at noon the next day, April 11. If the demand were refused, the general was to "reduce" the fort. Walker, telegraphed Beauregard on April 10 with instructions to demand the evacuation of Fort Sumter as soon as he was certain that President Lincoln’s resupply order was genuine. "The sword must now preserve our independence." The Confederate Secretary of War, Leroy P. "Diplomacy has failed," a southerner wrote to Confederate General P.G.T. Confederates, previously hopeful of Fort Sumter's evacuation, now felt betrayed by the sudden shift in President Abraham Lincoln's administration. "I am directed by the President of the United States," a letter to Major Robert Anderson, the US Army commander of Fort Sumter, read, "to notify you to expect an attempt will be made to supply Fort Sumter with provisions only, and that if such attempt be not resisted no effort to throw in men, arms, or ammunition will be made without further notice, or in case of an attack upon the fort." A copy of the letter was also delivered to Governor Francis Pickens of South Carolina. Library of Congress President Lincoln Orders US Navy to Fort Sumter
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