Seems like the deeper we look, the stranger it gets. You know the arrangement of Pickens, McRee and Barrancas. It would have been hard for an officer to explain NOT hitting anything with more than half the shots fired. Same thing with Beauregard and Anderson. Beauregard would have been more careful. Charleston could have been half a town if the aim were serious. Could there have been the thought that not assisting the Star of the West would get the ball rolling if that was the reason for the Star of the West being where it was to begin with? Had Anderson protected the ship, there may have been a much longer delay in starting the war. Maybe even talks in Washington would have been productive. Darn worm can is what it is.

Pam