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Re: Abner Doubleday and Lincoln

From that perspective, it would look as if South Carolina's claim of ownership of the fort may be valid. It also could appear to be capitulation on the Federal Governments part. I had not heard it put that way before but it does make sense. The Feds weren't giving up any fort without a fight. What doesn't make sense yet is the internal activity at Sumter and why Anderson was abandoning Moultrie without orders from Washington. We also remember the little messages from Lincoln and Seward to Porter that look a lot like a set up for bringing things to a head. Resupply a fort with food and such is 'normal' but a few hundred to a thousand men is a different can of worms with antsy locals watching. There was even the plan to back a ship up to Sumter and let the new men off secretly. Lots of minds were at work at that time.
We also need to remember that at that same time, there were other forts that were being reinforced and 'shored up'. Ft Pickens was the one of the 3 at the entrance to Pensacola Bay that was picked to be the main one to protect. It's situation on the bay entry gave the best vantage for protecting the bay and it was easier to defend than the others. It was also easier to attack the other two forts from Pickens with the help of the ships that showed up. McRee was already in disrepair, cracked and crumbling in places. Maybe this was the same reason Anderson did what he did in Charleston because we've read that Moultrie was in a real bad condition but we don't seem to know who told him to do it. Slemmer had control of the Pensacola area and the situation was a little different. He didn't leave a whole lot when Bragg moved into Barrancas on his tail. There was even a bit of 'unreal' coexistance for a while. It lasted long enough for Bragg to get some troops into shape before they left as part of the AOT.
Pam

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Abner Doubleday and Lincoln
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