"Beginnings of the Civil War in America"...by General Thomas Jordan. 1885.
"Meanwhile, and of course, Captain Fox was unable to leave New York until the 10th of April on the Baltic. Preceded twelve hours by one of his steam-tugs, he left the other two to straggle on to the rendezvous off Charleston as best they might. The Baltic reached its destination, as Captain Fox reported, at 3 o'clock in the morning on the 12th of April; that is, barely one hour and a half before fire was opened on Fort Sumter. At the time, a gale was blowing, and of the war vessels only the Harriet Lane had come upon the scene [she arrived on station late on the 11th, D. U.]. At 7 A.M., however, the Pawnee anchored twelve miles to the eastward of the lighthouse to await the advent of the Powhatan, the flagship of the naval force, which, as well as the Pocahontas, had not come in sight, and neither of which ships seems to have made its appearance subsequently in ,that quarter, wherefore, as respects the Powhatan alone, it is explained by Fox that that vessel had been withdrawn from the expedition without his knowledge on the 7th of April, or " without the least intimation to him that the main portion—the fighting portion"—of the expedition " was taken away." That is to say, the Powhatan and the 300 extra sailors aboard of her that were relied on as essential to the success of the enterprise had been deliberately eliminated from it by the authorities at Washington—a course which can only be rationally accounted for, I repeat, by the theory that the Fox expedition was dispatched only because it was expected that Major Anderson would have been starved out of Fort Sumter before its arrival!"
[That's an interesting theory.]
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Also I found some tid-bits in the O.R. I had missed. When Anderson's mail was stopped in the days prior to April 12th, apparently the Fox's plan was discovered in a message to Anderson.
Governor Pickens to President Davis April 9, 1861.
"...The general returned for answer that the private letters had been sent to their destination, but the official letters were sent to the Confederate Government, because rumors, well established, indicated that Mr. Fox had violated his faith to me in visiting the fort, under the guarantee of Captain llartstene, who went with him. The pledge was that he visited Major Anderson by authority, for pacific purposes entirely. You see that the present scheme for supplying the fort is Mr. Foxs. It is thought that the attempt will be made tonight, and we have doubled our steamboats on the harbor and bar....
Governor Pickens to the Sec. of War April 9, 1861.
"At the request of General Beauregard I inclose the within. I took possession of the mails this morning from Sumter, and retained the packages marked official. These are all sent you. The private letters are all sent, as directed, to their owners. I did this because I consider a STATE of WAR is now inaugurated by the authorities at Washington, and all information of a public nature was necessary to us."
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Here it is shown that Governor Pickens believes Washington has already inaugurated a state of war on April 9th and further the mentality of the leaders of the Confederate forces at Charleston.
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Some of the worries of the defenders...
April 10, 1861, General BEAUREGARD: DEAR GENERAL: I have had under my charge during the night, in addition to my three steamers, the Charleston. The Seabrook came down about 8 oclock and received orders, but I knew nothing of her during the night. She did not obey my orders. This morning I saw her auchored away to the southward. The Catawba has been all night in the offing. It is my opinion that Sumter can be relieved, by boats from vessels outside ofthe bars, on any night as dark as the last, or, if we have to take it, you had better be making a beginning. If a vessel of war is placed oft each bar, when Sumter opens I will lose all my steamers, as there will be no escape for me..." H. J. Hartstene (would become a commander in the CS Navy)
[this gives more evidence the Beauregard would have doubts in stopping Fox's plan]
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David Upton