Anderson admitted afterward, several times, he acted on his own initiative without authority. His orders gave him flexibility to protect himself; however, his actions were extreme compared to his reasons for performing them. He was told, ordered, to ignore the political stance of the White House, and not do anything to provoke South Carolina, if there was a push by South Carolina to take the forts, he was not to resist. No proof was ever submitted that South Carolina was going to take the forts by force, and his destruction of Fort Moultrie and the retreat to Fort Sumter was premature.

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David Upton