There's is another thing that sticks out, to me at least. We are reading these handed down stories, written bio's and other things and yet I haven't read one that listed the " PC " reason for them fighting. No where have I read they were willing to put it all on the line for an institution they condemned. Fight against what they perceived as "Rebellion", yes. Bondage, no. Haven't seen it in those words or any close enough to recognize. In fairness, most were just following orders though.
We have sort of kicked Anderson around for a long time but I'm now wondering if even He was a bit confused at the lack of response from his superiors or the lack of any viable alternative to his position at Moultrie? He may well have just done what he felt was best under some strange circumstances. At that time, so many thought the South Carolinians were just making noise but it wouldn't come to shots being fired. Gotta wonder at the look of those faces in Sumter when the first cannon sounded off aimed in their direction. It couldn't have been easy for ol Beau to order that shot either knowing Anderson was at the recieving end of the ball. Gotta hand it to the Reb's. They finessed those shots really well. It could have been a real slaughter but that's not what they wanted to do.
Maybe in the back of his mind Anderson thought if push came to shove the "supply" ship would be allowed to come into the harbor and they could have loaded up and gone away. He knew he was on limited time with supplies and ammo. Wonder if he felt like the last human on the planet? He asked for help. He asked for orders. He tried to do his job. Can't say he was a slacker as a soldier. He was just the one who drew the short straw to set the wheels in motion.
Whoah!!!!!!!!!!! The Blues just buzzed the house, again!!! Cannot imagine the CW if it had been fought with the weapons of today. It was bad enough as it was.
Pam