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Re: Fort Sumter Questions?
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From my study, I believe that Anderson was not a strong independently minded person, he was selected to this post because it was believed he would not think on his own and not be creative in his duties, he would only do as he was told to do. Unlike some histories suggest I believe Anderson was not selected by Buchanan's cabinet but was picked and suggested to the post by Fort Moultrie's direct commanding officers at the War Department. Exactly who pushed for Col. Gardner's removal and why is still not clear to me. Anderson was a stranger to a command that was rocked with many problems even before South Carolina's secession. Porter's November 1860 report shows a command in turmoil.

"on duty, 36; on extra or daily duty, 12; sick, 4; in arrest or confinement, 11; absent in confinement, 2."

Nearly 25% of the elisted men were confined or arrested. I've served in very small, independent commands in my service, as small as Fort Moultrie's, and having 25% of the enlisted under disciplinary confinement would have been unheard of. Many of the officers and men, Doubleday included, served at Fort Moultrie in 1858 when nearly half of the command suffered and died from yellow fever. In the next months after this serious outbreak Fort Moultrie would suffer through a series of very public and embarrasing court-martials of some of its officers, and in each case, Doubleday would be in the middle.

There is no doubt that Doubleday is was an angry man, and was full of hate. He was paranoid of all who did not believe as he did. He was a known abolitionist and political zealot. In the military he would use its laws and regulations to get back at those who he believed were his enemies and during the Civil War he would find his nitch serving as an agent to Congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War; a political court run by radical abolitionist whose basic object was to determine who were loyal to the cause and who were not.

Doubleday was a major manipulator and being second in command under Col. Gardner, knowledgable of the history and environment of the Fort Moultrie garrison, Charleston and its people, he would be expected to be Anderson's chief advisor. Anderson, being picked to command Fort Moultrie under the circumstances of November 1860 was expected to only act as told. This he would do exactly as he was selected to do; until a couple of flaws in his character emerged, and he would find merit in disturbing the political climate and take it upon himself to make a bold and deliberate military statement.

The opposite of Col. Gardner, who boasted that he would defeat any attempt to take Fort Moultrie by force, and seemed to understand how to deal with Captain Doubleday, Anderson would make the worst decision of his career and start the machine of Civil War. I believe very soon after he realized what had done was the worst action he could had and that it was irreversible. There after Anderson would be tormented with health problems, and most probably mental problems or depression for the rest of his life, he died in South of France a complete invalid in 1871. Prior to being assigned to Fort Moultrie, Anderson had spent most of his career trying to found a "Soldiers Retreat" or home, he had five bills introduced in Congress, the first in 1840 and the last in 1851. This was a caring man whose character was more humane towards his fellow soldiers than most officers of his time. This humanity could have been manipulated by Doubleday by suggesting it was more important to save the lives of the poor men of the luckless Fort Moultrie garrsion than to obey the orders and wants from Washington. Thus Anderson believed whatever Doubleday had told him and retreated his men into Fort Sumter.

_______________________
David Upton

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February 5, 1861
Fort Sumter Questions?
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