What is odd is Anderson in his first report stated his mission from the War Dept....[Nov. 23, 1860] "I will thank the Department to give me special instructions, as my position here is rather a politico-military than a military one." He knew he was not expected to actually fight the State of South Carolina, he was being used as a pawn and he knew it. Fort Moultrie was not in any shape to defend itself from land, prior to August, 1860, at which time Col. Gardner begain building up the defenses. By mid-December it was almost impregnable from any force except a regular army siege of modest strength. It could defend itself for 48 hours max against militia. Anderson, out of the blue, decided on his own to change the situation and upset the political cart, putting himself and his men at risk; more so than had he stayed at Fort Moultrie. Angering the entrie State and the South, Anderson moved his men to Fort Sumter, and underestimating the Governor of South Carolina, told his superiors in Washington they could now re-enforce him at their leisure. By January 1st the first moves to bottleup Fort Sumter were made and re-enforcement would not have to be made by force. The War Dept. appairently believed Major Anderson, and waited TWO WEEKS before sended those re-enforcements, thinking that he was perfectly safe and they could be upopposed.

Slemmer acted on his own, and without instructions, and only chose the only option left for him. He was very lucky that Florida was not aggressive enough to just take Fort Pickens, it should have been their first move. Unlike the issue in Charleston, where agreements and political movements were making the news, Pensacola was wide open to events.

Your correct Fort Pickens was much easier to re-enforce than Fort Sumter..if you have warships to give you cover. Fort Sumter, could have been re-enforced, Fox's plan was following tactics used in the Crimean War and could have worked if he had actually timed the mission correctly. The problem for Bragg was he had no ships to counter the Union fleet, and the Union Navy sat unopposed of Fort Pickens for months. The Union Navy had a growing presence off Fort Pickens from day 1, and mysteriously NONE at Fort Sumter, until April 11, 1861.

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David Upton