The garrision of Fort Moultrie gave several different reasons for moving to Fort Sumter, the one that is most probable was to man Fort Sumter before the State of South Carolina did. No evidence exist of any force by South Carolina or the people of Charleston to attack the troops of Fort Moultrie. No other U.S. troops in the Charleston area were attacked or harmed, even between Anderson's move on Dec. 26th and the attempt to reenforce on Jan. 9th. The state militia didn't even have a plan or organized effort to defend Charleston and the harbor until Jan. 2, 1861.

1. In broad daylight the Star of the West was fired upon by at least a dozen or a dozen and half shots from Cummings Point and Fort Moultrie, while it steamed in, TURNED AROUND, and under fire, steamed out of the harbor...no significant hits were made.
2. In broad daylight a sailing sloop, loaded with tons of ice, sailed into the harbor and was fired at by even move batteries than the Star of the West encountered; at least as many rounds as the Star of the West, TURNED AROUND, and sailed under fire out of the harbor...no significant hits were made.

Fox's plan did not include a ship sailing up to Fort Sumter in daylight. It composed of small craft, towed by a fast tugs, at night; with landing parties to neutralized the batteries at Cummings Point and Morris Island; and boats from the Powhatan to neutralized the guard boats. Timing was everything to make it work.

Even so, the Star of the West most probably would have been successful had the captain not chickened out. The ship was only about 600 yards from the fort when it aborted the re-enforcement; from the first shot across its bow it had traveled at least a mile before the batteries opened up (top speed was about 14 miles an hour). Had Anderson opened up on Fort Moultrie (which only had three guns operational) and Cummings point (another three guns) with his superiorly trained men and numbers of guns, there would not have been an April 12th, 1861.

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David Upton