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Re: Gen W. Scott's orders
In Response To: Gen W. Scott's orders ()

I had to refresh myself with the wealth of O.R. messages to and from Major Anderson and Captain Foster and other officers in charge of the harbor defenses at Charleston to form this post.

To act this out remember you must be a West Point Graduate and an commissioned officer in the United States Army.

1st Order...

ADJUTANT-GENERAL’S OFFICE, Washington, D. C., November 12, 1860.

Maj. ROBERT ANDERSON,
First Artillery, Care of A. A. G., Hdqrs. Army, New York:

SIR: The Secretary of War desires to see you, and directs that you proceed to this city and report to him without unnecessary delay. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

S.COOPER,
Adjutant- General.

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2nd Order...

SPECIAL ORDERS, No. 137. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
New York, November 15, 1860.

Major Robert Anderson, First Artillery, will forthwith proceed to Fort Moultrie. and immediately relieve Bvt. Col. John L. Gardner, lieutenant-colonel of First Artillery, in command thereof; who, on being relieved, will repair without delay to San Antonio, Texas, and report to the commanding officer of the Department of Texas for duty, with that portion of his regiment serving therein.

By command of Lieutenant-General Scott:

L. THOMAS,
Assistant AdjutanL general.

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3rd Order

ADJUTANT-GENERAL’S OFFICE, Washington, November 24, 1860. Maj. ROBERT ANDERSON, First Regiment Artillery, U. S. A., Commanding Fort Moultrie, Charleston, S. C.:

MAJOR: The Secretary of War desires that you will communicate, with the least delay practicable, the present state of your command, and everything which may relate to the condition of the work under your charge and its capabilities of defense, together with such views as you
may have to suggest in respect to the same. He desires to be informed whether, in view of maintaining the troops ready for efficient action and defense, it might not be advisable to employ reliable persons, not connected with the military service, for purposes of fatigue and police.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

S. COOPER,
Adjutant-General.

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4th Order

ADJUTANT-GENERAL’S OFFICE,
Maj. ROBERT ANDERSON, November 28, 1860.
U.S. Army, &c., Fort Moultrie:

MAJOR: Your letter of the 24th instant has been received and submitted to the Secretary of War. it is now under consideration, the result of which will be duly communicated to you. In the mean time authority has been given by the Engineer Bureau to Captain Foster to send to Castle Pickney the Engineer workmen, as suggested by you, for purposes of repairs, &c. The Secretary desires that any communications you may have to make for the information of the Department be addressed to this office,
or to the Secretary himself.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

S. COOPER,
Adjutant-General.

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5th Order

ADJUTANT-GENERAL’S OFFICE, December 1, 1860.

Maj. R. ANDERSON:

Sir: Your letter of November 28 has been received. The Secretary of War has directed Brevet Colonel Huger to repair to this city, as soon as he can safely leave his post, to return there in a short time. He desires you to see Colonel Huger, and confer with him prior to his
departure on the matters which have been confided to each of you.

It is believed, from information thought to be reliable, that an attack will not be made on your command, and the Secretary has only to refer to his conversation with you, and to caution you that, should his convictions unhappily prove untrue, your actions must be such as to be free from the charge of initiating a collision. If attacked, you are, of course, expected to defend the trust committed to you to the best of your ability.

The increase of the force under your command, however much to be desired, would, the Secretary thinks, judging from the recent excitement produced on account of an anticipated increase, as mentioned in your letter, but add to that excitement, and might lead to serious results.

S.COOPER.

6th Order

ADJUTANT-GENERAL’S OFFICE, December 6, 1860.
Maj. R. ANDERSON, U.S. Army, Fort Moultrie, Charleston, S. C.:

MAJOR: Your letter of the 3d instant, in relation to police, has been received; is approved by the Secretary of War to the extent you desire.
I am, &c.,
S.COOPER, Adjutant-General.

7th Order (page 90)

FORT MOULTRIE, S C, December 11, 1860.

Memorandum of verbal instructions to Major Anderson, First Artillery,
commanding at Fort Moultrie, S. C.

You are aware of the great anxiety of the Secretary of War that a collision of the troops with the people of this State shall be avoided, and of his studied determination to pursue a course with reference to the military force and forts in this harbor which shall guard again stsuch a collision He has therefore carefully abstained from increasing the force at this point, or taking any measures which might add to the present excited state of the public mind, or which would throw any doubt on the confidence he feels that South Carolina will not attempt, by violence, to obtain possession of the public works or interfere with their occupancy. But as the counsel and acts of rash and impulsive persons may possibly disappoint those expectations of the Government, he deems it proper that you should be prepared with instructions to meet so unhappy a contingency. He has therefore directed me verbally to give you such instructions.

You are carefully to avoid every act which would needlessly tend to
provoke aggression; and for that reason you are not, without evident
and imminent necessity, to take up any position which could be construed into the assumption of a hostile attitude. But you are to hold possession of the forts in this harbor, and if attacked you are to defend yourself to the last extremity. The smallness of your force will not permit you, perhaps, to occupy more than one of the three forts, but an attack on or attempt to take possession of any one of them will be regarded as an act of hostility, and you may then put your command
into either of them which you may deem most proper to increase its
power of resistance. You are also authorized to take similar steps whenever you have tangible evidence of a design to proceed to a hostile act.

D.C. BUELL,
Assistant Adjutant-General.

8th Order

ADJUTANT-GENERAL’S OFFICE,
Washington, December 14, 1860.
Major ANDERSON, First Artillery, Commanding Fort Moultrie, Charleston, S. C.:

SIR: The Secretary of War directs me to give the following answers to certain questions contained in your late letters: If the State authorities demand any of Captain Foster’s workmen on the ground of their being enrolled into the service of the State, and the subject is referred to you, you will, after fully satisfying yourself that the men are subject to enrollment, and have been properly enrolled under the laws of the United States, and of the State of South Carolina, cause them to be delivered up or suffer them to depart.

If deemed essential to the more perfect defense of the work, the leveling of the sand hills which command the fort would not, under ordinary circumstances, be considered as initiating a collision. But the delicate question of its bearing on the popular mind, in its present excited state, demands the coolest and wisest judgment. The fact of the sand hills being private property, and, as is understood, having private residences built upon them, decides the question in the negative. The houses which might afford dangerous shelter to an enemy, being chiefly frame, could be destroyed by the heavy guns of the fort at any moment, while the fact of their being leveled in anticipation of an attack might betray distrust, and prematurely bring on a collision. Their destruction at the moment of being used as a cover for an enemy would be more fatal to the attacking force than if swept away before their approach.

An armed body, approaching for hostile purposes, would, in all probability, either attempt a surprise or send a summons to surrender. In the former case, there can be no doubt as to the course to be pursued.

In the latter case, after refusal to surrender and a warning to keep off a further advance by the armed body would be initiating a collision on their part.

If no summons be made by them, their purpose should be demanded
at the same time that they are warned to keep off, and their failure to
answer and further advance would throw the responsibility upon them.
I am, &c.,

S. COOPER,
Adjutant-General.

9th Order

WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, December 21, 1860.
Major ANDERSON, First Artillery, Commanding Fort Moultrie, S. C.:

SIR: In the verbal instructions communicated to you by Major Buell, you are directed to hold possession of the forts in the harbor of Charleston, and, if attacked, to defend yourself to the last extremity. Under these instructions, you might infer that you are required to make a vain and useless sacrifice of your own life and the lives of the men under your command, upon a mere point of honor. This is far from the President’s intentions. You are to exercise a sound military discretion on this subject.

It is neither expected nor desired that you should expose your own life or that of your men in a hopeless conflict in defense of these forts. If they are invested or attacked by a force so superior that resistance would, in your judgment, be a useless waste of life, it will be your duty to yield to necessity, and make the best terms in your power.

This will be the conduct of an honorable, brave, and humane officer, and you will be fully justified in such action. These orders are strictly confidential, and not to be communicated even to the officers under your command, without close necessity.
Very respectfully,

JOHN B. FLOYD.

Now I know Anderson understood his orders and knew he could not act without orders...

December 22, 1860

Anderson...

" I think that I could, however, were I to receive instructions so to do, throw my garrison into that work, but I should have to sacrifice the greater part of my stores, as it is now too late to attempt their removal. Once in that work with my garrison I could keep the entrance of their harbor open until they construct works outside of me, which might, I presume, prevent vessels from coming into the outer harbor.

ROBERT ANDERSON,
Major, First Artillery, Commanding."

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But he reverses himself after he moved his command to Fort Sumter...

"The governor of this State sent down one of his aides today and demanded, “courteously, but peremptorily,” that I should return my command to Fort Moultrie. I replied that I could not and would not do so. He stated that when the governor came into office he found that there was an understanding between his predecessor and the President that no re-enforcements were to be sent to any of these forts, and particularly to this one, and that I had violated this agreement by having re-enforced this fort. I remarked that I had not re-enforced this command, but that I had merely transferred my garrison from one fort to another, and that, as the commander of this harbor, I had a right to move my men into any fort I deemed proper. I told him that the removal was made on my own responsibility, and that I did it because we were in a position that we could not defend, and also under the firm belief that it was the best means of preventing bloodshed"

Note this passage..." that I should return my command to Fort Moultrie" I had been under the impression that Governor Pickens did not give Anderson an "out" but given up Fort Moultrie but I was led by popular history that this was not possible, it looks like it was.

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