 |
| Tail-piece — relief squadron. |
This text is part of:
Table of Contents:
[309]
While passing down New York Bay, Captain Meigs, who was Quartermaster-General during the war, and Lieutenant (afterward Rear-Admiral) Porter went on board of her, with an order from the President to take any man-of-war they might select and proceed immediately with her crew to Pensacola.
Under this order they took possession of and sailed away in the flag-ship of the relief expedition.1
The Baltic reached Charleston bar on the morning of the 12th, just as the insurgents opened fire on Fort Sumter.
The Pawnee and the Harriet Lane were already there, with orders to report to the Powhatan, but she had gone to Fort Pickens, then, like Fort Sumter, threatened by armed insurgents.
All day long the ocean and Charleston harbor were swept by a storm.
A heavy sea was rolling inward, and there were no signs of abatement until the morning of the 13th.
It was then determined to seize a schooner lying at anchor near, load her with provisions, and take her to Fort Sumter the following night.
She was accordingly prepared, but before the time for her departure, Fort Sumter was in the hands of the insurgents.
How that happened will be related in the next chapter.
It was fortunate for the Republic that the effort to relieve Major Anderson was made at that time.
It gave practical assurances to the country that the new Administration would employ all its energies in support of the Constitution and the laws; and it also gave to the Government one whose services can only be appreciated by those who know their amount and value.
The judgment and energy displayed by Mr. Fox caused him to be appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
He was then in the prime of life, and endowed with great physical endurance.
As the lieutenant of Secretary Welles, invested with wide discretionary powers, he was to the Navy what the General-in-Chief is to the Army.
1 The order (issued by the President) changing the destination of the Powhatan did not pass through the Navy Department, or it would have been arrested there. It was calculated to prevent the success of Fox's expedition, because the Powhatan carried the sailors and launches provided for the landing of supplies and re-enforcements. The President was not aware of this when he signed the order. In the whole matter there was nothing more serious than a blunder, which was caused by the secrecy with which two expeditions were simultaneously fitted out, namely, one for the relief of Fort Sumter, and the other for the relief of Fort Pickens. Mr. Fox was not aware of the change in the destination of the Powhatan until he arrived off Charleston bar.
Scanned printed text.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.