the first company, and a feeling of comparative peace and security has since existed both in Washington and throughout the country. Had I refused to adopt this precautionary measure, and evil consequences, which many good men at the time apprehended, had followed, I should never have forgiven myself. WASHINGTON, March 1, 1861.1 JAMES BUCHANAN. 'The delay in replying to the resolution of February 11, which was offered by Mr. Burnett, was due to the fact that the select committee referred to in the foregoing message reported, after investigation, that the evidence did not prove the existence of a conspiracy to seize the capital and prevent the inauguration of the new President. President Buchanan considered that this disposed of the matter, but, on learning that some of the members of the House conceived his failure to answer the resolution to be disrespectful, he sent in the message which has been given above. In view of the criticisms made of the action of the administration in assembling troops at the capital, Mr. Holt made a report upon the subject, and sought to obtain the permission of President Buchanan to publish it immediately. Mr. Holt's letter in which such permission is solicited is printed in Curtis's Buchanan, II. 492. But so interesting is it, as a reflex of the different shades of sentiment of the time, that it is proper here to reprint it, in connection with the message of March 1, 1861. The letter reads: DEAR SIR: WAR DEPARTMENT, Feb. 20, 1861. I inclose a copy of the resolution referred to in the paper which I had the honor to address to you on yesterday, and trust I shall be pardoned for saying that I shall be very unhappy, if this defence-truthful and tempered as it is is not permitted to reach the country. The act of assembling troops at the capital, and providing for the inauguration of your successor under the shelter of their guns, is one of the gravest and most responsible of your administration. It constitutes, indeed, an epoch in the history of our institutions, and as the circumstances surrounding you fully justify the measure, they should be frankly and fearlessly set forth to the world. For this step your administration has been, and still continues to be, mercilessly denounced, and of this denunciation, as you are aware, a large part has fallen to my share. I have been defamed in my own State, and in the towns of my nearest relatives and friends, and I confess that I have not yet attained to the Christian philosophy of bearing such things as an ox led to the slaughter, without opening my mouth. Congress is now engaged in spreading broadcast over the country, through the efforts of your enemies and mine, a report intended to show that the safety of the capital has never been menaced, and of course that all your preparations here have been MESSAGE ON A TREATY WITH COSTA RICA.1 TO THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES: [March 2, 1861.] I deem it proper to invite the attention of the Senate to the fact that with this day expires the limitation of time for the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty with Costa Rica of 2d July, 1860. The minister of that Republic is disappointed in not having received the copy intended for exchange, and the period will lapse without the possibility of carrying out the provisions of the convention in this respect. I submit, therefore, the expediency of the passage of a resolution authorizing the exchange of ratifications at such time as may be convenient, the limitations of the ninth article to the contrary notwithstanding. WASHINGTON, 2 March, 1861. JAMES BUCHANAN. prompted by cowardice, or the spirit of despotism. Now is the time to meet this calumny. A few weeks hence the memory of the measure assailed will be swallowed up by the heady current of events, and nothing will remain but the wounds to the reputation and sensibilities of your friends who gave to that measure their honest and zealous support. I do not ask you to adopt my report as your own, but to submit it simply as the views entertained by the War Department, and for which its head should alone be held responsible. The helplessness of my position for all purposes of self-defence, without your kind coöperation, must be my apology for the solicitude expressed. Very sincerely your friend, 'Senate Executive Journal, XI. 294. J. HOLT. MEMORANDUM.1 [March 4-9, 1861.] Monday, March 4, 1861. The cabinet met at the President's room in the Capitol, to assist me in examining the bills which might be presented to me for approval, between the hours of ten and twelve of that day, when my own term and that of Congress would expire. Mr. Holt did not attend until after eleven o'clock. At the first opportunity, he informed us that on that morning he had received extraordinary despatches from Major Anderson, saying that without a force of some twenty or thirty thousand men to capture the batteries which had been erected, he could not maintain himself at Fort Sumter, and he [Mr. Holt] intended at once to communicate these despatches to President Lincoln. The cabinet had some conversation on the subject that evening at Mr. Ould's. Tuesday morning, 5th March, we saw Mr. Holt at the War Department. He there read us what he had written to President Lincoln in communicating these despatches to Mr. Holt, giving his reasons for his astonishment. He referred to his own letter to Major Anderson after he had taken possession of Fort Sumter, offering him reinforcements, and the repeated letters of the Major stating that he felt secure, and finally a letter, after the affair of the Star of the West, stating that he did not desire reinforcements. He concluded by referring to the expedition which had been prepared at New York under the direction of General Scott, to sail at once, in case the Major should be attacked or ask for reinforcements. This was small, consisting of two or three hundred men with provisions. On Tuesday afternoon, 5th March, Mr. Holt told me he had sent the papers to President Lincoln. This is the last I have heard of it, from any member of the cabinet or any friend at Washington, up till this day (Saturday mcrning), 9th March, at half-past ten A. M. Editorial Note.—The letter of Mr. Holt to President Lincoln, referred to above, is as follows: 2 1 Curtis's Buchanan, II. 497. 2 Turning on the Light, by Horatio King, pp. 126–128. SIR, WAR DEPARTMENT, March 5, 1861. I have the honor to submit for your consideration several letters with inclosures received on yesterday from Major Anderson and Captain Forster of the Corps of Engineers, which are of a most important and unexpected character. Why they were unexpected will appear from the following brief statement: After transferring his forces to Fort Sumter he (Major Anderson) addressed a letter to this Department, under date of the 31st December, 1860, in which he says, "Thank God! we are now where the Government may send us additional troops at its leisure. To be sure, the uncivil and uncourteous action of the Governor (of South Carolina) in preventing us from purchasing anything in the city will annoy and inconvenience us somewhat; still we are safe." And after referring to some deficiency in his stores, in the articles of soap and candles, he adds: 'Still we can cheerfully put up with the inconvenience of doing without them for the satisfaction we feel in the knowledge that we can command this harbor as long as our Government wishes to keep it." And again, on the 6th of January, he wrote: "My position will, should there be no treachery among the workmen whom we are compelled to retain for the present, enable me to hold this fort against any force which can be brought against me; and it would enable me, in the event of war, to annoy the South Carolinians by preventing them from throwing supplies into their new posts except by the aid of the Wash Channel through Stono River." Before the receipt of this communication, the Government, being without information as to his condition, had despatched the Star of the West with troops and supplies for Fort Sumter, but the vessel, having been fired on from a battery at the entrance of the harbor, returned without having reached her destination. On the 16th of January, 1861, in replying to Major Anderson's letters of the 31st of December and of the 6th of January, I said, "Your late despatches, as well as the very intelligent statements of Lieutenant Talbot, have relieved the Government of the apprehensions previously entertained for your safety. In consequence it is not its purpose at present to reinforce you. The attempt to do so would no doubt be attended by a collision of arms and effusion of blood-a national calamity which the President is most anxious to avoid. You will, therefore, report frequently your condition, and the character and activity of the preparations, if any, which may be being made for an attack upon the fort or for obstructing the Government in any endeavors it may make to strengthen your command. Should your despatches be of a nature too important to be intrusted to the mails, you will convey them by special messenger. Whenever, in your judgment, additional supplies or reinforcements are necessary for your safety or for a successful defence of the fort, you will at once communicate the fact to this Department, and prompt and vigorous effort will be made to forward them." Since the date of this letter Major Anderson has regularly and frequently reported the progress of the batteries being constructed around him, and which looked either to the defence of the harbor or to an attack on his own position. But he has not suggested that these works compromised his safety, nor has he made any request that additional supplies or reinforcements should be sent to him. On the contrary, on the 30th of January, 1861, in a letter to this Department, he uses this emphatic language: "I do hope that no attempt will be made by your friends to throw supplies in; their doing so would do more harm than good." On the 5th of February, when referring to the batteries, etc., constructed in his vicinity, he said, "Even in their present condition they will make it impossible for any hostile force, other than a large and well-appointed one, to enter this harbor, and the chances are that it will then be a great sacrifice of life;" and in a postscript he adds: "Of course, in speaking of forcing an entrance, I do not refer to the little stratagem of a small party slipping in." This suggestion of a stratagem was well considered, in connection with all the information that could be obtained bearing upon it, and in consequence of the vigilance and number of the guard-boats in and outside of the harbor it was rejected as impracticable. In view of these very distinct declarations, and of the earnest desire to avoid a collision as long as possible, it was deemed entirely safe to adhere to the line of policy indicated in my letter of the 16th January, which has already been quoted. In that Major Anderson had been requested to report at once," "whenever, in his judgment, additional supplies or reinforcements were necessary for his safety or for a successful defence of the fort." So long, therefore, as he remained silent upon this point the Government felt that there was no ground for apprehension. Still, as the necessity for action might arise at any moment, an expedition has been quietly prepared, and is ready to sail from New York on a few hours' notice, for transporting troops and supplies to Fort Sumter. This step was taken under the supervision of General Scott, who arranged its details, and who regarded the reinforcements thus provided for as sufficient for the occasion. The expedition, however, is not upon a scale approaching the seemingly extravagant estimates of Major Anderson and Captain Forster, now offered for the first time, and for the disclosures of which the Government was wholly unprepared. The declaration now made by the major that he would not be willing to risk his reputation on an attempt to throw reinforcements into Charleston harbor, and with a view of holding possession of the same, with a force of less than twenty thousand good and well-disciplined men, takes the Department by surprise, as his previous correspondence contained no such intimation. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, TO THE PRESIDENT. Your obedient servant, J. HOLT. |