war Department,
washington, D. C, April 4, 1861.
Major Robert Anderson, U. S. Army:
Sir: Your letter of the 1st instant occasions some
anxiety to the President.
On the information of Captain Fox he had supposed you could
hold out till the 15th instant without any great inconvenience; and had
prepared an expedition to relieve you before that period.
Hoping still that you will be able to sustain yourself till
the nth or 12th instant, the expedition will go forward ; and, finding your
flag flying, will attempt to provision you, and, in case the effort is
resisted, will endeavor also to re-enforce you.
You will therefore hold out, if possible, till the arrival
of the expedition.
It is not, however, the intention of the President to
subject your command to any danger or hardship beyond what, in your judgment,
would be usual in military life; and he has entire confidence that you will act
as becomes a patriot and soldier, under all circumstances.
Whenever, if at all, in your judgment, to save yourself and
command, a capitulation becomes a necessity, you are authorized to make it.
Respectfully,
Simon Cameron,
Secretary of War.
SOURCES: Samuel Wylie Crawford, The Genesis of the
Civil War: The Story of Sumter, 1860-1861, p. 382
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