Fort Sumter,
February 28th, 1861.
Memorandum.
1st. It is not more than possible to supply this Fort, by ruse,
with a few men or a small amount of provisions- Such is the unceasing vigilance
employed to prevent it.
2d. To do so, openly, by vessels alone, unless they are shot-proof, is
virtually impossible – so numerous and powerful are the opposing Batteries: and
no vessel can lay near the Fort without being exposed to continual fire. And
the Harbor could, and probably would, whenever necessary, be effectually closed
– as one channel has already been.
3d. A projected attack, in large force, would draw to this Harbor all
the available resources, in men and materiel, of the contiguous States.
Batteries, of guns of heavy calibre, would be mulitplied rapidly and
indefinitely: at least 20.000 men, good marksmen and trained for months past
with a view to this very contingency, would be concentrated here before the
attacking force could leave Northern ports. The Harbor would be closed: a landing
must be effected at some distance from our guns, which could give no aid.
Charleston Harbor would be a Sebastopol in such a conflict, and unlimited means
would probably be required to ensure success: before which time the garrison of
Fort Sumter would be starved out.
T. Seymour.
Bvt Capt & 1st Lieut.
SOURCE: Abraham Lincoln Papers
at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
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