I have not written you because it was easy for you to
understand what I thought of the Fort Sumpter business and not agreeable for me
to express what I thought. We are now fairly launched in a big war and I think
you can have a command if you want one. A proposition was made yesterday to
convert some merchant vessels into armed ships and during the talk the
President said he wanted you to have a command tho you did not get into Fort
Sumpter. He thought very highly of you. We propose to take on naval volunteers
as well as Soldier volunteers.
I am warring on fogyism of all kinds, I think the best thing
now to be done is to disband both army and navy and reconstruct. We shall never
get on I am afraid with the present officers.
Apl 26. I wrote the above some days ago and was disturbed
and have not had an opportunity to resume till this moment. In the mean time
last night I have yours of 20th. I shall mention its contents to Welles and
Lincoln. I gave yrs
from the Baltic both to Welles and Seward to read. Seward read a part of it
and handed it back without remark. Welles said when he handed it back that you
knew he supposed that he had nothing to do with the diversion of the Powhatan
from her Charleston mission. But the President has never had an opportunity to
read or talk about the affair, except on the occasion mentioned, and indeed
events of such magnitude are crowding on us that Sumpter and Anderson are not
thought of for the moment. I want you here very much to help us along, and must
try and manage it. I see however that Com. Paulding is mightily set up himself
and wants nobody in the Dept, but himself. I think I will fix his flint
shortly.
Yrs truly
M. Blair
Wash. Apl 26, 1861
SOURCE: Robert Means Thompson & Richard Wainwright,
Editors, Publications of the Naval Historical Society, Volume 9: Confidential
Correspondence of Gustavus Vasa Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1861-1865,
Volume 1, p. 37-8
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