EXECUTIVE DOCUMENTS. 
 
 No. 3, 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 AND OTUEK 
 
 PAPERS, 
 
 RKLAT.ING TO 
 
 FORT SUMTER 
 
 INCLUDIXG COURESPONDKNCK OK 
 
 HON. ISAAC W. HAYNE WITH THE PRESIDENT 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 C H A R L E S T C) K : 
 
 STKAM-l'OWER PRESSES OF EVANS &. COGSWELL, 
 
 Xo. 3 Broad nnd lO."? East Uay Street 
 
 I8r,l. 
 
Digitized by theJnternet Archive 
 in 2010 witii funding from 
 Duke University Libraries 
 
 Iittp://www.arcliive.org/details/correspondenceot01sout 
 
EXECUTIVE DOCUMENTS. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 AND OTHER 
 
 PAPERS, 
 
 RELATING TO 
 
 FORT SUMTER. 
 
 INCLUDING CORRESPONDENCE OF 
 
 HON. ISAAC W. HAYNE WITH THE PRESIDENT. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 CHARLESTON : 
 
 STEAM-rOWER PRESSES OP EVANS & COGSWELL. 
 No. 3 Broad and 103 East Bay Street. 
 
 1861. 
 
 % 
 
JHE FLOWERS COLLECTIOM '^'^ 
 
 :fi5H3 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 Xo. 1. 
 
 [major ANDERSON TO THE GOVERNOR.] 
 
 To His Excellency, the Governor of South Carolina : 
 
 Sir : Two of your batteries fired this morning upon an 
 unarmed vessel bearing the flag of my Government. As I havi- 
 not been notified that war has been declared by South Carolina 
 against the Government of the United States, I cannot lint 
 think that this hostile act Avas committed Avithout your sanc- 
 tion or authority. Under that hope, and that alone, did I 
 refrain from opening fire upon j'our batteries. 
 
 I have the honor, therefr-re, respectfully to ask whether the 
 above-mentioned act — one I believe without a parallel in th ■ 
 history of our country, or of any other civilized Government — 
 was committed in obedience to your instructions, and to notify 
 you if it be not disclaimed, that I must regard it as an act of 
 war, and that 1 shall not, after a reasonable time for the return 
 of my messenger, permit any vessels to pass within range of 
 the guns of Biy Fort. 
 
 In order to save as far as in my power the shedding of blood, 
 I beg that j'ou Avill have due notification of this mj' decision, 
 given to all concerned. 
 
 Hoping, however, that your answer may be such as will jus- 
 tify a further continuance of forbearance on my part, I have 
 the honor to be, 
 
 Veiy respectfully. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 ROBERT A^sDERSON, 
 Major 1st Artillery U. S. A., Commanding. 
 
 Fort Sumter, ^. C, January 0. 1S61. 
 
4 
 
 Xo. 2. 
 
 [the governor to major ANDERSON.] 
 
 State of South Carolina. 
 Executive Oefice, Head Quarters, 
 Charleston^ 9 January^ 1861. 
 
 Sir : Your letter has been received. In it you make certain 
 statements which very plainl}^ show that you have not been 
 fully informed by your Government, of the precise relations 
 which now exist between it and the State of South Carolina. 
 Official information has been communicated to the Government 
 of the United States that the political connection, heretofore 
 existing between the State of South Carolina and the States 
 which were known as the United States, had ceased ; and that 
 the State of South Carolina had resumed all the power it had 
 delegated to the United States under the compact known as 
 the Constitution of the United States. The right which the 
 State of South Carolina possessed to change the political rela- 
 tions it held with other States, under the Constitution of the 
 United States, has been solemnly asserted by the people of this 
 State, in Convention, and now does not admit of discussion. 
 
 In anticipation of the Ordinance of Secession, of which the 
 President of the United States had received official notification, 
 it was understood by him, that sending any reinforcements of 
 the troops of the United States in the harbor of Charleston, 
 would be regarded b}" the constituted authorities of the State 
 of South Carolina as an act of hostility; and at the same time 
 it was understood by him, that an}^ change in the occupation of 
 the forts in the harbor of Charleston would, in like manner, be 
 regarded as an act of hostility. Either or both of these events 
 occurring during the period in which the State of South Caro- 
 lina constituted a part of the United States, was then distinctly 
 notified to the President of the United States as an act or acts 
 of hostility ; because either or both would be regarded and could 
 only be intended to dispute the right of the State of South 
 ('arolina to that political Independence which she has always 
 asserted and will always maintain. 
 
 Whatever would have been during the continuance of this 
 State, while a member of the United States, an act of hostility; 
 
became much more so, when the State of South (''aroliiia hail 
 dissolved its connection with tlie Government of the United 
 States. 
 
 After the secession of the State of South Carolina, Furt 
 Sumter continued in the possession of troops of the United 
 States. How that fort is at this time in the possession of the 
 troops of the United States, is not now necessary to discuss. 
 It will suffice to say that the occupancy of that fort has been 
 regarded by the State of South Carolina as the first act of 
 positive hostility committed by the troops of the United States 
 within the limits of this State; and was in this light regarded 
 as so unequivocal, that it occasioned the termination of the ne- 
 gotiations, then pending at AVashington; between the Commis- 
 sioners of the State of South Carolina and the President of the 
 United States. 
 
 The attempt to reinforce the troops now at Fort Sumter, or 
 to retake and resume possession of the forts Avithin the waters 
 of this State, which you have abandoned, after spiking the 
 guns placed there, and doing otherwise much damage, cannot 
 be regarded by the authorities of this State as indicative of any 
 other purpose than the coercion of the State l)y the armed force 
 of the Government. To repel such an attempt is too ])!ainly 
 its duty, to allow it to be discussed. But, while defending its 
 waters, the authorities of the State have been careful so to con- 
 duct the affairs of the State that no act, however necessary for 
 its defence, should lead to an xiseless waste of life. Special 
 agents, therefore, have been off the bar, to Avarn all approach- 
 ing vessels, if armed; or unarmed and having troops to reinforce 
 the forts on board; not to enter the harbor of Charleston ; and 
 special orders have been given to the commanders of all the 
 forts and batteries, not to fire at such vessels, until a shot fired 
 across their bows would warn them of the prohibition of the 
 State. 
 
 Under these circumstances, the Star of the West, it is under- 
 stood, this morning attempted to enter this harbor, with troops 
 on board ; and having been notified that she could not enter, 
 was fired into. The act is perfectly justified by me. 
 
 In regard to your threat in regard to vessels in the harbor, it 
 is only necessary to say, that you must judge of youi* resjionsi- 
 bilities. Your position in this harbor has been tolerated by the 
 authorities of the State. And while the act of which vou com- 
 
jilain is in perfect consistency with the rights and duties of the 
 State, it is not perceived how fiir the conduct which you pro- 
 pose to adopt, can find a parallel in the history of anj^ country; 
 or be reconciled with anj- other purpose of your Government, 
 than that of imposing upon this State the condition of a con- 
 quered province. 
 
 F. W. PICKENS. 
 To Major Egbert Anderson, 
 
 Commanding -Fort Sumter. 
 
 No 3. 
 
 [major ANDERSON TO THE GOVERNOR.] 
 
 Head Quarters, Fort Sumter, S. C. 
 January 9, 1861. 
 To his Excellency, F. W. Pickens, 
 
 Governor of the State of South Carolina : 
 
 Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 
 communication of to-day, and to say that, under the circum- 
 stances, I have deemed it proper to refer the whole matter to 
 my Government ; and that I intend deferring the course indi- 
 cated in my note of this morning until the arrival from Wash, 
 ington of the instructions I may receive. I have the honor 
 also to express a hope that no obstructions will be placed in 
 the way of, and that you will do me the favor to afford eveiy 
 facility to, the departure and return of the bearer, Lieut. T. 
 Talbot, IT. S. Arm}", who has been directed to make the journey. 
 I have the honor to be. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 EOBEET ANDEESON, 
 Major U. S. Army, Commanding. 
 
7 
 No. 4. 
 
 [the governor to major ANDERSON.] 
 
 State op South Carolina, 
 Executive Office, Charleston, 
 11th January, 18G1. 
 To Major Eobert Anderson, 
 
 Commanding Fort Sumter : 
 Sir : I have thought proper, under all the circumstances of 
 the peculiar state of public affairs in the country at present, to 
 appoint the Hon. A. Gr. Magrath and Gen. D. F. Jamieson, both 
 members of the Executive Council, and of the highest position 
 in the State, to present to you considerations of the gravest 
 public character ; and of the deepest interest to all who depre- 
 cate the improper waste of life; to induce the delivery of Fort 
 Sumter to the constituted authorities of the State of South 
 Carolina, with a pledge, on its part, to account for such public 
 property as is under your charge. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 F. W. PICKENS. 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 [major ANDERSON TO THE GOVERNOR.] 
 
 Head Quarters, Fort Sumter, S. C, 
 January 11. 1801. 
 To His Excellency, F. W. Pickens, 
 
 Governor of iSouth Carolina : 
 Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 
 demand for the surrender of this fort to the authorities of South 
 Carolina, and to say, in I'cply, that the demand is one with 
 which I cannot comply. Your Excellency knows that I have 
 recently sent a messenger to Washington, and that it will be 
 impossible for me to receive an answer to my dispatches, for- 
 warded by him, at an earlier date than next Monday. What 
 the character of my instructions may be, I cannot foresee. 
 Should your Excellency deem fit, prior to a resort to arms, 
 
8 
 
 to refer this matter to Washington, it would afford me the 
 sincerest pleasure to depute one of my officers to accompany 
 any messenger you may deem proper to be the bearer of your 
 demand. 
 
 Hoping to God that in this, and all other matters in which 
 the honor, welfare and lives of our fellow countrymen are con- 
 cerned, we shall so act as to meet His approval ; and, deeply 
 regretting that you have made a demand of me with which I 
 cannot comply, 
 
 I have the honor to be, 
 
 With the highest regard, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 EOBEET ANDEESON, 
 Major U. S. Army, Commanding. 
 
 No. 6. 
 [the governor to the president of the united states.] 
 
 State of South Carolina, 
 Executive Office, Head Quarters, 
 Charleston, January 11, 1861. 
 
 Sir : At the time of the separation of the State of South 
 Carolina from the United States, Fort Sumter was, and still is, 
 in the possession of troops of the United States, under the 
 command of Major Anderson. I regard that possession as 
 not consistent with the dignity or safety of the State of South 
 Carolina; and I have this day addressed to Major Anderson a 
 communication to obtain from him the possession of that fort, 
 by the authorities of this State. The reply of Major Anderson 
 informs me that he has no authority to do what I required 
 but he desires a reference of the demand to the President of 
 the United States. 
 
 Under the circumstances now existing, and which need no 
 comment by me, I have determined to send to you the Hon. 
 I. W. Hayne, the Attorney General of the State of South Car- 
 olina, and have instructed him to demand the delivery of Fort 
 Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston- to the constituted authori- 
 ties of the State of South Carolina. 
 
The demand I have made of Major Anderson, and which I 
 now make of you, is suggested because of my earnest desire to 
 avoid the bloodshed which a persistence in your attempt to 
 retain the possession of that Fort will cause; and which will be 
 unavailing to secure you that possession, but induce a calamity 
 most deeply to be deplored. 
 
 If consequences so unhappy shall ensue, I will secui'e for this 
 State, in the demand which I noAV make, the satisfaction of 
 having exhausted ever}" attempt to avoid it. 
 
 In relation to the public property of the United States 
 within Fort Sumter, the Hon. I. W. Ilayne, who will hand you 
 this communication, is authorized to give you the pledge of the 
 State that the valuation of such property will be accounted 
 for, by this State, upon the adjustment of its relations Avith the 
 United States, of which it was a part. 
 
 F. W. PICKENS. 
 
 To the President 
 
 of the United States. 
 
 No. 7. 
 
 [instructions from the state department op the executive 
 
 OFFICE to HON. I. W. HAYNE.] 
 
 State of South Carolina, 
 Executive Office, State Department. 
 Charleston, January 12, 18G1. 
 
 Sir: The Governor has considered it proper, in view of the 
 grave questions which now affect the State of South Carolina 
 and the United States, to make a demand upon the President of 
 the United States, for the deliveiy to the State of South Caro- 
 lina of Fort Sumter, now within the territorial limits of this 
 State, and occupied by troops of the United States. 
 
 The Convention of the People of South Carolina authorized 
 and empowered its Commissioners to enter into negotiations 
 with the Government of the United States, for the delivery of 
 forts, magazines, light houses, and other real estate within the 
 limits of South Carolina. 
 
 The circumstances which caused the interruption of that 
 
10 
 
 negotiation are known to yon: with the formal notification of 
 its cessation, was the urgent expression of the necessity for the 
 withdrawal of the troops of the United States from the harbor 
 of Charleston. 
 
 The interruption of these negotiations left all matters con- 
 nected with Fort Sumter and troops of the United States 
 within the limits of this State, affected by the fact; that the 
 continued possession of the Fort was not consistent with the 
 dignity or safety of the State ; and that an attempt to rein- 
 force the troops at that fort would not be allowed. This, 
 therefore, became a state of hostilit}'; in consequence of which 
 the State of South Carolina was placed in a condition of de- 
 fence. During the prei^aration for this purpose, an attempt 
 was made to reinforce Fort Sumter, and repelled. 
 
 You are now instructed to proceed to Washington, and there, 
 in the name of the Government of the State of South Carolina, 
 enquire of the President of the United States, w^hether it was 
 by his order that troops of the United States were sent into 
 the harbor of Charleston to reinforce Fort Sumter; if he avows 
 that order, you will then enquire, whether he asserts a right to 
 introduce troops of the United States within the limits of this 
 State, to occupy Fort Sumter : and you will, in case of his 
 avowal, inform him that neither will be permitted; and either 
 will be regarded as his declaration of war against the State of 
 South Carolina. 
 
 The Governor, to save life, and determined to omit no course 
 of proceeding usual among civilized nations, previous to that 
 condition of general hostilities which belongs to war; and not 
 knowing under what order, or by what authority. Fort Sumter 
 is now held ; demanded from Major Eobert Anderson, now in 
 command of that fort, its delivery to the State. That officer, 
 in his reply, has referred the Governor to the Government of 
 the United States at "Washington. You will, therefore, demand 
 from the President of the United States the withdrawal of the 
 troops of the United States from that fort, and its delivery to 
 the State of South Carolina. 
 
 You ai'e instructed not to allow any question of property 
 claimed by the United States to embarrass the assertion of the 
 political right of the State of South Carolina to the possession of 
 Fort Sumter. The possession of that fort by the State is alone 
 consistent with the dignity and safety of the State of South 
 
11 
 
 Carolina : but such possession is not inconsistent with a right 
 to compensation in money in another Government, if it has 
 against the State of South Carolina nwj just claim connected 
 with that fort. But the possession of the fort cannot, in regard 
 to the State of South Carolina, be compensated by any consid- 
 eration of an}' kind from the Government of the United States, 
 when the possession of it by tlie Government is invasive of the 
 dignity and affects the safety of the State. That possession 
 cannot become now a matter of discussion or negotiation. You 
 will, therefore, require from the President of the United States 
 a positive and distinct answer to your demand for the delivery 
 of the fort. And you are fiirtlier authorized, to give the pledge 
 of the State to adjust all matters which may be, and are in 
 their nature, susceptible of valuation in money; in the manner 
 most usual, and upon the principles of equity and justice 
 always recognized by independent nations, for the ascertain- 
 ment of their relative rights and obligations in such matters. 
 You are further instructed to say to the President of the 
 United States, that the Governor regards the attempt of the 
 President of the United States, if avowed, to continue the pos- 
 session of Fort Sumter; as inevitably leading to a bloody issue, 
 a question which, in the judgment of the Governor, can have 
 but one conclusion; reconcilable with a due regard to the State 
 of South Carolina, the welfare of the other States which now 
 constitute the United States, and that humanity which teaches 
 all men, but particularly those, who in authority control the 
 lives of others; to regard a resort to arms, as the last Avhich 
 should be considered. To shed their blood in defence of their 
 rights is a duty, which the citizens of the State of South Caro- 
 lina fully recognize. And in such a cause, the Governor, while 
 deploring the stern necessity which ma}^ compel him to call for 
 the sacrifice; will feel that his obligation to preserve inviolate 
 the sacred rights of the State of South Carolina, justify the 
 sacrifice necessary to secure that end. The Governor does not 
 desire to remiiul the President of the responsibilities which are 
 upon him. 
 
 PespectfuUy, your obedient servant, 
 
 A. G. MAGEATn. 
 To Hon. I. W. Hayne, 
 
 Special Envoy from the State of South Carolina 
 
 to the President of the United States. 
 
12 
 
 No. 8. 
 
 [letter op senators of seceding states to HON. I. W. IIAYNE.] 
 
 "Washington City, January Ibth, 1861. 
 Hon. Isaac W. Hayne : 
 
 Sir : We are apprised that you visit Washington, as an 
 Envoy from the State of South Carolina, hearing a communi- 
 cation from the Governor of jonr State to the President of the 
 United States, in rehition to Fort Sumter. Without knowing 
 its contents, we venture to request you to defer its delivery to 
 the President for a few days, or until you and he have consid- 
 ered the suggestions which we beg leave to submit. 
 
 We know that the possession of Fort Sumter by troops of 
 the United States, coupled wnth the circumstances under which 
 it Avas taken, is the chief, if not only, source of difficulty be- 
 tween the Government of South Carolina and that of the 
 United States. We would add, that we, too, think it a just 
 cause of irritation and of apprehension on the part of your 
 State. But we have also assurances, notwithstanding the cir- 
 cumstances under which Major Anderson left Fort Moultrie 
 and entered Fort Sumter with the forces under his command ; 
 that it was not taken, and is not held, with any hostile or un- 
 friendly purpose towards your State; but merely as property of 
 the United States, which the President deems it his duty to 
 protect and preserve. 
 
 We will not discuss the question of right or duty on the part 
 of either Government touching that iiro^^erty, or the late acts 
 of either in relation thereto ; but we think that, without any 
 compromise of right or breach of duty on either side, an ami- 
 cable adjustment of the matter of differences may and sliould 
 be adopted. We desire to see such an adjustment, and to pre- 
 vent war or the shedding of blood. We represent States which 
 have already seceded from the United States, or will have done 
 so before the first of February next, and which will meet j'our 
 State in Convention on or before the fifteenth of that month. 
 Our people feel that they have a common destiny with your 
 people, and expect to form with them, in that Convention, a 
 new Confederation and Provisional Government. We must 
 and will share your fortunes, suffering with you the evils of 
 
13 
 
 war, if it cannot be avoided ; and enjoying with j-ou the bless- 
 ings of peace, if it can be preserved. We, therefore, think it 
 especially due from South Carolina to our States — to say noth- 
 ing of other slaveholding States — that she should, as far as she 
 can, consistently with her honor, avoid initiating hostilities 
 between her and the United vStates or anj^ other Power. AYe 
 have the public declaration of the President, that he has not 
 the constitutional power or the will to make war on South 
 Carolina, and that the public peace .shall not be disturbed by 
 any act of hostility towards your State. 
 
 AVe, therefore, see no reason why there may not be a settle- 
 ment of existing difficulties, if time be given for calm and 
 deliberate counsel with those States which are equally involved 
 with South Carolina. We, thei'efore, trust that an arrange- 
 ment will be agreed on between you and the President, at least 
 till the lifteenth February next; by which time your and our 
 States may, in Convention, devise a wise, just and peaceable 
 solution of existing difficulties. 
 
 In the meantime, we think your State should sufter Major 
 Anderson to obtain necessary supplies of food, fuel or water, 
 and enjoy fi'ee communication, b}" post or special messenger, 
 Avith the President; upon the understanding that the President 
 will not send him reinforcements during the same period. We 
 propose to submit this proposition and your answer to the 
 President. 
 
 If not clothed with power to make such arrangement, then 
 we trust that j'ou will submit our suggestions to the Governor 
 of your State . for his instructions. Until you have received 
 and communicated his response to the President, of course 
 your State Avill not attack Fort Sumter, and the President will 
 not offer to reinforce it. 
 
 We most respectfully submit these propositions, in the earnest 
 hope that 3'ou, or the proper authority of your State, may accede 
 
 to them. 
 
 We have the honor to be, 
 
 With profound esteem, 
 
 Your obedient servants, 
 Louis T. Wkjfall, C. C. Clat, Jr. 
 
 John Hemphill, Benjamin Fitzpatrick, 
 
 d. l. yulee, a. iverson, 
 
 S. E. Mallouv, John Seidell, 
 
 Jefferson Davis, I. P. Benjamin. 
 
14 
 
 No. 9. 
 
 [letter op HON. I. W. HAYNE IN REPLY TO SENATORS FROM SECED- 
 ING STATES.] 
 
 "Washington, January, 1861. 
 
 Gentlemen: I have just received your communication, dated 
 the 15th instant. You represent, you say, States which have 
 already seceded from the United States, or will have done so 
 before the 1st of February next, and which will meet South 
 Cai'olina in Convention, on or before the 15th of that month : 
 that your people feel they have a common destiny with 
 our people, and expect to form with them in that Conven- 
 tion a new Confederacy and Provisional Government: that you 
 must, and will share our fortunes, suifcring with us the evils of 
 war, if it cannot be avoided, and enjoying with us the blessings 
 of peace, if it can be preserved. 
 
 I feel, gentlemen, the force of this appeal, and, so far as my 
 authority extends, most cheerfully comply with your request. 
 
 I am not clothed with power to make the arrangements you 
 suggest, but provided you can get assurances, with which j^ou 
 are entirely satisfied, that no reinforcements will be sent to 
 Fort Sumter in the interval, and that public peace shall not be 
 disturbed by any act of hostility towards South Carolina, I 
 will refer your communication to the authorities of South Car- 
 olina, and withholding their communication, with which I am 
 at present charged, will await for their instructions. 
 
 Major Anderson, and his command, let me assure you, do 
 now obtain all necessary supplies of food, (including fresh meat 
 and vegetables,) and, I believe, fuel and water; and do now 
 enjoy free communication by post, and special messengers with 
 the President, and will continue to do so, certainly, until the 
 door of negotiation shall be closed. 
 
 If your proposition is acceded to, you may assure the Presi- 
 dent that no attack will be made on Fort Sumter, until a 
 response from the Governor of South Carolina has been received 
 by me, and communicated to him. 
 
 With great consideration and profound esteem, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 ISAAC W. HAYNE, 
 Envoy from the Governor and Council of South Carolina. 
 
15 
 
 Ko. 10. 
 
 [letter of senators of seceding states to the president.] 
 
 Senate Chamber, 
 
 January 11, 1861. 
 
 Sir : We have been requested to present to you copies of a 
 correspondence between certain Senators of the United States 
 and Col Isaac "VY. Hayne, now in this city, in behalf of the 
 Government of South Carolina ; and to ask that you will take 
 into consideration the subject of said coiTCspondence. 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servants, 
 
 BEN. FITZPATRICK. 
 S. R. MALLOPtY. 
 JOHN SLIDELL. 
 
 To His Excellency, James Buchanan, 
 
 President United States. 
 
 No. 11. 
 
 [letter of the president, through the HON. J. HOLT, SECRETARY 
 
 of war, ad interim, to the senators of the seceding states.] 
 
 War Department, 
 January 22, 1861. 
 
 To the Hon. Benjamin Fitzpatrick, S. E. Mallory, and John 
 Seidell : 
 
 Gentlemen : The President has received your communica- 
 tion of the 19th instant, with the copy of a correspondence be- 
 tween yourselves and others, " representing States which have 
 already seceded from the United States, or will have done so 
 before the 1st of February next," and Col. Isaac W. Hayne, of 
 South Carolina, in behalf of the Government of that State, in 
 relation to Fort Sumter j and you ask the President to "take 
 into consideration the subject of that correspondence." With 
 this request he has complied, and has directed me to communi- 
 cate his answer. 
 
 In your letter to Col. Ilayne. of the 15th inst., you propose 
 
16 
 
 to him to defer the delivery of a message from the Grovernor of 
 South Carolina to the President, with which he has been en- 
 trusted, for a few days, or until the President and Col. Hayne 
 shall have considered the suggestions which you submit. It is 
 unnecessary to refer speciall}^ to these suggestions, because the 
 letter addressed to you by Col. Hayne, of the 17th instant, 
 presents a clear and specific answer to them. In this he says : 
 "■ I am not clothed with power to make the arrangement you 
 suggest ; but provided you can get assurances, with which you 
 are entirely satisfied, that no reinforcements will be sent to 
 Fort Sumter, in the interval, and that the public peace will not 
 be disturbed by any act of hostility towards South Carolina, I 
 will refer your communication to the authorities of South Caro- 
 lina, and, withholding the communication with which I am 
 at present charged, will await further instructions." 
 
 From the beginning of the present unhappy troubles, the 
 President has endeavored to perform his executive duties in 
 such a manner as to preserve the peace of the countiy, and to 
 prevent bloodshed. This is still his fixed purpose. You, 
 therefore, do him no more than justice in stating that you 
 have assurances, (from his public messages, I presume,) that, 
 "notwithstanding the circumstances under which Major Ander- 
 son left Fort Moultrie, and entered Fort Sumter with the forces 
 under his command, it was not taken, and is not held with any 
 hostile or unfriendly purpose towards your State, but merely 
 as property of the United States, which the President deems it 
 his duty to protect and preserve," you have correctly stated 
 what the President deems to be his duty. His sole object now 
 is, and has been, to act strictly on the defensive, and to author- 
 ize no movement against the people of South Carolina, unless 
 clearly justified by a hostile movement on their part. He could 
 not have given a better proof of his desire to prevent the effu- 
 sion of blood, than by forbearing to resort to the use of force, 
 under the strong provocation of an attack, (happily without a 
 fatal result,) on an unarmed vessel bearing the flag of the 
 United States. 
 
 I am happy to observe that, in your letter to Col. Hayne, you 
 express the opinion, that it is " especially due from South Caro- 
 lina to our States, to say nothing of other slaveholding States, 
 that she should, as far as she can consistently with her honor, 
 avoid initiating hostilities between her and the United States, 
 
17 
 
 or any other power." To initiate such hostilities against Fort 
 Sumter, would, beyond question, be an act of war against the 
 United States. 
 
 In regard to the proposition of Col. Ilayne, "that no re- 
 inforcements will be sent to Fort Sumter, in the interval, and 
 that the public peace will 7iot be distui-bed b}' any act of hos- 
 tility towards South Carolina," it is impossible for me to give 
 you any such assurances. The President has no authority to 
 enter into such an agreement or understanding. As an executive 
 officer, he is simply bound to protect the public property, so far 
 as this may be practicable ; and it would be a manifest viola- 
 tion of his dut}^ to place himself under engagements that he 
 would not perform this dut}^ either for an indefinite or a lim- 
 ited period. At the present moment, it is not deemed necessary 
 to reinforce Major Anderson, because he makes no such request, 
 and feels quite secure in his position. Should his safety, how- 
 ever, require reinforcements, every elfort will be made to 
 supply them. 
 
 In regard to an assurance from the President, "that the pub- 
 lie peace will not be disturbed by an}- act of hostility towards 
 South Carolina," the answer will readily occur to yourselves. 
 To Congress, and to Congress alone, belongs the power to 
 make war, and it would be an act of usurpation for the Execu- 
 tive to give any assurance that Congress would not exercise 
 this power, however strongly he may be convinced that no 
 such intention exists. 
 
 I am glad to be assured, from the letter of Col. Ilayne, that 
 " Major Anderson and his command do now obtain all necessary 
 supplies, including fresh meat and vegetables, and, I believe, 
 fuel and Avater, from the Cit}' of Charleston, and do now enjoy 
 communication, by post and special messenger, with the Presi- 
 dent, and will continue to do so, certainly' until the door to 
 negotiation has been closed." I trust that these facilities may 
 still be all'orded to Major Anderson. This is as it should be. 
 Major Anderson is not menacing Charleston ; and 1 am con- 
 vinced that the happiest result which can be attained is, that 
 both he and the authorities of South Carolina shall remain on 
 their present amicable footing, neither party being bound by 
 any obligations whatever, except the high Christian and moral 
 2 
 
18 
 
 duty to keep the peace, and to avoid all causes of mutual irri- 
 tation. 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 J. HOLT, 
 Secretary of War, ad interim. 
 
 No. 12. 
 
 [letter of senators of seceding states to HON. I. W. HAYNE.] 
 
 Washington, 23 January^ 1861. 
 Hon. Isaac W. Hayne. 
 
 Sir : In answer to your letter of the 17tb inst., we have 
 now to inform you that, after communicating with the Presi- 
 dent, we have received a letter signed by the Secretary of War, 
 and addressed to Messrs. Fitzpatrick, Mallory and Slidell, on 
 the subject of our proposition, which letter we now enclose to 
 you. Although its terms are not as satisfactory as we could 
 have desired, in relation to the ulterior purj)0se8 of the Execu- 
 tive, we have no hesitation in expressing our entire confidence 
 that no reinforcements will be sent to Fort Sumter, nor will the 
 public peace be disturbed within the period requisite for full 
 communication between yourself and your Government ; and 
 we trust, therefore, that you will feel justified in applying for 
 further instructions before delivering to the President any mes- 
 sage with which you may have been charged. 
 
 We take this occasion to renew the expression of an earnest 
 hope that South Carolina will not deem it incompatible with 
 her safety, dignity or honor, to refrain from initiating any 
 hostilities against any Power whatsoever ; or from taking any 
 steps tending to produce collision, until our States, which are 
 to share her fortunes, shall have an opportunity of joining their 
 counsels with hers. 
 
 We are, with great respect. 
 
 Your obedient servants, 
 
 LOUIS T. WIGFALL, 
 D. L. YULEE. 
 1. P. BENJAMIN, 
 A. IVEESON, 
 JOHN HEMPHILL, 
 JOHN SLIDELL, 
 C. C. CLAY, Jr. 
 
19 
 
 P. >S. Some of the signatures to the former letter addressed 
 to you are not affixed to the foregoing communication, in con- 
 sequence of the departure of several Senators, now on their 
 way to their respective States. 
 
 No. 13. 
 
 [letter op HON. I. W. HAYNE TO SENATORS OF SECEDING STATES.] 
 
 To THE Honorable Louis T. Wigfall, D. L. Yulee, I. P. Ben- 
 jamin, A. IvERSON, John Hemphill, John Slidell, and 
 C. C. Clay, Jr. 
 
 Gentlemen : I have received 3-our letter of the 23d inst.. 
 enclosing a communication dated the 22d inst., addressed to 
 Messrs. Fitzpatrick, Mallory and Slidell, from the Secretary 
 of War, ad interim. This communication from the Secretary is 
 far from being satisfactory to me. But, inasmuch as you state 
 that "we (3'ou) have no hesitation in expressing an entire con- 
 fidence that no reinforcement "will be sent to Fort Sumter, nor 
 will the public peace be disturbed within the period requisite for 
 full communication between yourself (myself) and your (my) 
 Government," in compliance with our previous understanding. 
 I withhold the communication with which I am at present 
 charged, and refer the whole matter to the authorities of South 
 Carolina, and Avill await their reph'. 
 
 Mr. Gourdin of South Carolina, now in this city, will leave 
 here by the evening's train, and will lay before the Governor of 
 South Carolina and his Council, the whole correspondence 
 between yourselves and myself, and between you and the Gov- 
 ernment of the United States; with a communication from me. 
 asking further instructions. 
 
 I cannot, in closing, but express my deep regret that the 
 President should deem it necessary to keep a gari'ison of troops 
 at Fort Sumter for the protection of the " 'property" of the Uni- 
 ted States. South Carolina scorns the idea of appropriating to 
 herself t\iQ property of another, whether of a Government or an 
 
20 
 
 individual, without accounting, to the last dollai', for eveiything 
 which, for the protection of her citizens, and in vindication of 
 her own honor and dignity, she may deem it necessary to take 
 into her OAvn possession. As property, Foi-t Sumter is in far 
 greater jeopardy occupied by a garrison of United States 
 troops, than it would be if delivered over to the State authori- 
 ties, with the pledge that, in regard to that and all other 
 property claimed by the United States within the jurisdiction 
 of South Carolina, thej- would full}" account, uj)on a fair adjust- 
 ment. 
 
 Upon the other point of the preservation of the peace, and 
 the avoidance of bloodshed : Is it supposed that the occupa- 
 tion of a fort in the midst of a harbor, with guns bearing upon 
 every position of it, by a Government no longor acknowledged, 
 can be other than the occasion of constant irritation, excitement 
 and indignation ? It creates a condition of things which I fear 
 is but little calculated to advance the observance of the "high 
 (christian and moral duty to keep the peace, and to avoid all 
 causes of mutual irritation," recommended by the Secretary of 
 War in his communication. 
 
 In my judgment, to continue to hold Fort Sumter by United 
 States troops, is the worst j)0ssible means of protecting it as 
 property; and the worst possible means for effecting a peaceful 
 solution of present difficulties. 
 
 I beg leave, in conclusion, to say that it is in deference to the 
 unanimous opinion expressed by the Senators present in Wash- 
 ington, "representing States which have already seceded from 
 the United States, or will have done so before the 1st of Febru- 
 ary next," that I comply with your suggestions. And I feel 
 assured that suggestions from such a quarter will be considered 
 with profound respect by the authorities of South Carolina, and 
 will have great weight in determining their action. 
 
 With high consideration, I have the honor to be, 
 Very respectfully. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 ISAAC W. HAYNB, 
 Envoy from the Governor and Council of South Carolina. 
 
21 
 
 Xo. 14. 
 
 [despatch from the HON. A. G. MAGRATH TO HON. I. W. HAYNE.] 
 
 State of South Carolina. 
 Executive Office, State Department. 
 Charleston, January 2(3, 18G1. 
 
 Sir : Your despatch has been received, covei'ing with other 
 papers the reply of the President through Mr. Holt, Secretarv 
 of War, ad interim, dated the 22d of January, 1861, to the 
 letter of Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Mallory, and Mr. Slidell, enclos- 
 ing to him a corres})ondence between certain Senators of the 
 United States and Col. -Isaac W. Hayne; the letter of certain 
 Senators to you, dated the 23d January, 1861 j and your reply to 
 those Senators, dated the 2-l:th January, 1861. 
 
 In the letter of the Senators addressed to you, and dated 
 the 15th Januaiy, 1861, after stating that the possession of 
 Fort Sumter by troops of the United States, coupled with the 
 circumstances under which it was taken, is the chief, if not the 
 only source of difficulty, between the Government of South 
 Carolina and that of the United States j they add that they. 
 '' too, think it a just cause of irritation and apprehension on 
 the part of your (this) State." They then further state that 
 they had assurances, notwithstanding other circumstances 
 which seemed inconsistent therewith; that Fort Sumter ''was 
 not taken, and is not held with any hostile or unfriendly pur- 
 pose towards your (this) State, but merely as pi'operty of thi- 
 United States; which the President deems it his duty to pro- 
 tect and preserve." Under the influence of that feeling of a 
 common destiny which now animates the seceding States; and 
 impressed with the earnest desire which seems to have been 
 cherished in these States; to accomplisli that separation from 
 the United States, which they regarded as essential to their 
 welfare, without the ills which civil war produces; these Sena- 
 tors proposed that time should be given for calm and deliberate 
 counsel with the States, which are equally involved with South 
 Carolina, in the future issue of their present conduct. To 
 secure the time necessary for the counsel which should be had. 
 they proposed that this State "should suffer ^Major Anderson 
 to obtain necessary supplies of food, fuel or water, and enjoy 
 free communication by post or special messenger with the 
 President, upon the understanding that the President will not 
 send him reinforcements during the same period." 
 
22 
 
 No such communication was anticipated by the Governor, in 
 the instructions with which you were furnished. But the dis- 
 cretion Avhich 3"ou exercised in dehiying the deliver}^ of the 
 letter to the President of the United States, with which you 
 were charged; under the circumstances which then existed, 
 commends itself to the approval of the Governor. Such a 
 course on your part was due from this State to the representa- 
 tives of those States, the people of which, in the language of 
 their Senators, "feel a common destiny with your (our) people, 
 and expect to form with them a new Confederacy and Pro- 
 visional Government;" and who "must and will share your 
 (Our) fortunes; suffering with yon (us) the evils of war, if it 
 cannot be avoided, and enjoying the blessings of peace, if it can 
 be preserved." 
 
 The reply of the President to the proposition thus made, 
 referring to the statement of the intentions with which Fort 
 Sumter is held, as derived from his ''public messages," concedes 
 that his purpose as stated; that is, to hold Fort Sumter "merely 
 as property of the United States" which he *' deems it his duty 
 to protect and preserve;" is correct. He declares it to be his 
 sole object to act strictly on the defensive, and to ''authorize 
 no movement against the people of South Carolina, unless 
 clearl}" justified by a hostile movement on their part." The 
 President then, for proof of his desire to prevent the effusion 
 of blood, alludes to his forbearance to resort to "the use of 
 force under the strong provocation of an attack on an unarmed 
 vessel bearing the flag of the United States." 
 
 Referring next to the anxious desire of the Senators of the 
 seceding States, that this State "should as far as she can, con- 
 sistentl}' with her honor, avoid initiating hostilities between her 
 and the United States, or any other Power;" the President de- 
 clares "that to initiate such hostilities against Fort Sumter, 
 would, beyond question, be an Act of war against the United 
 States." And in reply to the proposition that " no reinforce- 
 ments will be sent to Fort Sumter," which is stated in his let- 
 ter to be your proposition, he declares "it is impossible for me 
 (him) to give you (the Senators) any such assurance." He 
 states that "he has no authority to enter into such an arrange- 
 ment or understanding," and that it would be "a manifest 
 violation of his duty to place himself under engagements, that 
 he would not perform this duty either for an indefinite or a 
 
23 
 
 limited period." It is also added by him that ''at the present 
 moment it is not deemed necessary to reinforce Major Ander- 
 son because he makes no such request, and feels quite secure in 
 his position." But should his safetj^ require it, every effort will 
 be made to supply reinforcements. 
 
 The letter from the Senators to you, and your reply to that 
 letter, present a marked and agreeable contrast to the letter of 
 the President of the United States. The Governor appreciates 
 the feeling which the letter of the President must have excited 
 in the Senators to whom it was addressed; their forbearance in 
 the expression of their opinion fully as to its character; and 
 their generosity is still continuing to entertain the hope, that 
 collision ma}' be avoided ; until the States the}' represent may 
 share the dangers which menace this State. The Govei-nor con- 
 curs also in the justice and force of your reply to those Senators. 
 The reasons which you have set forth in your reply to the let- 
 ter of the Senators to you, conclusively establish the propriety 
 of that demand which the letter from the Governor is intended 
 to make upoii the President ; whether the possession of Fort 
 Sumter be considered merely in regard to its preservation as a 
 piece of property claimed by the United States; or the continu- 
 ance of its retention be referred to a conclusion derived from 
 the "obligations" which ''high Christian and moral duty" 
 would make imperative; if the}^ were appealed to, as they 
 should be, in this case, as the sole and proper guides for those 
 whose conduct involves the gravest responsibilities. 
 
 The acquiescence of the President of the United States in 
 the " arrangement or understanding," by which he woukl be 
 prevented from sending reinforcements to Fort Sumter, was 
 intended ; and so declared, by the Senators of the seceding 
 States, to be binding upon him; in case of the acquiescence of 
 this State in certain measures which the}' proposed this State 
 should adopt. "With the concession from the State of South Caro- 
 lina, tiiey evidently expected a concession from the President 
 of the United States. And they proposed that in the interval 
 which was necessary to enable you to receive a reply from the 
 Governor, the President should not send reinforcements to Fort 
 Sumter ; and that certain facilities now enjoyed by Major 
 Anderson and his garrison at Fort Sumter, should be continued. 
 The reply of the President, therefore, contains his refusal, not 
 only of the general proposition, to abstain from doing until the 
 
24 
 
 15th da}' of Febiuar}', the day named by the Senators in tlieir 
 letter, that whieii, wlienever he attempts, he knows will be 
 regarded by the State of South Carolina as an act of war ; but 
 he refuses also to abstain from attempting this act, even dur- 
 ing the jjeriod necessaiy to enable you to communicate to the 
 Governor the proposition of these Senators. 
 
 All that the State of South Carolina was desired, in the letter 
 of these Senators, to do in relation to Major Andei-son and his 
 garrison, it had done ; not in its acknowledgment of any right 
 on the part of the United States, but in the discharge of the 
 suggestions of courtesy; and with a desire not to visit upon 
 Major Anderson and his garrison the consequences of the irri- 
 tation which the conduct of his Government was so well 
 calculated to produce. Nor would the acquiescence of the 
 Government of the United States, in the forbearance required 
 from it, have done more than to have secured the status, in 
 which all matters within the harbor of Charleston were at this 
 time; by putting uj)on the State an obligation not to attack 
 Fort Sumter, and upon the Government of the United States 
 an obligation not to reinforce it with fresh troops. With the 
 supplies which Major Anderson and his garrison were receiv- 
 ing ; with the facilities which he and his garrison enjoyed in 
 regard to the mails; no pretext for interference with the harbor 
 of Charleston could be found, except in connection with the 
 right claimed to reinforce the troops at Fort Sumter : a right, 
 which, claimed by the President, as involved in a duty, would 
 farther involve a necessity that he should determine, when his 
 duty was to be discharged, by his exercise of this right. 
 
 It is true that the President, in his letter, intimates that no 
 reinforcements will be sent, because Major Anderson has made 
 no such request, and feels quite secure in his position. It is 
 not, however, to be forgotten, that, upon a recent occasion, 
 when it is understood that Major Anderson did not call for 
 reinforcements, and may be presumed to have felt then as 
 secure in his position as he does now, reinforcements were sent 
 to him; nor was it the fault of the Government of the United 
 States that they did not reach him. 
 
 The pi-oposition thus made to the President of the United 
 States, was the act of Southern Senators, unsolicited and unex- 
 pected. It was the evidence of a generous impulse, which, 
 having animated them in the continuance of their connection 
 
25 
 
 with the United States, as long as that connection could be 
 maintained with regard to the rights of the States they repre- 
 sented; was exhibited, even in the moment of their final separa- 
 tion, in an anxious desire to avoid collision and strife Avith 
 those, whom they could not recognize longer as their brethren 
 in that political Union wliich liad been terminated. The mod- 
 eration of the terms in which thc}^ asked the acquiescence of 
 the President of the United States, will be long remembered. 
 Their request was simply that he would abstain from those 
 acts, which were unnecessary for the purposes he professed; and 
 were surely calculated to develope the ills he declared himself 
 anxious to avert. 
 
 At this period, and under such cii'cumstances, it is not only 
 important, bat indispensably necessary, that the Governor 
 should correctly understand the position which the Govern- 
 ment of the United States intends to occupy towards this 
 State. And the correspondence, which has produced the letter 
 of the President, serves to dispel much of whatever doubt may 
 have hitherto existed. If the President of the United States 
 desired only to protect Fort Sumter as property, Avhat higher 
 assurance of its safety could he have found than in the pledge 
 of the State of South Carolina, that it should not be attacked? 
 If it was not to be defended as property, but as a military post 
 of the United States, then, indeed, it would be "a manifest vio- 
 lation of his duty" to agree not to reinforce it. The assertion, 
 therefore, that it is only held as property, is inconsistent with 
 those requirements of duty, which the President alleges to be 
 obligatory upon him; but which are obligatory upon him only 
 in relation to a military post. The Governor is, therefore, 
 forced to conclude, that, stripped of all disguise, the real pur- 
 pose of the President of the United States is to keep and de- 
 fend Fort Sumter, within the limits of South Carolina, as a 
 military post of the United States. 
 
 This conclusion of the real purpose which controls the Gov- 
 ernment of the United States in relation to this State, is not 
 the less a result of the position which the President of the 
 United States has assumed in relation to the proposition which 
 the Senators of the seceding States have generously made ; 
 than of the action of the President of the United States in 
 regard to other States which have seceded. And it is consid- 
 ered by the Governor to be his duty — one which the State of 
 
26 
 
 South Carolina will so acknowledge — to regard all hostile 
 attempts made by the Government of the United States upon 
 any State which has seceded, as attempts made directly upon 
 this State. There is no doubt, that at this moment, hostile 
 purposes, by the Government of the United States, are in ope- 
 ration, which affect Florida or Georgia. It does not admit of 
 a doubt, that an armed vessel of the United States is now 
 transporting, with the purpose of landing, troops of the United 
 States upon the soil of one or more of the States which have 
 seceded, with hostile intentions towards such State. Another 
 expedition, the existence of which is ascertained, but the pre- 
 cise nature of which is more concealed, has been undertaken 
 for a like purpose. And that which gives to these hostile 
 attempts a complexion the least inviting is, that they are 
 secretly undertaken, and their execution covertly attempted, 
 amid professions of an earnest desire to avoid collision ; to save 
 the waste of life ; and to fulfil the highest obligations of moral- 
 ity. While the Commissioner deputed by the State of Virginia 
 is honestly urging upon the authorities of this and other States 
 to avoid all occasions of collision with the Government of the 
 United States ; and, while from the same State another Com- 
 missioner is attempting to recommend the same counsels to the 
 President of the United States; a hostile exj^edition is on its 
 way to attempt the coercion of a State, when the Government 
 of the United States seems to listen to the suggestions of peace 
 from that ancient Commonwealth. 
 
 The Governor regards it as a happy circumstance that in 
 deferring to the wishes of the Senators who have interposed in 
 the mission with which you were charged, their good intent 
 has been rewarded, in leading to that declaration from the 
 President, which, in every seceding State, will be regarded as 
 equivalent to his declaration of war against them ; and thus 
 save them from the consequences of a generous, but misplaced, 
 confidence. 
 
 Nor is it proper that it should be understood, that what the 
 President is pleased to consider a proof of his forbearance, 
 should seem to have the acquiescence of the Governor in the 
 correctness of that construction of his conduct, under the cir- 
 cumstances of a case, wholly unjustifiable, and more than 
 ascffravating:. It is not for the President of the United States 
 to seem to consider the repulse of a vessel sent here with re- 
 
27 
 
 inforcements. as the attack of the State of South Carolina upon 
 an unarmed vessel. If it had not the armament of a vessel 
 intended for war, the less excusable was the attempt to intro- 
 duce, under the shield of a peaceful trader, armed men for the 
 purpose of executing the orders of the President. It was not 
 onl}'^ a hostile demonstration, but, while hostile, it was attempt- 
 ed to be made successful under a disguise, which, if it had 
 secured the result which was desired, Avould have left nothing 
 but the mere success to compensate for the sacrifice of the pro- 
 prieties with which it had been purchased. 
 
 The opinion of the Governor, as to the propriety of the 
 demand which is contained in the letter, with the delivery of 
 which you are chai'ged, has not only been confirmed by the 
 circumstances which your mission has developed ; but is now ' 
 increased into a conviction of its necessity. The safety of the 
 State requires that the position of the President should be dis- 
 tinctly undex'stood. The safety of all the seceding States 
 requires it, as much as the safety of South Carolina. If it be 
 so, that Fort Sumter is held but as property, then, as property, 
 the rights, whatever they nia}^ be, of the United States, can 
 be ascertained ; and for the satisfaction of those rights, the 
 pledge of the State of South Carolina you are authorized to 
 give. If Fort Sumter is not held as property, it is held as a 
 military post ; and such a post, within the limits of this State, 
 will not be tolerated. 
 
 The letter of the President may be received a** the reply to 
 the question j^ou were instructed to ask, as to his assertion of 
 the right to send reinforcements to Fort Sumter. You were 
 instructed to say to him, if he asserted that right, that the 
 State of South Carolina regarded such a right, when assei'ted; 
 or with an attempt at its exercise, as a declaration of war. If 
 the President intends it shall not be so understood, it is proper, 
 to avoid any misconception hereafter, that he should be in- 
 formed of the manner in which the Grovei'nor will feel bound 
 to regard it. 
 
 If the President, when you have stated the reasons which 
 prompt the Governor in making the demand for the delivery of 
 Fort Sumter, shall refuse to deliver the fort, upon the pledge 
 you have been authorized to make, you will communicate that 
 refusal, without delay, to the Governor. If the President shall 
 not be prepared to give you an immediate answer, you will 
 
28 
 
 communicate to him that his answer may be transmitted, with- 
 in a reasonable time, to the Governor at this place. The Gov- 
 ernor does not consider it necessary that you should remain in 
 Washington longer than is necessary to execute this, the clos- 
 ing duty of your mission, in the manner now indicated to you. 
 As soon as the Crovernor shall receive from you information 
 that you have closed your mission, and the reply, whatever it 
 may be, of the President, he will consider the conduct which 
 will be necessary on his part. 
 
 To the Senators, w^ho have so generously intei'posed in this 
 matter, the Governor desires you to express the satisfaction he 
 has experienced with the interest they have exhibited, and the 
 concurrence they have manifested, in the earnest desire which 
 has governed him, in his attempt to secure for the State of 
 South Carolina its just rights, without the waste of life or loss 
 of blood. If other counsels shall prevail with the Government 
 at Washington, the Governor feels that, whatever unhappy 
 results may follow, his efforts and the efforts of those Senatoi-s 
 will have been eaimestly made to avert them. A copy of this 
 note to you, the Governor desires you to address to those 
 Senators. 
 
 It will not be necessary for the Governor to make any fur- 
 ther communication to you than this note. To this, he desires 
 me to add the expression of his thanks for the manner in which 
 you have executed the duty with which you were charged. 
 Very respectfully, yours, &c., &c. 
 
 A. G. MAGEATH. 
 To the Hon. I. W. Hayne, 
 
 Special Envoy from the State of South Carolina. 
 
 No. 15. 
 [mr. hayne to the president of the united states,] 
 
 Washington, January 31, 1861. 
 To his Excellency, James Buchanan, President : 
 
 Sir : — 1 had the honor to hold a short interview with j^ou on 
 14th instant, informal and unofficial. Having previously been 
 informed that you desired that whatever was official should be. 
 
29 
 
 on both sides, conducted by written commnni cations, I did not 
 at that time present my credentials, but verbally informed you 
 that I bore a letter from the Governor of South Carolina in 
 regard to the occupation of Fort Sumter, which I Avould deliver 
 the next day under cover of a written communication from 
 myself. The next daj"-, before such communication could be 
 made, I was waited upon b}* a Senator fx'om Alabama, Avho 
 stated that he came on tbc part of all the tSenators then in 
 Washington from the States wbich bad already seceded from 
 the United States, or would certainly have done so before the 
 1st day of P^'ebrnary next. The Senator from Alabama urged, 
 tliat, be and they were interested in the subject of my mission, 
 in almost an equal degree with the authorities of South Caro- 
 lina. He said, that, hostilities, commenced between South Car- 
 olina and your CTOvernmcnt, would necessarily involve the 
 States represented by tbemselvcs in civil strife, and fearing 
 that the action of South Carolina might complicate the rela- 
 tions of your Government to the seceded and seceding States, 
 and, thereby, interfere with a peaceful solution of existing 
 diflficulties, these Senators requested that I would withhold my 
 message to yourself until a consultation among themselves 
 could be had. To this I agreed, and the result of the consulta- 
 tion was the letter of these Senators addressed to me, dated 
 15th January, a copy of which is in 3-our possession. To this 
 letter I replied on the 17th, and a copy of that repl}' is likewise 
 in your possession. This correspondence, as I am informed, 
 was made the subject of a communication from Senators Fitz- 
 patrick, Mallory, and Slidell, addressed to you, and your atten- 
 tion called to the contents. These gentlemen received on the 
 22d day of January, a reply to their application, conveyed in 
 a letter addressed to them, dated 22d, signed by the Hon. J. 
 HOLT, Secretary of War, ad interim. Of this letter, 3"0u, of 
 course, have a copy. This letter from Mr. Holt was communi- 
 cated to me under the cover of a letter fronx all the vSenators of 
 the seceded and seceding States, who still remainod in AYash- 
 ington ; and of this letter, too, I am informed, you have been 
 furnished Avith a copy. 
 
 This reply of 3'ours through the Secretary of War, ad interim, 
 to the application made by the Senators, was entirely unsatis- 
 factory to me. It appeared to me to be not only a rejection, 
 in advance, of the main proposition made by these Senators, 
 
30 
 
 to wit : that " an arrangement slionld be agreed on between 
 the authorities of South Carolina and jour Government, at 
 least until the 15th February next, by which time South Car- 
 olina and the States represented by the Senators might, in 
 Convention, devise a wise, jusi, and peaceable solution of exist- 
 ing difficulties;" "in the meantime," they say, "we think, (that 
 is, these Senators,) that your State (South Carolina) should 
 suffer Major Anderson to obtain necessary supplies of food, 
 fuel or water, and enjoy free communication by post or spe- 
 cial messenger with the President, upon the understanding 
 that the President will not send him reinforcements during 
 the same period;" but, besides this rejection of the main prop- 
 osition, there was in Mr. Holt's letter, a distinct refusal to make 
 any stipulation on the subject of reinforcement, even for the 
 short time that might be required to communicate with my 
 Grovernment. 
 
 This reply to the Senatoi's was, as I have stated, altogether 
 unsatisfactory to me, and I felt sure that it would be so to the 
 authorities whom I re2)resented. It was not, however, ad- 
 dressed to me, or to the authorities of South Cai'olina ; and, as 
 South Carolina had addressed nothing to your Grovernment, and 
 had asked nothing at your hands, I looked not to Mr. Holt's 
 letter, but to the note addressed to me by the Senators of the 
 seceded and seceding States. I had consented to withhold my 
 message at their instance, provided they could get assurances 
 satisfactory to them., that no reinforcements would be sent to 
 Fort Sumter in the interval, and that the peace should not be 
 disturbed by any act of hostility. The Senators expressed 
 in their note to me of the 23d inst., their " entire confidence 
 that no reinforcements will be sent to Fort Sumter, nor will the 
 public peace be disturbed within the period requisite for full 
 communication between you (myself) and your (my) Grovern- 
 ment," and renewed their request that I would withhold the 
 communication with which I stood charged, and await further 
 instructions. This 1 have done. The further instructions 
 arrived on the 30th inst., and bear date the 26th. I now have 
 the honor to make to you my first communication as Special 
 Envoy from the Government of South Carolina. You will find 
 enclosed the original communication to the President of the 
 United States from the Governor of South Carolina, with 
 which I was charged in Charleston on the 12th day of January, 
 
31 
 
 instant, the day on which it boars date. I am now instructed 
 by the Governor of South Carolina to say, that " his opinion as 
 to the propriety of the demand which is contained in this letter 
 has not only been confirmed by the circumstances which your 
 (my) mission has developed, but is now increased to a convic- 
 tion of its necessity. The safety of the State requires that the 
 position of the President sliould be distinctly understood. The 
 safety of all seceding States requires it as much as the safety 
 of South Carolina. If it be so, that Fort Sumter is held as 
 ■property, then as propei'ty, the rights, whatever they may be, of 
 the United States, can be ascertained, and for the satisfaction 
 of these rights the pledge of the State of South Cai'olina you 
 are (I am) authorized to give." " If Fort Sumter is not held 
 as property, it is held," say my instructions, " as a military 
 post, and such a post within the limits of South Carolina can- 
 not be tolerated." 
 
 You will perceive that it is upon the presumption that it is 
 solely as property that you continue to hold Fort Sumter, that 
 I have been selected for the performance of the duty upon 
 which I have entered. I do not come as a military man to 
 demand the surrender of a fortress, but as the legal officer of 
 the State, its Attorney General, to claim for the State the exer- 
 cise of its undoubted right of eminent domain, and to pledge 
 the Slate to make good all injury to the rights of property 
 which may arise from the exercise of the claim. 
 
 South Carolina, as a separate, indej^endent sovereignty, 
 assumes the right to take into her possession everything Avithin 
 her limits essential to maintain her honor or her safety, irre- 
 spective of the question of property, subject only to the moral 
 dut}' requiring that compensation should be made to the owner. 
 This right she cannot permit to be drawn into discussion. As 
 to compensation for any property, whether of an individual or 
 a Government, which she may deem it necessary for her honor 
 or safety to take into her possession, her past history gives 
 ample guaranty that it will be made, upon a fair accounting, 
 to the last dollar. The proposition now is, that her law officer 
 should, under authority of the Governor and his Council, dis- 
 tinctly pledge the faith of South Carolina to make such com- 
 pensation in regard to Fort Sumter, and its appurtenances and 
 contents, to the full extent of the money value of the property 
 
32 
 
 of the United States, delivered over to the authorities of South 
 Carolina, bj" j^our command. 
 
 I will not suppose that a pledge like this can be considered 
 insufficient security. Is not the money value of the property 
 of the United States in this fort, situated where it cannot be 
 made available to the United States for any one purpose for 
 which it was originally constructed, worth more to the United 
 States than the property itself? AVhy, then, as property, insist 
 on holding it by an armed garrison ? Yet such has been the 
 ground upon which you have invariably placed your occupancy 
 of this fort by troops ; beginning, prospectively, with your 
 annual Message of the 4th December ; again in your special 
 Message of the 9th January, and still more emphatically in 
 your Message of the 28th January. The same position is set 
 forth in your reply to the Senators, through the Secretary of 
 War, ad interim. It is there virtually conceded that Fort Sum- 
 ter '' is held merely as property of the United States, which 
 you deem it your duty to protect and preserve." 
 
 Again, it is submitted that the continuance of an armed pos- 
 session actually jeopards the pi'opertj^ you desire to protect. 
 It is impossible but that such a possession, if continued long 
 enough, must lead to collision. Xo people not completely 
 abject and pusillanimous, could submit, indefinitely, to the 
 armed occupation of a fortress in the midst of the harbor of 
 its principal city, and commanding the ingress and egress of 
 every ship that enters the port ; the daily ferry boats that ply 
 upon the waters, moving but at the sufferance of aliens. An 
 attack upon this fort would scarcely improve it as property, 
 whatever the result, and, if captured, it would no longer be the 
 subject of account. 
 
 To protect Fort Sumter, merely as property, it is submitted 
 that an armed occupancy is not only unnecessary, but that it 
 is manifestl}' the worst possible means which can be resorted 
 to for such an object. 
 
 Your reply to the Senators, through Mr. Holt, declares it to 
 be your sole object " to act strictly on the defensive, and to 
 authorize no movement against South Carolina unless justified 
 by a hostile movement on their part," yet, in reply to the pro- 
 position of the Senators that no reinforcements should be sent 
 to Fort Sumter, provided South Carolina agrees that during 
 the same period no attack should be made, you say : " It is 
 
33 
 
 impossible for me (your Secretary) to give you (the Senators) 
 any such assurance," that it " would be a manifest violation of 
 his (your) duty to place himself (yourself) under engagements 
 that he (3'ou) would not perform the duty either for an indefi- 
 nite or a limited j^eriod." 
 
 In your Message of the 28th inst., in expressing yourself in 
 regard to a similar 2:»i"oposition, you say: ''However strong 
 may be mj^ desire to enter into such an agreement, I am con- 
 vinced that I do not possess the power. Congress, and Con- 
 gress alone, under the war-making power, can exercise the dis- 
 cretion of agreeing to abstain 'from any and all acts calculated 
 to produce a collision of arms' between this and other govern- 
 ments. It would, therefore, be a usurpation for the Executive 
 to attempt to restrain their hands by an agreement in regard 
 to matters over which he has no Constitutional control. If he 
 were thus to act, they might pass laws which he should be 
 bound to obey, though in conflict with his agreement." 'ihe 
 jjroposition, it is suggested, was addressed to you under the 
 laws as they now are, and was not intended to refer to a new 
 condition of things arising under new legislation. It was 
 addressed to the Executive discretion, acting under existing 
 laws. If Congress should, under the war-making power, or 
 in any other way, legislate in a manner to affect the peace of 
 South Carolina, her interests or her rights, it would not be 
 accomplished in secret. South Carolina Avould have timel}* 
 notice, and she would, I trust, endeavor to meet the emer- 
 gency. 
 
 It is added in the letter of Mr. Holt, that "at the present 
 moment it is not deemed necessary to reinforce Major Ander- 
 son, because he makes no such request, and feels quite secure 
 in his position. But should his safety require it, every effort 
 will be made to suppl}* reinforcements." This Avould seem 
 to ignore the other branch of the proposition made by the Sen- 
 ators, viz : that no attack Avas to be made on Fort Sumter dur- 
 ing the period suggested, and that Major Anderson should en- 
 joy the facilities of communication, &c., &;c. 
 
 I advert to this point, however, for the purpose of saying 
 
 that to send reinforcements to Fort Sumter could not serve as a 
 
 means of protectiiuj und preserving PEOPEETY, for, as must be 
 
 known to your Government, it would inevitably lead to imme- 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 diate hostilities, in which property on all sides would neces- 
 sarily sutfer. 
 
 South Carolina has every disposition to preserve the public 
 peace, and feels, I am sure, in full force, those high, "Chris- 
 tian and moral duties" i*eferred to by your Secretary, and it 
 is submitted that on her part there is scarcely any considera- 
 tion of mere property, apart from honor and safety, which 
 could induce her to do aught to jeopard that peace, still less to 
 inaugurate a protracted and bloody civil war. She rests her 
 position on something higher than mere property. It is a con- 
 sideration of her own dignity as a sovereign, and the safety of 
 her people, which prompts her to demand that this pi'operty 
 should not longer be used as a military post by a Government 
 she no longer acknowledges. She feels this to be an impera- 
 tive duty. It has, in fact, become an absolute necessity of 
 her condition. 
 
 Repudiating, as you do, the idea of coercion, avowing peace- 
 ful intentions and expressing a patriot's hoi'ror for civil war 
 and bloody strife among those who once were brethren, it 
 is hoped that on further considei'ation you will not, on a 
 mere question of property, refuse the reasonable demand of 
 South Carolina, which honor and necessity alike compel her to 
 vindicate. Should yon disappoint this hope, the responsibility 
 for the result surely does not rest with her. If the evils of war 
 are to bo encountered, especiall}' the calamities of civil war, an 
 elevated statesmanship would seem to require that it should be 
 accepted as the unavoidable alternative of something still more 
 disastrous, such as national dishonor or measures materially 
 affecting the safety or permanent interests of a people — tliat it 
 should be a choice deliberately made, and entered upon as war, 
 and of set purpose. But that war should be the incident or 
 accident, attendant on a policy professedly peaceful, and not 
 required to effect the object which is avowed as the only end 
 intended, can only be excused when there has been no warning 
 given as to the consequences. 
 
 I am further instructed to say, that South Carolina cannot, 
 by her silence, appear to acquiesce in the imputation that she 
 was guilty of an act of unprovoked aggression in firing on the 
 Star of the West. Though an unarmed vessel, she Avas filled 
 with armed men entering her territory against her will, with 
 the jDurpose of reinforcing a garrison, held, within her limits, 
 
35 
 
 against her protest. She forbears to recriminate l\v discussing 
 the question of the propriety of attempting such a reinforce- 
 ment at all, as ■well as of the disguised and secret manner in 
 which it was intended to be effected. And on this occasion she 
 will say nothing as to the manner in which Fort Sumter was 
 taken into the possession of its present occujnints. 
 
 The interposition of the Senators who have addressed you, 
 was a circumstance uiiexpocted l>v my (Tovornment. and unso- 
 licited certainly by me. The Ciovernor, while he appreciates 
 the high and generous motives by which the}* were prompted, 
 and while he fully approves the delay which, in deference to 
 them, has taken place in the presentation of tliis demand, feels 
 that it cannot longer ho withheld. 
 
 I conclude with an extract from the instructions just received 
 by me from the Government of South Carolina : 
 
 " The letter of the President, through Mr. Holt, may be re- 
 ceived as the reply to the question 3-ou were instructed to ask, 
 as to his assertion of his right to send reinforcements to Fort 
 Sumter. You were instructed to say to him if he asserted that 
 right, that the State of South Carolina regarded such a right 
 when asserted, or with an attempt at its exercise, as a declara- 
 tion of war. 
 
 " If the President intends it shall not be so understood, it is 
 proper to avoid any misconception hereafter, that he should be 
 inlbrined of the manner in wliicli the Governor will feel bound 
 to regard it. 
 
 " If the President, when you have stated the reasons which 
 prompt the Governor in making the demand for the delivery of 
 Sumter, shall refuse to deliver the fort upon the pledge j^ou 
 have been authorized to make, you will communicate that 
 refusal M'ithout delay to the Governor. If the President shall 
 not be prepared to give you an immediate answer, you will 
 communicate to him that his answer may be transmitted within 
 a reasonable time to the (xovcrnor at this place, (Charleston, 
 South Carolina.) 
 
 " The Governor does not consider it necessary that yoii (I) 
 should remain longer in Washington than is necessary to exe- 
 cute this, the closing duty of your (my) mission, in the manner 
 now indicated to you (me.) As soon as the Governor shall 
 receive from you information that you have closed your mis- 
 
36 
 
 sion, and the reply, whatever it may be, of the President, ho 
 will consider the conduct Avhich may be necessary on his part." 
 Allow me to request that 3'ou would, as soon as possible, 
 inform me whether, under these instructions. I need await your 
 answer in Washington ; and if not, I Avould be pleased to con- 
 vey from you to my Government, information as to the time 
 when an answer may be expected in Charleston. 
 With hio-h consideration, 
 
 I am, very respecttull}^, 
 
 ISAAC W. HAYNE, 
 
 Special Envoy. 
 
 No. 16. 
 
 [letter of MR. HOLT TO MR. HAYNE.] 
 
 War Department, February 6, 1801. 
 
 Sir : The President of the United States has received your 
 letter of the 81st ult., and has charged me with the duty of 
 replying thereto. 
 
 In the communication addressed to the President by Gov- 
 ernor Pickens, under date of the 12th of January, and which 
 accompanies yours now before me, his Excellenc}^ says : *< I 
 have determined to send to you the Hon. I. W. Hayne, the 
 Attorney General of the State of South Carolina, and have 
 instructed him to demand the surrender of Fort Sumter, in the 
 harbor of Charleston, to the constituted authorities of the 
 State of South Carolina. The demand I have made of Major 
 Anderson, and which 1 now make of you, is suggested because 
 of my earnest desire to avoid the bloodshed which a persist- 
 ence in your attempt to retain the possession of that Fort will 
 cause, and which will be unavailing to secure to you that pos- 
 session, but induce a calamity most deeply to be deplored." 
 The character of the demand thus authorized to be made, 
 appears under the intiuence, I presume, of the cori*espondence 
 with the Senators to which you refer, to have been modified 
 b}^ subsequent instructions of his Excellency, dated the 26th, 
 and received by yourself on the 30th of January, in which he 
 says : " If it be so that Fort Sumter is held as property, then, 
 
37 
 
 as property, the ri2;lits. whatever they may be, of the United 
 States, can be ascertained, and for the satisfaction of these 
 rights, the pledge of the State of South Carolina, you are 
 authorized to give." The full scope and pi'ecise purport of 
 your instructions, as thus modified, you have expressed in the 
 following words : '• I do not come as a military man to demand 
 the surrender of a fortress, but as the legal officer of the State, 
 its Attorney General, to claim for the State the exercise of 
 its undoubted right of eminent domain, and to pledge the State 
 to make good all injury to the rights of property which arise 
 from the exercise of the claim." And lest this explicit lan- 
 guage should not sufficiently define your position, you add : 
 " The proposition now is that her (South Carolina's) law officer 
 should, under authority of the Governor and his Council, dis- 
 tinctly pledge the faith of South Carolina to make such com- 
 pensation, in reii-ard to Fort Sumter, and its appurtenances and 
 contents, to the full extent of the money value of the property 
 of the United States, delivered over to the authorities of South 
 Carolina by your command." You then adopt his Excellency's 
 train of thought upon the subject, so far as to suggest that the 
 possession of Fort Sumter by the United States, '' if continued 
 long enough, must lead to collision," and that "an attack upon 
 it would scarcely improve it as property, whatever the result, 
 and if captured, it would no longer be the subject of account." 
 The proposal, then, now presented to the President, is simply 
 an offer on the part of South" Carolina to buy Fort Sumter and 
 contents, as property of the United States, sustained b}" a 
 declaration, in eftect, that, if she is not permitted to make the 
 purchase, she will seize the fort b}' force of amis. As the 
 initiation of a negotiation for the transfer of property between 
 friendly governments, this proposal impresses the President as 
 having assumed a most unusual form. He has, however, inves- 
 tigated the claim on which it professes to be based, apart from 
 the declaration that accompanies il. And it may be here 
 remarked that much stress has been hiid upon the employment 
 of the words "property" and "public propei-ty," by the Presi- 
 dent in his several messages. These are the most comprehen- 
 sive terms which can be used in such a connection, and, surely, 
 when referring to a fort, or any other ])ublic establishment, 
 thc}^ embrace the entire and undivided interest of the Gov- 
 ernment therein. The title of the United States to Fort 
 
38 
 
 Sumter is complete and incontestable. Were its interest in 
 this propert}' purely proprietary, in the ordinary acceptation 
 of the term, it might proltably be subjected to the exercise of 
 the right of eminent domain ; but it has also political relations 
 to it of a much higher and more imposing character than those 
 of mere proprietorship. It has absolute jurisdiction over the 
 fort, and the soil on which it stands. This jurisdiction con- 
 sists in the authority to " exercise exclusive legislation" over 
 the property referred to, and is, therefore, clearly incompatible 
 with the claim of ''eminent domain," noAV insisted upon by 
 South Carolina. This authority was not derived from any 
 questionable revolutionary source, but from the peaceful ces- 
 sion of South Carolina herself, acting through her Legislature, 
 under a provision of the Constitution of the United States. 
 South Carolina can no more assert the right of eminent domain 
 over Fort Sumter than Maryland can assert it over the District 
 of Columbia. The political and proprietary rights of the 
 United States, in either case, rest upon precisely the same 
 ground. 
 
 The President, however, is relieved from the necessity of 
 further pursuing this inquiry by the ftict that, whatever may 
 be the claim of South Carolina to this fort, he has no Constitu- 
 tional power to cede or surrender it. The property of the 
 United States has been acquired by force of public law, and 
 can only be disposed of under the same solemn sanctions. The 
 President, as the head of the Executive branch of the Govern- 
 ment only, can no more sell and transfer Fort Sumter to South 
 Carolina than he can sell and convey the Capital of the United 
 States to Maryland, or to any other State or individual seeking 
 to possess it. His Excellency the Governor is too ftimiliar 
 with the Constitution of the United States, and with the limit- 
 ations upon the powers of the Chief Magistrate of the Govern- 
 ment it has established, not to appreciate at once the soundness 
 of this legal proposition. 
 
 The question of reinforcing Fort Sumter is so fully disposed 
 of in my letter to Senator Slidell and others, under date of 
 the 22d of January — a copy of which accompanies this — that 
 its discussion will not now be renewed. I then said : " At 
 the present moment, it is not deemed necessary to reinforce 
 Major Anderson, because he makes no such request. Should 
 his safety, however, require reinforcements, every effort will 
 
39 
 
 be made to supply them." I can add nothing to the explieit- 
 ness of this language, which still applies to the existing status. 
 The right to scud forward reinforcements, when in the judg- 
 ment of the President the safety of the garrison requires them, 
 rests on the same unquestionable foundation as the right to 
 occupy the fortress itself. 
 
 In the letter of Senator Davis and others to yourself, under 
 date of the 15th ultimo, they say : " We, therefore, think it 
 especially due from South Carolina to our States — to say noth- 
 ing of other slaveholding States — that she should, as for as she 
 can consistently with her honor, avoid initiating hostilities 
 between her and the United States, or any other power;" and 
 you now yourself give to the Prersident the gratifying assur- 
 ance, that " South Carolina has every disposition to preserve 
 the public peace," and since he is himself sincerel}' animated 
 by the same desire, it would seem that this common and patri- 
 otic object must be of certain attainment. It is difficult, how- 
 ever, to reconcile with this assurance the declaration on 3-our 
 pai't, that "■ it is a consideration of her (South Carolina's) own 
 dignity as a sovereign, and the safety of her people, which 
 prompts her to demand that this property should not longer 
 be used as a military post by a Government she no longer 
 acknowledges," and the thought you so constantly present, 
 that this occupation must lead to a collision of arms and the 
 prevalence of civil war. Fort Sumter is in itself a military 
 post, and nothing else, and it would seem that not so much the 
 ftict as the purpose of its use, should give to it a hostile or a 
 friendly character. This fortress is now held by the Govern- 
 ment of the United States, for the same objects for which it 
 has been held from the completion of its construction. These 
 are national and defensive, and were a public enemy now to 
 attempt the capture of Charleston, or the destruction of the 
 commerce of its harbor, the whole force of the batteries of this 
 fortress would be at once exerted for their protection. How 
 the presence of a small garrison, actuated by such a spirit as 
 this, can compromise the dignity or honor of South Carolina, 
 or become a source of irritation to her people, the President is 
 at a lo.ss to understand. The attitude of that garrison, as has 
 been often declared, is neither menacing, detiant, nor untriend- 
 I3-. It is acting under orders to stand strictly on the defensive, 
 and the Government and people of South Carolina must well 
 
40 
 
 know that they can nevei* receive aught but sheltei' from its 
 guns, unless, in the absence of all provocation, they should 
 assault and seek its destruction. The intent with w^hich ^his 
 fortress is held by the President is truthfully stated by Senator 
 Davis and others, in their letter to yourself of the 15th Janu- 
 ary, in which they say, ''it is not held with any hostile or 
 unfriendly purpose towards your State, but merely as property 
 of the United States, which the President deems it his duty to 
 protect and preserve." 
 
 If the announcement, so rej)eatedly m^ade, of the President's 
 pacific purposes in continuing the occupation of Fort Sumter 
 until the question shall have been settled by competent au- 
 thority, has failed to impress the government of South Caro- 
 lina, the forbearing conduct of his Administration for the last 
 few months, should be received as conclusive evidence of his 
 sincerit}'. And if this forbearance, in view of the cii'cum- 
 stances which have so severely tried it, be not accepted as a 
 satisfactory pledge of the peaceful policy of this administra- 
 tion towards South Carolina, then it may be safely affirmed, 
 that neither language or conduct can possibly furnish one. If, 
 Avith all the multiplied proofs vv'hich exist, of the President's 
 anxiety for peace, and of the earnestness with which he has 
 pursued it, the authorities of that State shall assault Fort 
 Sumter, and peril the lives of the handful of brave and loyal 
 men shut up within its walls, and thus plunge our common 
 country into the horrors of civil war, then upon them and those 
 they represent, must rest the responsibility. 
 Yery respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. HOLT, Secretary of War. 
 
 The Hon. I. W. Hayne, 
 
 Attorney General of State of South Caroliyia. 
 
 P. S. — The President has not, as you have been informed, 
 received a copy of the letter to yourself from the Senators, 
 communicating that of Mr. Holt of the 22d of January. 
 
 J. H. 
 
41 
 No. 17. 
 
 [letter of MR. HAYNE TO MR. HOLT.] 
 
 "Washington, February 7, 1861. 
 To Sis Excellency, James Buchanan, President : 
 
 Sir : — Your vepl3^ through your Secretary of the War De- 
 partment, to my communication of the 3 1st of January, cover- 
 ing the demand of the Governor of South Carolina for the 
 delivery of Port Sumter, Avas received yesterday. Although 
 the ver}- distinct and emphatic refusal of that demand closes 
 my mission, I feel constrained to correct some strange misap- 
 prehensions into which your Secretary has fallen. 
 
 There has been no modification of the demand authorized 
 to be made, and no change Avhatever in its character, and 
 of this you were distinctly informed in my communication 
 of the olst of January. You have the original demand as 
 delivered to me by Grovernor Pickens on the 12th of January, 
 and 3-ou have an extract from the further instructions 
 received by me, expressly stating that he, the Govei'nor, 
 was ^^ confirmed" in the views he entertained on the 12th 
 of January by that very correspondence which you assign 
 as the cause ot the alleged modification. You assume that 
 the character of the deuumtl has been modified, yet you have 
 from me but one communication, and that asserts the con- 
 trary, and you have nothing ti-om the Governer but the very 
 demand itself, which you say has been modified. What pur- 
 pose of peace or conciliation your Seci'etar}- could have had 
 in view in the introduction of this point at all, it is difficult to 
 pei'ceive. 
 
 You next attempt to ridiiuk' the proposal presented " as 
 simply an offer on the part of South Carolina to buy Fort 
 Sumter and contents as property of the United States, sustained 
 hy a declaration in eftect that if she is not permitted to make 
 the purchase, she will seize the fort by force of arms." It 
 is difficult to consider this as other than intentional miscon- 
 Btruetion. You were told that South Carolina, as a separate, 
 independent sovereignty, would not tolerate the occupation, 
 by foreign troops, of a military post within her limits, but, that 
 inasmuch as you, in repeated messages and in your corres- 
 pondence, had '' laid much stress" upon the character of your 
 4 
 
42 
 
 duties, arising from considering forts as property, South Caro- 
 lina, so far as this matter of property, suggested by yourself, 
 was concerned, would make compensation for all injury done 
 the property, in the exercise of her sovereign right of eminent 
 domain. And this your Secretary calls a proposal to purchase ! 
 The idea of jmrchase is entirely inconsistent with the asser- 
 tion of paramount right in the purchaser. I had supposed 
 that an '* interest in property," as such, could be no other than 
 " purely proprietary," and if I confined myself to this narrow 
 view of your " relations" to Fort Sumter, you, at least, should 
 not consider it the subject of criticism. Until your letter of 
 yesterday, you chose so to consider your relations, in every- 
 thing which you have written, or which has been written under 
 your direction. It was precisely because you bad yourself 
 chosen to place your action upon the ground of " purely pro- 
 prietar}^" right that the jiroposal of compensation was made, 
 and you now admit that in this view " it (Fort Sumter) would 
 probably be subjected to the exercise of the right of eminent 
 domain." 
 
 In your letter of yesterday (through your Secretary) you 
 shift your position. You claim that your G-overnment bears to 
 Fort Sumter " political relations of a mu.ch higher and more 
 imposing character." It was no part of my mission to discuss 
 the "political relations" of the United States Government to 
 anything within the territorial limits of South Carolina. South 
 Carolina claims to have dissolved all political connection with 
 3^our Government, and to have desti'oyed all " political rela- 
 tions" of your Government with everything within her borders. 
 She is unquestionably at this moment de facto a separate and 
 independent Government, exercising complete sovereignty over 
 every foot of her soil except Fort Sumter. Now, that the in- 
 tention is avowed to hold this place as a military post, with a 
 claim of exclusive jurisdiction on the part of a Government 
 foreign to South Carolina, it will be for the authorities to deter- 
 mine what is the course proper to be pursued. It is vain to 
 ignore the fact that South Cai'olina is, to yours, a foreign Gov- 
 ernment, and how with this patent fact before you, you can 
 consider the continued occupation of a fort in her harbor a 
 pacific measure, and parcel of a peaceful policy, passes certainly 
 my comprehension. 
 ■ Yoii say fb^t the" fort Was gafri80"ned for our protection, and 
 
43 
 
 is held for the same purposes for which it has been ever held, 
 since its construction. Are you not aware, that to hold, in the 
 territory of a foreign power, a fortress against her will, avow- 
 edly for the purpose of protecting her citizens, is, perhaps, the 
 highest insult which one government can offer to another ? 
 But Fort Sumter was never garrisoned at all until South Caro- 
 lina had dissolved her connection with your Government. This 
 garrison entered it in the night, with every circumstance of 
 secrecy, after spiking the guns, and burning the gun carriages, 
 and cutting down the flag-staff of an adjacent fort, which was 
 then abandoned. South Carolina had not taken Fort Sumter 
 into her own possession, only, because of her misplaced ccifi- 
 dence in a Government which deceived her. A fortress occu- 
 pied under the circumstances above stated, is considered by 
 you, not onl}' as no cause of irritation, but you represent it as 
 held for our protection ! 
 
 Your Excellency's Secretarj^ has indulged in ironj- on a very 
 grave subject. 
 
 As to the responsibilit}' for consequences, if, indeed, it does 
 rest on us, I can assure your Excellency we are happily uncon- 
 scious of the fact. 
 
 I return to Charleston to-morrow. 
 
 With considerations of high regard, 
 I am, very respectfully, 
 
 I. W. HAYXE, Special Envoy. 
 
 The above was returned with the following endorsement in 
 the handwriting of the President : 
 
 " The character of this letter is such that it cannot be re- 
 ceived ; Colonel Hayne having left the city before it was sent 
 to the President, it is returned to him by the first mail. 
 
 %th February, 1861."