1850 American Gold Tycoon

Chapter 632 Fort Sumter Crisis

Lincoln himself was more inclined to stick to Fort Sumter.

He considered the significance of Fort Sumter to the North more from a political perspective.

Since the results of the presidential election came out last year, military facilities in the South have fallen into the hands of southern states one after another.

Fort Sumter is currently the only fortress in the South that is still under the control of the federal government and has great military significance.

This fortress has great political value for the federal government, especially since it is located in South Carolina, where anti-Northern sentiment has always been the highest.

Furthermore, the North also needs Fort Sumter to boost the morale of the Northern military and civilians.

In short, Fort Sumter is more of an integrity issue than a military issue.

If Fort Sumter is abandoned without firing a shot, it is undoubtedly a proactive show of weakness to the South. This will not only give the South an illusion that the North is weak and can be bullied, but Lincoln, as president, himself will not be able to explain to the people of the North.

At this time, the Yankees did not have the courage to defend the so-called federal government, and the cowardly Yankees did not dare to face the brave Southerners. The rumors were rampant in the South.

Timely support for Fort Sumter could not only show the fearless attitude of the Northerners to the South and show the North's determination to maintain the integrity of the country, but also make these rumors circulated in the South self-defeating.

"Fort Sumter must be defended, we can't give up Fort Sumter!" After careful consideration, Lincoln set the tone for this matter and expressed his attitude to the cabinet members.

"But it cannot be defended according to Lieutenant Colonel Anderson's method, and Fort Sumter cannot accommodate more than 20,000 troops. If you have any good ideas, please speak freely."

Fort Sumter must be supported, but it cannot be supported according to Lieutenant Colonel Anderson's method. Lincoln asked his cabinet members for advice.

Lincoln also knew that Lieutenant Colonel Anderson's request for 25,000 reinforcements was nothing more than bargaining with the federal government and finding a way out for himself.

"It is a very difficult task to reinforce Fort Sumter. The South Carolinians have already set up cannons along the coast of Fort Sumter." Blair said worriedly.

"This may also be a trap set by the Southerners. They will use Fort Sumter as bait to siege and attack the reinforcements."

"We certainly have the ability to support Sumter, there is no doubt about that. But doing so is likely to directly trigger a full-scale civil war in advance." Seward was also very worried, but Seward's biggest concern was not the gains and losses of a fort or a fort, but the consequences that would be brought to the North after supporting Fort Sumter.

"We and the people of the North are prepared for war, but our finances are not prepared." Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase reminded Lincoln and the cabinet members present not to be swayed by emotions and make careful decisions.

Compared with the South and the West, the North was quite unprepared for the war. The North's inadequate preparation for the war was reflected in all aspects. In addition to inadequate military preparation, the North was also not prepared financially.

Previously, the South and the West contributed more than two-thirds of the federal government's tariff revenue, and were the two most important sources of revenue for the federal government.

Therefore, after the South and the West withdrew from the Union, they had an additional tariff revenue, and their financial situation was getting better and better.

After losing the tariff revenue from cotton in the South and petrochemical products in the West, the federal government's tariff revenue was only one-third of the previous one.

These revenues were barely enough to maintain the normal operation of the federal government, not to mention launching a full-scale war.

Although the industry in the North was large and relatively developed, the factory owners in the North were never major taxpayers of the federal government, but beneficiaries of the federal government's high tariff policy.

"I will find a way to open up new tax sources for fiscal issues," Lincoln said.

"Mr. President, opening up new tax sources is a very sensitive issue. If we are not careful, it may cause our government to fall into turmoil." Chase reminded that if we want to open up new tax sources, we can only take action against the factory owners in the North.

These people are not only the beneficiaries of the government's high tariff policy, but also the most important ruling foundation of their Republican Party.

"I know that, too." Lincoln's tone revealed a bit of helplessness, but he still said firmly, "Rights and obligations are equal. There is no such thing as enjoying rights without fulfilling obligations. Can we still rely on the tariffs created by southern cotton and western petrochemical products to defend our United States?"

The fiscal problem of the federal government is Lincoln's most worrying problem at present. Lincoln's concern about the fiscal problem of the federal government is far greater than the military threats from the South and the West. The destructive power caused by internal crises is far greater than external threats.

Lincoln shifted the topic back to the Fort Sumter crisis. He said: "Fort Sumter must be supported, but it cannot be supported in the way proposed by Lieutenant Colonel Anderson. We cannot send a 25,000-man elite force to South Carolina. Do you have any good ideas?"

"There are ways." Blair thought for a while and said.

"We can use empty tugboats to deliver supplies to Fort Sumter under cover of darkness. My wife's relative, Captain Fox, who previously served in the Navy, proposed to the War Department during the Buchanan administration the idea of ​​using tugboats to deliver building materials to Fort Sumter at night.

However, due to Captain Fox's low position and low influence, the then Secretary of War did not adopt Captain Fox's suggestion. If this suggestion had been adopted at that time, Fort Sumter would have been completed long ago and become a solid fortress with sufficient supplies. "

Speaking of this, Blair looked at Scott intriguingly. The then Secretary of War he mentioned was Scott.

Yes, Fort Sumter, a sea fortress that had been under construction since 1827, was not completed by 1861, and the progress of the project was less than 90%.

Fort Sumter failed to be completed. Of course, there was the difficulty of building a large military fortress at sea, but the obstruction of the South Carolina authorities was the most important factor affecting the progress of the project.

The federal government at that time built Fort Sumter in the name of protecting the Charleston City Channel, but as the relationship between the North and the South deteriorated. The South Carolina authorities realized that the sea fortress under construction would pose a threat to the Charleston Channel, so they began to interfere with the obstruction. The construction of Fort Sumter was disrupted.

The South Carolina government not only stopped the delivery of construction materials to Sumter, but also explicitly prohibited local workers from participating in the construction of the project.

Therefore, this sea fortress, which was built in 1829, has not been fully completed yet, and the armaments on the fortress are also uneven.

Scott had no choice but to suffer. He did not adopt the suggestion of Captain Gustavus Vassar Fox. But this was Buchanan's intention. Buchanan did not want to vent his anger on the South because of a small fortress, so he shelved Fox's proposal, so that during his tenure, the progress of Fort Sumter's construction was delayed.

"Okay, recall Major Fox and let Major Fox submit a practical action report to me immediately! "Lincoln had already smelled the gunpowder in the conversation and made a decision.

He had just thought about this plan carefully. The South had no decent navy except Texas. The federal government's navy had an absolute advantage and controlled the sea.

Although the South's cannons were scattered along the coast of Fort Sumter, the accuracy of these cannons at night would not be ideal.

As long as enough supplies could be delivered to Fort Sumter, with the cooperation of the navy, 2,500 people instead of 25,000 people would be able to maintain control of this sea fortress for a long time.

The cost of this action was acceptable to Lincoln and was within the reach of the federal government at this stage.

Of course, the premise of all this was that the cowardly Lieutenant Colonel Anderson, who surrendered before the battle, could defend Fort Sumter before obtaining external support.

Lincoln had already conceived the idea of ​​changing the commander of Fort Sumter at this time, but he just didn't say it.