The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

by Erik Larson

On March 27 he sent a sixteen-page report to Lincoln. One paragraph stood out: “From these sources,” Hurlbut wrote, “I have no hesitation in reporting as unquestionable—that Separate Nationality is a fixed fact, that there is an unanimity of sentiment which is to my mind astonishing—that there is no attachment to the Union.” He added, “The Sentiment of National Patriotism always feeble in Carolina, has been Extinguished and overridden by the acknowledged doctrine of the paramount allegiance to the State.” Hurlbut quoted none of his sources, not even Petigru, but did offer his own opinion on a wide range of associated points, as well as his conclusion “that this whole matter of Secession could have been stopped in the bud, by prompt and gallant action on the part of the late administration.” But now, he warned, any action by Lincoln to enforce federal law in the seceded states would result in war. “I cannot close without repeating to the President, that this is a time to expect and be prepared for the worst.”