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

by Erik Larson

Anderson was troubled by Fox’s conclusion that a reinforcement mission could succeed. Fox had gone so far as to point out a location outside the rear wall of the fort that seemed well suited for the landing of troops and supplies. Anderson disagreed. The next day, March 22, he reported Fox’s assessment to the War Department and sought to refute his conclusion. “I have examined the point alluded to by Mr. Fox last night,” he wrote. “A vessel lying there will be under the fire of thirteen guns from Fort Moultrie.” He added that Sumter’s chief engineer, Captain Foster, had told him that even at high tide a vessel with a ten-foot draft seeking to land at the optimal point adjacent to the fort would have to anchor forty feet out in the passage. “The Department can decide what the chances will be of a safe debarkation and unloading at that point under these circumstances.” On arrival in Washington, perhaps to increase the likelihood that his plan would be adopted, Captain Fox hinted that Anderson’s loyalty might be compromised, that his opposition to a reinforcement mission was motivated by his sympathy for the South. Fox later wrote, “I did intend” to provide Anderson with “a complete history of the conditions of things at Washington, and the dilemma Mr. Lincoln was in on account of contrary counsels, but as I found him to be on the other side, politically as well as in military point of view, I refrained.” Captain Fox proved to be a compelling salesman. His confidence was reas...