So, seeing that the people of South Carolina were seizing everything
they could, and finding that the President would send him no help,
he drew off his little force to Fort Sumter which could be more
easily defended.
Again and again Major Anderson asked for more men, and at length
an ordinary little passenger vessel was sent with two hundred and
fifty men. But when the little ship steamed into Charleston harbour
the Southerners fired upon it. And as it had no guns on board or
any means of defence it turned and sped back whence it had come.
Thus the first shots in the Civil War were fired on Jan. 9th, 1861.
__________
Chapter 83 - Lincoln - From Bull Run to Fort Donelson
IN the midst of all this confusion the new President took his seat.
The Southerners were so angry that it was feared that Lincoln would
never be allowed to become President at all, but would be killed on
his way to Washington. Yet he himself felt no fear, and he journeyed
slowly from his home to Washington, stopping at many places, and
making many speeches on the way. Day by day, however, his friends
grew more and more anxious. Again and again they begged him to change
his plans and go to Washington by some other way. But Lincoln would
not listen to their entreaties. At length, however, they became so
insistent that he yielded to them.
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