Mr. Lincoln told me of a ship President Buchanan had sent to Fort Sumter in January, 1861 that was fired on and turned back by the South Carolina troops. That ship, The Star of the West, carried two hundred fifty soldiers to help reinforce Major Anderson’s eighty-five men.
Mr. Lincoln was determined to help Anderson and his men, but took a different tact. On the morning of April 4, 1861, President Lincoln gave the order to send provisions to the fort, and inform Governor Pickens that only provisions, not men, were being sent. That way, whatever Governor Pickens did in response would be deemed a provocative action. If the South fired first, they would be blamed to have started the war.
I was not real sure that Mr. Lincoln was not only counting on that, but that may have even been part of his plan. No matter what the South Carolinians did, Mr. Lincoln would have the upper hand.
Before leaving that meeting, Mr. Lincoln told me that I would be accepting my commission as U.S. Federal Marshal on April 12. I would be serving with him his entire four years as president. And that he wouldn’t actually be starting his job as marshal until July 26.
That evening I relaxed for the first time while in Washington City. I sat in the portico of the White House, within shouting distance of my friend the president, and softly strummed a tune on my banjo. I thought perhaps the country was going to soon explode into a war, and that this night was perhaps the last time I could take a quite reprieve in preparation for the days ahead.
W. H. Lamon
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