April 12, 1861; The New York Herald
The News From Washington.
WASHINGTON, April 11, 1861.
Up to six o’clock P.M., the moment of writing this despatch, no information has been received from Charleston by the Government, of any individual, relative to the military expedition sent to reinforce and supply Fort Sumter.
Those in the secret of the modus operandi, by which an attempt will be made to throw troops and supplies into Fort Sumter, are very confident that it will be done. Either they are awfully mistaken in their calculations, or the repeated assertions that Fort Sumter was not accessible, except to very light draught vessels, and that it would be impossible for such even to pass the secession batteries in safety, have been a tissue of falsehoods.
In view of the known position taken by the secessionists, that they would resist the government if it attempted to supply the garrison with provisions, I have no doubt that the commander of the expedition received instructions not only to supply the fort with provisions, but to reinforce it with troops. I have reason to believe that from three to five hundred men will be put into the place if the federal forces are strong enough to reach it. From all the plans and calculations that I have seen of the different channels in the harbor of Charleston, the depth of water in each channel, the speed and draught of water of the vessels assigned to the difficult duty named, and the actual strength of the various batteries on Morris, James and Sullivan’s island, and the comparatively unskilful and impetuous directors of the several secessionists’ batteries, with the fact that the powerful engines of death at Fort Sumter will be engineered by the most skilful and experience army officers, whose coolness and bravery won undying laurels from them in Mexico, I cannot but come to the conclusion, in view of these facts, together with other important ones that I am not at liberty to disclose, that success will attend the federal expedition, and the policy of the administration to , occupy and possess, the forts, will become a fixed fact.
If the secessionists open fire upon the government vessels, and a battle ensues, it is not expected that anything reliable will be received by telegraph, inasmuch as the wires are controlled at Charleston by the secessionists. The only reliable information that the government expects will be received through other sources.
It is believed here, at this hour, that the government vessels must have arrived, and that firing has commenced, if it is to commence at all. The silence of the wires is no evidence of peace.
The feverish anxiety for information from the South, in which everybody has lived here for some days, increases as the time of the appearance of the relief fleet in the Charleston harbor draws nearer. But little was, however, furnished by the telegraph to satisfy the general morbid appetite for war news, and hence the public fed mostly on blood stirring rumors of the most exaggerate description.
There is a settled belief in administration circles that matters will come to a head tomorrow. Men of the highest political standing, who are in constant and intimate communication with the President and the heads of departments, have insisted today that there will be no fighting about Fort Sumter, but decline giving their reasons. The President, wholly realizing the momentousness of the hour, shows a calmness of spirit that affords a striking contrast to the universal and intense excitement around him. He is animated with the conviction that he has done nothing but his duty, and is prepared to take the consequences. The mettle of the friends of the administration is increasing. They lament war, but are ready for it.
No information concerning the arrival of the federal fleet at Charleston has been received here up to eleven o tonight. The belief in administration circles is that the supply vessels have arrived at Charleston, but that the secessionists refuse to allow the fact to be telegraphed. Great anxiety is manifested here to hear from Charleston.
Capt. Talbot has not yet returned to Washington, which is a subject of surprise to many.