Crittenden, Stephen A. Douglas, William H. Seward, and others,
labored in the same cause. It is acknowledged by all that a popular
referendum would have brought an overwhelming mandate to let the
"departing sisters go in peace," or to accept the former Southern demand
of a division of the western territory from Kansas to the Pacific along
the line of 36 deg. 30'.

But stiff-backed Republicans like Senator Chandler, of Michigan, Charles
Sumner, and Secretary Chase were unwilling to throw away the results of
a victory constitutionally won, even to avoid a long and bloody war. And
these men brought all the influence they could command to bear upon the
President and his Cabinet during the early days of April. They contended
that every moment of delay increased the likelihood of Southern success,
and they urged that the young Republican party, which was perhaps as
dear to them as the country itself, was losing ground. At last President
Lincoln yielded, and a relief expedition was ordered to Fort Sumter on
April 6, where Major Robert Anderson and his garrison had bravely and
cautiously maintained their difficult situation in the face of an angry
Southern sentiment for nearly four months. This was recognized as a
warlike move; and Secretary Seward was so much opposed to it and, the
Southerners contended, so sacredly bound not to allow its departure,
that he interfered with the expedition, by sending orders, signed by
himself for the President, intended to thwart the move.

Under circumstances so peculiar and delicate it was of the utmost
importance that the Confederate President keep his head. The
responsibility for regaining control of Fort Sumter passed from South
Carolina to the Confederate Government during the early days of
February. Major Anderson, who held the fort with a small Federal
garrison, was a friend of Jefferson Davis, and was keenly alive to the
seriousness of his situation, and while his superiors were in doubt, he
maintained the status of things as they were when the negotiations
began. But the authorities of South Carolina forbade the sending of
fresh supplies of provisions to his men after April 6, and, as there was
but a limited amount on hand, it was only a matter of weeks before he
must evacuate, if neither the North nor the South decided what should be
done. April 15 was the day which he set for giving up his post for the
lack of sustenance. If he moved away peacefully, there would be no war,
and such