UNITED STATES. 



713 



of that month, the gentleman who delivered it inform- 

 ing him that the Secretary of this Commission would 

 call at 12 o'clock, noon, on the next day, for an answer. 

 At the appointed hour, Mr. Pickett did call, and was 

 informed bv the As.-istant Secretary of State that the 

 engagements of the Secretary of State had prevented 

 him from giving the note hU attention. The Assist- 

 ant Secretary of State then asked for the address of 

 Messrs. Crawford and Forsyth, the members of the 

 Commission then present in'this city, took note of the 

 address on a card, and engaged to send whatever reply 

 might be made to their lodgings. Why this was not 

 done it is proper should be here explained. The mem- 

 orandum is dated March 15, and was not delivered 

 until April S. Why was it withheld during the inter- 

 vening twenty-three days ? In the postscript to your 

 memorandum you sav it " was delayed, as was under- 

 stood, with th'eir (Messrs. Forsyth and Crawford's) 

 consent." This is true ; but it is also true that, on the 

 15th of March, Messrs. Forsyth and Crawford were as- 

 sured by a person occupying a high official position in 

 the Government, and who, as they believed, was speak- 

 ing by authority, that Fort Sumter would be evacuated 

 within a very few days, and that no measure changing 

 the existing" status prejudicially to the Confederate 

 States, as respects Fort Pickens, was then contem- 

 plated, and these assurances were subsequently re- 

 peated, with the addition that any contemplated change 

 as respects Pickeus, would be notified to us. On the 

 1st of April we were again informed that there might 

 be an attempt to supply Fort Sumter with provisions, 

 but that Gov. Pickens should have previous notice of 

 this attempt. There was no suggestion of any reen- 

 forcements. The undersigned did not hesitate to be- 

 lieve that these assurances expressed the intentions of 

 the Administration at the time, or, at all events, of 

 prominent members of that Administration. This de- 

 fay was assented to for the express purpose of attain- 

 ing the great end of the mission or the undersigned, 

 to^wit, a pacific solution of existing complications. 

 The inference deducible from the date of your memo- 

 randum, that the undersigned had, of their own voli- 

 tion, and without cause, consented to this long hiatus 

 in the grave du^es with which they were charged, is 

 therefore not consistent with a just exposition of the 

 facts of the case. The intervening twenty-three days 

 were employed in active unofficial efforts, the object 

 of which wa's to smooth the path to a pacific solution, 

 the distinguished personage alluded to cooperating 

 with the undersigned ; and every step of that effort is 

 recorded in writfng, and now in possession of the un- 

 dersigned and of their Government. It was only when 

 all these anxious efforts for peace had been exhausted, 

 and it became clear that Mr. Lincoln had determined 

 to appeal to the sword to reduce the people of the Con- 

 federate States to the will of the section or party whose 

 President he is, that the undersigned resumed the offi- 

 cial negotiation temporarily suspended, and sent their 

 Secretary for a reply to their official note of March 12. 



It is p'roper to add that, during these twenty-three 

 days, two gentlemen of official distinction, as high as 

 that of'the personage hitherto alluded to, aided the un- 

 dersigned as intermediaries in these unofficial negotia- 

 tions for peace. 



The undersigned, Commissioners of the Confederate 

 States of America, having thus made answer to all they 

 deem material in the memorandum filed in the Depart- 

 ment on the l-'th of March last, have the honor to be, 

 JOHN FORSYTH, A. B. ROMAN, 



MARTIN J. CRAWFORD. 



A true copy of the original by one delivered to Mr. 

 F. W. Seward, Assistant Secretary of State, of the 

 United States, at 8 o'clock in the evening of April 9, 

 1861. Attest, J. T. PICKETT, Secretary, &c., &c. 



The answer to this communication, delivered 

 on the next day, was as follows : 



DEPARTMENT or STATE. 1 

 WASHISGTON, April 10, 1561. f 



Messrs. Forsyth, Crawford, and Roman, having been 

 apprised by a memorandum which has been delivered 



to them that the Secretary of State is not at liberty to 

 hold official intercourse w'ith them, will, it is presumed, 

 expect no imtici- from him of the new communication 

 which thev have addressed to him under date of the 

 I' th inst., beyond the simple acknowledgment of the 

 receipt thereof, which he hereby very cheerfully gives. 

 A true copy of the original received bv the Commis- 

 sioners of the" Confederate Slates, this lOtn day of April, 

 1601. Attest, J. T. PICKETT, Secretary, "Ac., Ac. 



A state of uncertainty now existed. Nothing 

 was known except what was seen. 



It was announced in Xew York on Monday 

 morning, April 1, that every thing was dull and 

 uninteresting on Governor's Island, Fort Hamil- 

 ton, Bedloe's Island, and the Brooklyn navy 

 yard. On Wednesday following there was in- 

 tense excitement apparent at all these places. 



During Monday orders were received from 

 "Washington to fit out the United States brig-of- 

 war Perry for sea at once. She was imme- 

 diately hauled alongside the wharf at the navy < 

 yard, hut operations had hardly commenced 

 when the order was countermanded. The 

 Powhatan was then put out of commission, 

 and her crew temporarily transferred to the 

 receiving ship North Carolina. This was no 

 sooner done than they were ordered to Nor- 

 folk. And, on Tuesday, to the astonishment 

 of every one, the Powhatan, notwithstanding 

 the unfavorable report of the engineer, was or- 

 dered to he equipped for a new commission 

 with all the despatch in the pewer of the navy 

 yard force. 



On Governor's Island, too, indications were 

 apparent that troops were about to leave, and 

 it was announced there was not the slightest 

 doubt that on Saturday or Sunday a large force 

 of soldiers would depart for some unknown des- 

 tination. The garrison of Fort Hamilton was 

 paid off Thursday the last move preparatory 

 to marching. Officers were arriving from "Wash- 

 ington, individually, all day, and, carpet-bag in 

 hand, reporting themselves for duty. The village 

 of Fort Hamilton was like a stormed citadel. 

 Troops that had just got their money, having 

 been indulging freely in stimulants, thronged 

 the sidewalks in knots of from five to ten, 

 boisterously discussing the affairs of the nation. 



The bustle and excitement continued at the 

 navy yard and the army depots. Men were 

 at -work all Wednesday night and Thursday 

 night on board the steam-frigate Powhatan. 

 Thursday a large force of laborers employed on 

 her were reenforced by the crew, lately de- 

 tached, who assisted in getting in the various 

 necessaries for a special cruise. 



On Saturday, the 6th, it was again announced 

 that vessels were chartered by the Government 

 as transports, viz.: the Atlantic, Baltic, and 

 Illinois. These vessels would proceed to sea 

 under sealed orders, and their destination could 

 only be conjectured. 



The Atlantic cleared on Friday for Brazos 

 Santiago, (Texas,) and the utmost despatch was 

 made in fitting her out. She was coaled and 

 well provisioned for a long trip, and accommo- 

 dations were furnished for six hundred men and 



