"The evacuation of Sumter," he said, "is as much as
the Administration can bear."
Judge Campbell adds: "I concurred in the conclusion that the evacuation
of Sumter involved responsibility, and stated that there could not be
too much caution in the adoption of measures so as not to shock or to
irritate the public sentiment, and that the evacuation of Sumter was
sufficient for the present in that direction. I stated that I would see
the Commissioners, and I would write to Mr. Davis to that effect. I
asked him what I should say as to Sumter and as to Pickens. _He
authorized me to say that, before that letter could reach him_ [Mr.
Davis], _he would learn by telegraph that the order for the evacuation
of Sumter had been made_. He said the condition of Pickens was
satisfactory, and there would be no change made there." The italics in
this extract are my own.
The letter in which this promise was communicated to me has been lost,
but it was given in substantially the terms above stated as authorized
by Mr. Seward--that the order for the evacuation of the fort would be
issued before the letter could reach me. The same assurance was given,
on the same day, to the Commissioners. Judge Campbell tells us that Mr.
Crawford was slow to consent to refrain from pressing the demand for
recognition. "It was only after some discussion and the expression of
some objections that he consented" to do so.
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