The Secretary of State strolled leisurely5 into the executive office more careless in dress than usual, the knot of his cravat6 under his left ear, a huge lighted cigar in his hand. He handed the President a folded sheet of official paper, bowed carelessly and retired7.
He had drawn8 up his proclamation under the title:
SOME THOUGHTS FOR THE PRESIDENT'S CONSIDERATION.
In this remarkable9 document he proposed to assume the Dictatorship and outlined his policy as director of the Nation's affairs.
He would immediately provoke war with Great Britain, Russia, Spain and France!
The dark-visaged giant adjusted his glasses and read this paper with a smile of incredulous amazement10. He wiped his glasses and read it again. And then without consultation11 with a single human being, and without a moment's hesitation12 he wrote a brief reply to the great man and his generous offer. There was no bluster13, no wrath14, no demand for an apology to his insulted dignity, but in the simplest and friendliest and most direct language he informed his Secretary that if a dictator were needed to save the country he would undertake the dangerous and difficult job himself inasmuch as he had been called by the people to be their Commander-in-Chief, and that he expected the co?peration, advice and support of all the members of his Cabinet.
He did not even refer to the wild scheme of plunging15 the country into war with two-thirds of the civilized16 world. The bare announcement of such a suggestion would have driven the Secretary from public life. The quiet man who presided over the turbulent Cabinet never hinted to one of its members that such a document had reached his hands.
But as the shades of night fell over the Capitol on that first day of April, 1861, there was one distinguished17 statesman within the city who knew that a real man had been elected President and that he was going to wield18 the power placed in his hands without a tremor19 of fear or an instant's hesitation.
It took many months for other members of his Cabinet to learn this—but there was no more trouble with his Secretary of State. He became at once his loyal, earnest and faithful counsellor.
On April the 6th, the fleet was sent to sea under sealed orders to relieve Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. The President had been loath20 to commit the act which must inevitably21 provoke war—unless the whole movement of Secession in the South was one of political bluff22. The highest military authority of the country had advised him that the fort could not be held by any force at present visible, and that its evacuation was inevitable23 in any event.
His Cabinet, with two exceptions, were against any attempt to relieve it. The sentiment of the people of the North was bitterly opposed to war on the South.
On April the 7th, the fleet was at sea on its way to the Southern coast, its guns shotted, its great battle flags streaming in the wind.
In accordance with the amenities24 of war the President notified General Beauregard, Commander of the Southern forces in Charleston Harbor, that he had sent his fleet to put provisions into Sumter, but not at present to put in men, arms or ammunition25, unless the fort should be attacked.
On the night this message was dispatched Roger A. Pryor, of Virginia, made a speech in Charleston, from the balcony of the Mills Hotel to practically the entire white population of the city. Its message was fierce, direct, electric. It was summed up in a single sentence:
"Strike the first armed blow in defense26 of Southern rights and within one hour by Shrewsbury clock, old Virginia will stand, her battle flags flying, by your side!"
On the morning of the 11th General Beauregard sent Pryor as a special messenger to Major Anderson demanding the surrender of Fort Sumter, and on his refusal, which was a matter of course, instructed him to go at once to the nearest battery and order its Commander to open fire.
The formalities at Sumter quickly ended, Pryor repaired to Battery Johnson, met the young Captain of artillery27 in command and presented his order.
With a shout the Captain threw his arms around the messenger and with streaming eyes cried:
"Your wonderful speech last night made this glorious thing possible! You shall have the immortal28 honor of firing the first gun!"
And then a strange revulsion of fooling—or was it a flash of foreboding from the hell-lit, battle-scorched future! The orator29 hesitated and turned pale. It was an honor he could not now decline and yet he instinctively30 shrank from it.
He mopped the perspiration31 from his brow and looked about in a helpless way. His eye suddenly rested on a grey-haired, stalwart sentinel passing with quick firm tread. He recognized him immediately as a distinguished fellow Virginian, a man of large wealth and uncompromising opinions on Southern rights.
When Virginia had refused to secede32, he cursed his countrymen as a set of hesitating cowards, left the State and moved to South Carolina. He had volunteered among the first and carried a musket33 as a private soldier in spite of his snow-white hairs.
Pryor turned to the Commandant:
"I appreciate, sir, the honor you would do me, but I could not think of taking it from one more worthy34 than myself. There is the man whose devotion to our cause is greater than mine."
He introduced Edmund Ruffin and gave a brief outline of his career. The boyish Commandant faced him:
"Will you accept the honor of firing the first shot, sir?"
The square jaw35 closed with a snap:
"By God, I will!"
The old man seized the lanyard and waited for the Captain and messenger to reach the front to witness the effect of the shot.
They had scarcely cleared the enclosure when the first gun of actual civil war thundered its fateful message across the still waters of the beautiful Southern harbor.
They watched the great screaming shell rise into the sky, curve downward and burst with sullen36 roar squarely over the doomed37 fort.
The deed was done!
Instantly came the answering cry of fierce, ungovernable wrath from the millions of the North. The four remaining Southern States wheeled into line, flung their battle flags into the sky, and the bloodiest38 war in the history of the world had begun.
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1
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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nominal
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| adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的 | |
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nominally
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| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
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leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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cravat
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| n.领巾，领结；v.使穿有领结的服装，使结领结 | |
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7
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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8
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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bluster
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| v.猛刮；怒冲冲的说；n.吓唬，怒号；狂风声 | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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wield
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| vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等) | |
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tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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loath
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| adj.不愿意的；勉强的 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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amenities
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| n.令人愉快的事物；礼仪；礼节；便利设施；礼仪( amenity的名词复数 )；便利设施；（环境等的）舒适；（性情等的）愉快 | |
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ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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orator
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| n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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secede
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| v.退出，脱离 | |
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33
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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34
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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bloodiest
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| adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的 | |
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