Correspondence, 1861-01-01 - 1861-01-31

File — Box: 1, Folder: 3

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Folder three contains correspondence from January 1861. The primary correspondence is to and from Jamison and include military application letters and reports on surveys, maintenance, and activity taking place within the forts of Charleston harbor. Some of these letters contain Confederate plans for attacking Fort Sumter, two of which propose poisoning the water and attacking directly by fortified raft. A highlight is a letter from Senator Henry M. Rice of Minnesota to South Carolina senator James Chestnut on South Carolina’s secession and Rice’s opposition to war. Another curious letter included in this folder explores the unique story of a civilian Irish laborer, Patrick Quinn, who was employed and living within Fort Sumter before its bombardment and his brother Thomas who was a member of the South Carolina militia and seeking to have his brother leave the fort.