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| Baltic, used as a transport ship |
As we have discussed before, President Lincoln commissioned Gustavus V. Fox to attempt to execute his plan to resupply Fort Sumter. Therefore he left for New York City to procure ships and arrived there on April 5th, 1861. He hired a passenger steamship Baltic and three smaller tugs. They would rendezvous with Union warships at Fort Sumter. His work was hampered by several of the military officers, who believed that the attempt was hopeless and supplied useless soldiers. Additionally, he was hard-pressed to find ship owners who were willing to risk their ships in the dangerous attempt. He was finally able to depart on April 8th. On the journey they encountered a gale which slowed their progress. As we will see, their arrival was Providentially delayed just enough to be of no service to the fort.
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1896) Source Series 1, Volume 1 p. 248-249
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