March 18, 1861 (Monday)

"Mercury down to 20 this morning
with quite a cold wind,
the day closing with a snowstorm.
It has been about as cold
and wintry a day as we have had."

Diary of a Yankee in the Patent Office:  hat tip Daily Chronicles of the American Civil War.  ----weather for the day.


Hat tip The American Civil War:  "Lincoln weighs his options", March 18, 1861.   "We are fortunate in that Lincoln himself left behind an artifact -- a memorandum of his thoughts about Fort Sumter at this particular moment in time."  Click on the link to read the memorandum of his thoughts on the issues facing the Presidency. 

An article by William Moss Wilson, "The 'Foreign War Panacea'" by Disunion--New York Times, March 17, 1861, addresses what happened today in the Dominican Republic.  Spain was handed the country...which was a violation of the Monroe Doctrine.  See how this plays out with Seward and Lincoln.  Again, we see Lincoln stand to his convictions in the face of Seward, his Secretary of State.  Seward had the idea of making war  with an European nation--hoping this would draw in the South and unite the Union.  It would appear Seward had his own mind about how the Union should address a lot of issues, and many were contrary to Lincoln.  This article is a good read...

"'Our domestic dissensions are producing their natural fruits,' the New York Times declared.  'The terror of the American name is gone, and the powers of the Old World are flocking to the feast from which our eagle has hitherto scared them.' 

On the night of March 31, Seward gathered with his trusted advisers...the result of the secret meeting was Seward's strident missive 'Some Thoughts for the President's Consideration' delivered to Lincoln the next morning.  'We are at the end of a month's administration and yet without a policy either domestic or foreign,' the memo began, 'but further delay to adopt and prosecute our polices for both domestic and foreign affairs would not only bring scandal on the Administration, but danger upon the country.' "  Read the link above to see what happens next....

Hat tip Civil War Daily Gazette:  "Lincoln's Pros and Cons of Sumter."  An article on how Lincoln thought through the issues of Fort Sumter...he wrote out a list of pros and cons...  read the link to find what his list included.

Hat tip Seven Score and Ten:  Keziah Brevard's Diary, March 18, 1861. 
Anecdotes about a cold, wet day; freezing, then snowing in the afternoon; worrying about the chickens freezing and the slaves she owns -- doing as they please.