The Union, of yesterday, has dispatches from St. Louis to the 25th of March, received by Pony express. No decision had been arrived at, so far as was known to the public, in regard to the evacuation of Fort Sumter. Gen. Scott, and every member of the Cabinet save one, had expressed the opinion that the fort should be abandoned, and Lincoln was holding the matter under advisement. The latest rumor is, that Col. Lamon has been sent to the fort with an order to Major Anderson for its evacuation, in case Col. Lamon shall find, after careful examination, that evacuation is unavoidable. If not, he is not to deliver the order. The Southern troops are concentrating at Pensacola, and Gen. Bragg has notified Lieut. Slemmer that supplies cannot be lauded for Fort Pickens, unless by permit of Jeff. Davis. The Brooklyn, St. Louis, Sabine and Wyandotte are off Pensacola, and the fort can now be reinforced without endangering a collision; but unless this is done immediately, it will soon be invested, and in the same condition that Fort Sumter is in now. There are rumors that Lincoln has sent orders to the men-of-war at Pensacola to land supplies and reinforcements at the fort, but they lack confirmation.
The Nevada Democrat, Nevada, CA
Along with Fort Sumter, Fort Pickens commanded the public’s attention in the days leading up to the commencement of armed conflict. Fort Pickens guarded the entrance to Pensacola harbor and Florida demanded the Union garrison surrender the fort. Lt. Adam Slemmer (West Point, Class of 1850) refused to surrender the fort to Col. William Henry Chase of the Florida militia, who had designed and constructed the fort while an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Slemmer was reinforced and relieved on April 11th, went on to serve in the Corinth campaign, and was wounded at the Battle of Stones River. Fort Pickens was only one of four forts in southern states to remain under Union control for the duration of the war (The others were Fort Taylor and Fort Jefferson in the Florida Keys, and Fort Monroe in Virginia).