Hillsborough Recorder
Sept. 11, 1861
Page 2
FORT HATTERAS
There seems to be
a disposition on the part of our papers and people to underrate the disaster at
Hatteras. Let us imitate the Nutmeg
Chinese by all means. The Fort has been
taken, many hundreds of men have surrendered, valuable officers have become
prisoners, a large amount of powder has been captured, the most important part
of our coast for privateering purposes is in the
hands of the enemy, and the gallant North
State is now liable to
invasion and rapine—still, it is a small matter. It will take 30,000 men to regain the
Fort—but that’s nothing. What do we want
with the Fort?
It was built for fun, evidently; else it would have been perfectly
manned and supplied with abundant ammunition.
Had we been in earnest, some novice would have been taken of the warning
given us by Northern papers. But the
truth is, we didn’t want to hold Hatteras. The sole object in erecting that
fortification was to afford Picayune Butler a chance to retrieve his misfortunes
at Bethel. Unquestionably, there must have been a
determination somewhere, but not in high quarters—to give the Yankees an
opportunity to lower Southern pride and abate Southern conceit. We have been crowing altogether too loudly of
late. It was felt—but not by the
government—that this was not good for us.
Hence shot and shell were permitted to lie at Newbern and reinforcements
were strenuously kept back, until the Fort was captured.
A correspondent of
the Petersburg Express has put himself to the unnecessary trouble of
exonerating Colonel Walter Gwinn from all blame in this matter. The fact is, nobody
is to blame. All admit that the Governor
of North Carolina is innocent. It would
be the height of folly and treason to accuse any member of the Cabinet of
negligence in the premises. We who live
at the seat of Government know too well the superhuman energy, the sleepless
vigilance and the miraculous promptitude of every Department, to entertain for
a moment the shadow of a shade of suspicion of any shortcoming connected with
the Administration. “Blame!” The word is singularly out of place in this
or any other connection. Since the
occurrence of the first railroad accident there has been no use for the word. It ought to be dropped from the English
language. During the last twenty years
thousands of mishaps, some of them of the gravest character, have occurred, and
yet it remains to be proven that any human being was to blame for them. Individuals in private life may possibly be
to blame for this or that; but persons holding office—never! As for eminent officials living hundreds of
miles from the scene of disaster, how can
they be to blame for it! The idea is
absurd.
Picayune Butler can now leave as many men as he pleases in the fort
of North Carolina. Of course, we will whip them. Haven’t we the greatest abundance of armed
militia? There is no occasion for alarm? “Nobody is hurt.” Nothing is in danger. Let every true patriot continue to repose the
most unbounded confidence in the rulers of the Confederacy, and all will be
well, even though Newbern, Washington
and Charleston
should be sacked. A sense of perfect
security, a feeling of entire irresponsibility may result from this unbounded
confidence. If the people think they are
secure, and the Powers that be feel they are irresponsible, what more could any
man desire? Let us perfect our
government in all its parts by a blind and loving reliance. Let us magnify our victories and underrate
our defeats. By all means, let us go on
pooh-poohing the affair at Fort
Hatteras.
--Richmond
Whig--
[Transcribed
by Sharon Strout]
