South Carolina Forces, April 1861

[johan_steele]

Originally Posted by JohnTaylor

Thanks, Neil, but what South Carolina forces were in the field on December 26th 1860 (when Anderson moved to Sumter) would be the pertinent question. I honestly don't know, but I would guess it was a small number (but I'm sure Tim will chime in with the data if it supports his case).

It was not a small or insignificant number but a number roughly half the size of the Regular US Army (at a time when the ENTIRE standing US Army was only about 16,000 men spread across the country. All easily arrayed against a garrison of how many? It also proves quite conclusively that the CS & SC in particular were arming themsleves and were preparing for something... war maybe? Well prior to the fall of Ft Sumter. It also proves that Davis's call for 100,000 men was not just an idle boast... but well under way.