Читать книгу American Civil War For Dummies - Keith D. Dickson - Страница 77

Although certainly justified to retaliate for the attack on the Star of the West, Buchanan discovered two things. First, public support in the North for direct military action was weak, with many differing opinions on what to do next. No politician goes to war without the strong backing of the public. Buchanan, even if he wanted to take action (and he didn’t), had no clear support to do so. Second, with the exception of a few warships, the U.S. government had no armed forces to speak of available to do anything. Total military strength of the U.S. Army in 1860 was about 16,000 officers and enlisted men, who were scattered over the continent in small groups. In fact, Anderson’s garrison of almost 90 men represented 10 percent of the entire U.S. Army strength east of the Mississippi River. These conditions allowed Buchanan to sit quietly until the new president was sworn in.