It would seem the number sent would have been relatively insignificant considering the ships stayed just outside the harbor during the firing on Fort Sumter. Just curious about the actual numbers, since this ended up being the excuse Jefferson Davis used to fire on the fort
Also did the expedition have authorization to enter the bay, if South Carolina denied access? Publicly Lincoln suggested it - but the evidence seems to be on the contrary (since the ships waited outside of the harbor during the shelling of the fort). Are there any private records documenting correspondence on this?