The chap­ter titled “Relief” unfolds in the wake of Inau­gu­ra­tion Day, a day pre­vi­ous­ly fraught with ten­sion and anx­i­ety. Now that March 4 has passed with­out inci­dent, a sense of relief per­me­ates the atmos­phere. Cor­re­spon­dence between Frances and William Seward reveals both per­son­al and polit­i­cal con­cerns. Frances writes from freez­ing Auburn, New York, address­ing the health of a fam­i­ly friend, Ethan War­den, whose ill­ness she attrib­ut­es to anx­i­ety over the inau­gu­ra­tion. Despite the grim cir­cum­stances, she express­es hope for William, acknowl­edg­ing the dif­fi­cult chal­lenges he faces in his new role.

William’s response high­lights the imme­di­ate pres­sures of his office in Wash­ing­ton. He details long hours spent man­ag­ing a flood of office seek­ers seek­ing patron­age appoint­ments, with his son Fred­er­ick assist­ing him. Despite hav­ing Fred­er­ick on his team, William grap­ples with the enor­mi­ty of the nation­al cri­sis, view­ing him­self as a piv­otal fig­ure in the new gov­ern­ment. He reveals his phys­i­cal and men­tal strain, men­tion­ing a recent break­down and the need for med­ical care. The risks posed by Fort Sumter loom large in his let­ters, indi­cat­ing an impend­ing con­fronta­tion that could test the nation’s resolve.

Amidst polit­i­cal tur­moil, Frances express­es alarm at William’s con­di­tion and prompt­ly offers to trav­el to Wash­ing­ton. In her anx­ious com­mu­ni­ca­tions, she implores Fred­er­ick to keep her informed about any devel­op­ments regard­ing her hus­band’s health. Mean­while, in Charleston, Edmund Ruffin’s expe­ri­ence recounts a mix of antic­i­pa­tion and bore­dom as he waits for war to break out. He vis­its Con­fed­er­ate-held Fort Moul­trie, not­ing the mil­i­tary prepa­ra­tions but grow­ing increas­ing­ly impa­tient for action. A wave of rumors about Lin­col­n’s orders for fort sur­ren­der fuels his desire for con­flict, as he per­ceives the unfold­ing sit­u­a­tion as crit­i­cal for ral­ly­ing sup­port for the Con­fed­er­a­cy.

Ruffin’s inter­ac­tions in Charleston reflect a blend of hope and curios­i­ty regard­ing the unfold­ing war dynam­ics. He nav­i­gates a land­scape filled with ten­sion yet marked by moments of social engage­ment, fur­ther empha­siz­ing the pecu­liar calm before the storm of war. The chap­ter ends with Ruffin’s deter­mi­na­tion to invig­o­rate enthu­si­asm for seces­sion, high­light­ing the pre­vail­ing uncer­tain­ties of the time.