THE ATTACK ON FORT SUMTER AND THE BEGINNING OF WAR

Abraham Lincoln had to walk a political tightrope upon his inauguration in March of 1861. It was necessary to maintain the authority of the federal government, but at the same time to do nothing that would provoke war with the South. Many of Lincoln’s advisors thought that negotiations could bring at least some of the states that had seceded back into the Union. In his inauguration speech, however, Lincoln stated that force would be used if necessary to preserve the Union.

The skill of Lincoln as president was immediately called upon. In April of 1861, Lincoln sent another ship to supply Fort Sumter. The government of South Carolina was informed that the ship would be arriving and that no troops would land unless the delivery of these supplies was interfered with, Jefferson Davis and the Confederate government saw this as an opportunity to strike against the Union, Confederate guns bombed Fort Sumter for two days, and on April 14 the fort surrendered. Davis was hopeful that early victory would force states in the Upper South to turn to the Confederate cause; Confederates also hoped to obtain British and French assistance. Any thought of compromise between North and South ended with the attack on Fort Sumter.

Three days after the surrender of the fort, Virginia passed a resolution favoring secession. On the same day, Robert E. Lee rejected an offer to command the Union army, resigned from the Union army, and took control of the Confederate army. In the end, Lincoln was able to keep four of the states of the Upper South in the Union (Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware).