Page "Abraham Lincoln" Paragraph 47

The commander of Fort Sumter, South Carolina, Major Robert Anderson sent a request for provisions to Washington, and the execution of Lincoln's order to meet that request was seen by the secessionists as an act of war.

On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired on Union troops at Fort Sumter, forcing them to surrender, and began the war.

Historian Allan Nevins argued that the newly inaugurated Lincoln made three miscalculations: underestimating the gravity of the crisis, exaggerating the strength of Unionist sentiment in the South, and not realizing the Southern Unionists were insisting there be no invasion.

William Tecumseh Sherman talked to Lincoln during inauguration week and was " sadly disappointed " at his failure to realize that " the country was sleeping on a volcano " and that the South was preparing for war.

Donald concludes that, " His repeated efforts to avoid collision in the months between inauguration and the firing on Ft. Sumter showed he adhered to his vow not to be the first to shed fraternal blood.

But he also vowed not to surrender the forts.

The only resolution of these contradictory positions was for the confederates to fire the first shot ; they did just that.