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To: Bull Snipe
Again, if Lincoln sent an unarmed, unescorted supply ship to provision Sumter, Davis would have ordered Beauregard to reduce the fort before the resupply effort could be accomplished.

You are repeating that like a mantra. It clearly isn't true based upon the actual records. Since you won't look it up yourself, I'll find it for you.

Montgomery, April 11. To Gen. Beauregard, Charleston:

We do not desire needlessly to bombard Fort Sumter if Major Anderson will state the time at which as indicated by him he will evacuate, and agree that in the mean time he will not use his guns against us, unless ours should be employed against Fort Sumter. You can thus avoid the effusion of blood. If this order should be unequivocally refused, reduce the Fort as your judgement decides to be the most practicable.

L. P. Walker, Secretary of War.


192 posted on 08/01/2019 3:07:21 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no oither sovereignty.")
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To: DiogenesLamp

You know as well as I do that Davis ordered Beauregard to reduce the fort prior to the arrival of the resupply ships.
It would not have made a difference whether there were warships escorting them or not. Davis was not going to allow Sumter to be resupplied under any circumstance.
He knew it would probably lead to war. But he was not going to allow the continued occupation of Sumter by U.S. forces.


197 posted on 08/01/2019 5:35:19 PM PDT by Bull Snipe
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To: DiogenesLamp; Bull Snipe; OIFVeteran; rockrr; Pelham
DiogenesLamp quoting: We should notice, first, that these orders say nothing about Union ships being sent to, or arriving at, Charleston Harbor.
There's no indication that Lincoln's "war fleet" had anything to do with it.

Second, we should notice that these orders were issued long before any Union ships arrived at Charleston.

Third, we should note that on April 3, long before Lincoln ordered his resupply mission to Fort Sumter, Jefferson Davis revealed his plans to CSA Gen. Bragg in Florida:

The chief "other consideration" being that only war could drive Virginians to flip sides from Union to Confederate.
But, just in case Anderson did surrender peacefully, Davis still had Fort Pickens in Pensacola, Florida, to start war with:

So, the choice for war belonged to Jefferson Davis and, yes:

200 posted on 08/02/2019 2:29:15 AM PDT by BroJoeK ((a little historical perspective...))
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