[ReaganGeneration2]

Despite the heroism of the soldiers on both sides, here is the summary - it was a colossal blunder and failure of both sides’ leaders to avoid:
- the deaths of ~1/30 of the population (over 1 million, out of 31.4 million)
- the acceleration of tyrannical federal authority, leading to what we have today

[DiogenesLamp]

Despite the heroism of the soldiers on both sides, here is the summary - it was a colossal blunder and failure of both sides’ leaders to avoid:

Lincoln had no intention of avoiding it. He intended for it to happen. Had he intended to avoid it, he could have simply carried through on his decision to evacuate Ft. Sumter as the "National Republican" Newspaper reported at the time.

Third article at the top left.

Lincoln sent a war fleet with deliberate orders to attack the Confederates currently surrounding Ft. Sumter. It is the arrival of this fleet that precipitated the attack on Ft. Sumter.