[Bull Snipe]

IMO Davis fire on Fort Sumter not because it was a military threat, but because the American Flag over that fort was an affront to the concept of the Confederate States of America.
“How dare the U.S. continue to show its flag in our country.”
I would liken it to how the Cubans might view the U.S. flag over Guantanamo Bay. They only real difference is the Cubans are not willing to start a war over it. Davis was.

[HandyDandy]

IMO Davis fire on Fort Sumter not because it was a military threat, but because the American Flag over that fort was an affront to the concept of the Confederate States of America.

Sorry that I overlooked this post at first. You are absolutely correct. Lincoln had promised in his First Inaugural to protect and defend Federal property. That meant that flag had stay over Sumter. Davis could not fully realize his complete separation from the United States as long as "that flag was still there". It was about that flag.