[Aurelius]

"Lincoln's attempt at resupplying Sumter with food only should not have started a war and would not have started the war except Davis wanted the war."

As I said we have been through this before and you are presenting the same argument as before. I simply do not find it credible that Davis wanted war. The Confederacy would have been at a disadvantage and he knew it. So I don't believe your claim. I do believe that very likely it was Lincoln's intention to provoke the Confederacy to fire the first shot to give him an excuse and to help raise popular support for his suppression of secession. However, that can probably no more be proved than can your contention that Davis wanted war. However, if Davis actually provoked the war he should be condemned for it; it would have been needless, Lincoln would have done it any case.

[Non-Sequitur]

Your premise seems to be that Lincoln set the trap and the poor dumb confederates fell into it. That doesn't say much about the southern leadership, does it? At least one member of the government, Robert Toombs, apparently knew better and tried to warn Davis but was ignored. Davis needed a war to fill out his confederacy. He knew it couldn't survive otherwise.