Actually, the first shots were fired in January of 1861.
On January 9, 1861, before the Confederacy was formed, the Star of the West was fired upon by cadets from The Citadel stationed at the Morris Island battery as the ship entered Charleston Harbor.[2] This prevented the Star of the West from resupplying Major Robert Anderson's garrison at Fort Sumter. The Star of the West was given a warning shot across the bow and turned about to leave the harbor mouth. She was then fired on from Fort Moultrie and hit twice.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_the_West
So you’re willing to state that the state of South Carolina lacked the authority to deny passage of a warship [by carrying war-supplies it fit the definition; it was the correct reason the Germans sunk an American ship in WWI] into its waters?
On whose authority was the ship dispatched?
If it was not requested by the legislature or executive of SC, then is it not overstepping the bounds of the Federal government according to the Constitution?