Georgia Girl 2:
"No the South seceded from the Union.
Then the North went to war with the South." No, Deep-South Fire Eaters declared secession, then the Confederacy declared war on the United states:
- Lincoln elected, November 6, 1860
- Southern Fire Eaters began organizing to declare secession, November 9, 1860.
- South Carolina declared secession and immediately began seizing Federal properties and threatening Federal officials, December 20, 1860.
- Seceding states seized dozens of major Federal properties including forts, ships, arsenals & mints, and fired on Union officials January through April 1861.
- The Confederacy began Civil War by assaulting and seizing Federal troops in Fort Sumter, April 12, 1861.
- The Confederacy formally declared war on the United States, May 6, 1861.
- The Confederacy sent military aid to Confederate forces operating in the Union State of Missouri, May 4, 1861.
All of this happened before a single Confederate soldier was killed in battle with any Union force, and before any Union Army invaded a single Confederate state.
You left a couple out. Lincoln declared a blockade of southern ports on April 19. Since a blockade was considered an act of war, it gave a not too bad rationale for the CSA declaring war on the USA a couple weeks later.
You also left out Virginia launching war on the United States by attacking Harpers Ferry and Hampton Roads before it had even formally seceded. That one’s pretty difficult to justify.