Replies

DiogenesLamp: "The truly deciding factor was the sending of that war fleet to attack the Confederates.
As I mentioned, Anderson himself said this would start the war."

First, let's see that quote from Anderson.

Second, as we've now reviewed frequently, Lincoln's alleged "war fleet" was ordered "no first use of force".
Once resupply was accomplished, they were to return home in peace.

Third, it was not a "war fleet" because by Lincoln's own understandings, it was incapable of defeating Confederates surrounding Fort Sumter, but only strong enough to possibly accomplish its stated purpose of resupplying Union troops in Fort Sumter.

Finally, whatever Major Anderson may have predicted, or to whom, Jefferson Davis ignored the warnings of his own Secretary of State Robert Toombs:

"Mr. President

, at this time it is suicide, murder, and will lose us every friend at the North.
You will wantonly strike a hornet's nest which extends from mountain to ocean, and legions now quiet will swarm out and sting us to death.
It is unnecessary; it puts us in the wrong; it is fatal."

So please explain why is it that Confederate Secretary of State Robert Toombs intuitively understood something which today, over 150 years later, "geniuses" like DiogenesLamp and jeffersondem can't figure out?

It was not even slightly capable of performing that mission. It would have been swatted like a fly and all those ships sunk and most of those men killed. It was in fact a suicide mission had the Powhatan showed up as all the ships had believed it would.

I've read what the Confederates had set up. Anderson had passed this information to his leadership, and so they too knew what sort of cannon fire they would be facing. Only a small portion of the cannon force fired on Sumter. The bulk of it was held in reserve to deal with the force Lincoln sent down.

It is clear to me that it was no accident that the Powhatan did not rendezvous with the other ships and force their way in. Anyone who knew what was arrayed against them would have realized they would have been destroyed.

Lincoln only needed the Confederates to think he was sending in an attack, and that's why he let the ships orders go through normal channels, while his secret order to Lieutenant (two ranks below captain in the Union Navy at that time.) David Porter sent the command ship elsewhere without anyone knowing it wasn't going to Charleston.

Mister history buff. Find out how many cannon batteries were held in reserve to deal with the attacking fleet. Then tell me if you think those ships could have survived that.