“Buchanan decided that he would next send Anderson reinforcements and supplies. In January 1861, he dispatched the chartered and unarmed civilian steamer Star of the West with 200 Soldiers plus a cargo of food and medical supplies to Charleston Harbor. The South Carolinians opened fire on her on 9 January, the first shots being fired from a battery on Morris Island that was manned by cadets from The Citadel. They could easily have been the first shots of a civil war, but after several rounds flew past his ship and one caused minor damage, the Star of the West ’s civilian skipper turned back.”
Note that Southern forces indeed fired on a Union ships, and it was BEFORE Lincoln had been sworn into office.
Once he had become president, Lincoln informed the governor of South Carolina that he intended to send a relief flotilla to bring supplies to Sumter. Despite the fact that the commander of the federal troops stated they would withdraw by April 15 unless resupplied, Beauregard ordered his command to open fire and they did so on April 12, BEFORE the relief ships had even arrived. It was the decision made by Jefferson Davis that began hostilies and led to a South to a ruinous self immolation.
Confederate Secretary of State Robert Toombs says that the attack “will lose us every friend at the North. You will only strike a hornet’s nest. ... Legions now quiet will swarm out and sting us to death. It is unnecessary. It puts us in the wrong. It is fatal.“
Your description of the intended relief force and the involvement of David Porter is both innacurate and incomplete, as usual. The Powhatten went south to Florida to defend another federal fort under threat in that state. Kind of an important detail you left out. There were conflicting orders for the ship because of machinations within Lincoln’s cabinet. It was finally decided that the Powhatten would go to Florida a week before the flotilla would arrive in South Carolina. Besides, the relief force included two warships, the Pawnee and the Pochantas.
So, it WAS the Southern forces who shot first. They DID fire at an attempt to relieve the fort. Union forces did NOT attempt to attack anywhere in South Carolina.
Still wrong. Cadets at the Citadel fired at the Star of the West, and they did so without any instructions from the Confederate Military to do so. I believe they were also reprimanded for having done so.
Note that Southern forces indeed fired on a Union ships, and it was BEFORE Lincoln had been sworn into office.
If by "Southern Forces" you mean the college cadets who took it upon themselves to act out, sure.
Once he had become president, Lincoln informed the governor of South Carolina that he intended to send a relief flotilla to bring supplies to Sumter.
Now see here, i'm going to present you a little bit of cognitive dissonance on your part. You have just finished telling me about the Star of the West incident, and it is the story of a single ship (and not a very big one) bringing relief supplies to Fort Sumter. You then tell me about a "relief flotilla", (consisting of 8 ships) to do the exact same task. One of the ships in the "relief flotilla" was "The Baltic", which was a large passenger ship, ant it was carrying at least 200 riflemen. The other ships were mostly warships. Even the tugboats were armed with cannons. I believe there were several thousands of men involved in this "relief expedition."
So we have a "relief flotilla" composed of mostly armed combatants, instead of a single ship like the "Star of the West", which was deemed sufficient to carry the supplies previously. Add to this, the orders from Winfield Scott tell them to reinforce the fort, (Which is why they brought the 200 riflemen) and fight if resisted in reinforcing the fort.
Yet you can tell me with a straight face that this "relief flotilla" was not meant to provoke armed conflict, and it was perfectly reasonable for there to be eight armed ships to deliver some supplies to Anderson at Fort Sumter?
Beauregard ordered his command to open fire and they did so on April 12, BEFORE the relief ships had even arrived.
This is incorrect. It was the arrival of the Warships that triggered the attack. You can read about it if you go through the confederate message exchanges for the incident.
—The Charleston Mercury of to-day announces war as declared. “Our authorities,” it says, “yesterday evening received notice from Lincoln’s Government, through a special messenger from Washington, that an effort will be made to supply Fort Sumter with provisions and that if this were permitted, no attempt would be made to reinforce it with men! This message comes simultaneously with a fleet, which we understand is now off our bar, waiting for daylight and tide to make the effort threatened.April 9, 1861
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United States vessels were reported off the bar. Major Anderson displayed signal lights during the night from the walls of Fort Sumter.—Times, April 10, 1861
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EXECUTIVE OFFICE, April 11, 1861.Brigadier-General BEAUREGARD:
DEAR SIR: In corroboration of the information which I am told you have already received, Captain Davenport, of the pilot-boat Palmetto, reports that he saw the Harriet Lane this afternoon, making towards this city with speed, until within about fifteen miles of the bar, when she “hove to.” That then he was about two miles from her, when he distinctly recognized her. He says he has no doubt about her identity, as he knows her well.
I am, dear sir, respectfully yours,
D. F. JAMISON.
And there are several others. The point here is that the arrival of the Warships is what triggered the conflict. If you read other of the Confederate messages, they were estimating a landing force of about 2600 men to attack them, along with armed gunboats.
Your description of the intended relief force and the involvement of David Porter is both innacurate and incomplete, as usual.
No, they are not. I know you very much wish they were inaccurate, but I have if anything, understated what actually happened.
But let us focus on a specific, point. Why would a lieutenant (two ranks below Captain in the US Navy ranking system of 1860) be given control of the command ship on the very threshold of the most significant mission being launched, refuse to obey orders from the Secretary of the Navy, disguise the ship so that it would unrecognizable to people who knew it well, run up a British flag, and then sail it to Pensacola, when the entire mission outside of Charleston was expecting it to arrive and take command of the expedition?
There were conflicting orders for the ship because of machinations within Lincoln’s cabinet.
Porter's orders came directly from Lincoln, were written in Lincoln's own hand, and were specific regarding relieving Captain Mercer of control, and specific that Porter was to obey no orders from anyone else, and the orders were sealed and hand carried by Porter.
When the Naval Yard in New York informed the Secretary of the Navy, he immediately contacted Lincoln, who replied to him that there must be some sort of mistake, and he informed Gideon Wells that he could have the ship back for his Sumter expedition. But Porter refused to accede to the Secretary of the Navy's orders that were delivered to him, and instead did what Lincoln's secret orders instructed.
The Machinations were not in Lincoln's cabinet, but in Lincoln himself. (Lincoln was known for pulling underhanded stunts.)
Besides, the relief force included two warships, the Pawnee and the Pochantas.
And the USS Thomas Freeborn, Uncle Ben, USS Yankee, USS Baltic, USRC Harriet Lane, and the USS Powhatan. I believe that constitutes 8 ships.