Davis pulled the trigger. Reasons why matters not. Davis fired on a Federal Post. Act of War. Naval vessels at sea are not an act of war. Those ships did not even fire a shot.
“Reasons why matters not.”
Now I think I understand why you hold certain views.
Lincoln pulled the trigger first. Several days before, in fact.
Those ships did not even fire a shot.
Because their command ship didn't arrive. It had orders to lead the attack on the Confederates, but Lincoln cleverly sent it to Florida without letting anyone know it wasn't coming. This prevented the ships from firing.
Lincoln deliberately lured the Confederates into believing he had instigated an act of war.
This sort of trickery was common in Lincoln's history. He was always pulling bait and switch stunts in his career.