Thank you. So what is the point of going into "if they were resisted"? Everyone on both sides knew that they could just skip over that part and go straight to using force.
They could make a formality of asking "are you going to resist"? and the answer would have been "Yes." And then they would have went straight to plan "B", which was to open fire.
So yes, Lincoln sent those ships with orders that virtually guaranteed they would open fire on the Confederates.
“Everyone on both sides knew that they could just skip over that part and go straight to using force.”
Which is what Davis did. None of the resupply forces fired a shot.