He allowed for the situation to go on for 3 months. Also a ship wouldn't have gotten through. They had the channel all bollixed up with chains, sunken ships, and whatnot. They could have stopped anything without firing a shot.
He was not going to allow provisions to be landed by anyone.
I believe I have read that they were being provisioned by Charleston for a long time, and they finally stopped doing that. They were especially upset that Fox lied about his intentions when they allowed him to visit Anderson.
Also a ship wouldn’t have gotten through.
The ship Harriet Lane fired on sailed out Charleston harbor.
So the entrance was not completely blocked. Remember, the plan did not call for the war ships or the supply ship to enter the harbor. Lie off, transfer the cargo to small boats and have them towed in to the Fort. Same plan would have worked for an unarmed merchant ship with an unarmed tug.
No difference. Davis would still have fired on Sumter or the supply ship. He was not going to allow Sumter to be provisioned.
Charleston stopped selling provisions to Anderson shortly after he moved into Sumter.