The shooting war didn’t begin with the secession. It didn’t begin when Lincoln called up volunteers. It didn’t begin with any action by Lincoln or any Union commander. It began when the state of South Carolina demanded that Fort Sumter be surrendered, and when that fort was forcibly taken by the SC militia when it’s commander refused to surrender.
It’s likely that some other event would have precipitated the conflict had Sumter not been attacked, but let’s stick with actually history — the first shots of the war were fired by Confederate forces, not Union forces.
” It’s likely that some other event would have precipitated the conflict had Sumter not been attacked “
Yeah, 100% likely LOL!
It doesn’t matter “Who started it?” no more than in a children’s fight.
But there were good reasons for the unfortunate hostilities that we can learn from if we’re honest.