“But had Lincoln done nothing, there would have been no war”
Over Sumter, yes. What about Fort Pickens at Pensacola.
It was resupplied, fully manned and quite capable of a vigorous defense. Would Davis have allow it to sit there under U.S. ownership?
My opinion is, at some point, Davis would have moved against Pickens. What do you think?
It is quite clear that the democrats were going to wage a war.
Had President Lincoln done ‘nothing’ - then the democrats would have taken Washington.
Would the democrats be satisfied with the States that they had? Nope.
You had the chief instigator - former VP, now Kentucky Senator - actively engaged in conspiring with the Kentucky governor/ leadership to get Kentucky to leave the Union.
…
“ Whereas John C. Breckinridge, a member of this body from the State of Kentucky, has joined the enemies of his country, and is now in arms against the Government he had sworn to support:
Therefore, Resolved, That the said John C. Breckinridge, the traitor, be, and he is hereby, expelled from the Senate.
That same day, the Senate voted 36 to 0 to pass the resolution as amended and expel Breckinridge.”
Yes, Lincoln deliberately tried to start the war there also. Judging by the actions of Lieutenant David Porter, acting under secret orders directly from Lincoln, we can only conclude that it was Lincoln's intent that Porter start a war in Pensacola. But for the intervention of Captain Meigs, that is exactly what would have happened.
My opinion is, at some point, Davis would have moved against Pickens. What do you think?
I don't think Pensacola was quite so important at the time as was Charleston. If I am mistaken about this, then Davis might have eventually demanded the garrison leave, but I think they would have had a great more difficulty forcing them out of it if they didn't want to leave.
I have read commentary from Lincoln's cabinet on Sumter, and one of the things they were most afraid of happening was for the Confederates to simply ignore the presence of Union troops there, and continue carrying on their business. They lamented that if that happened, they would have to again resupply the useless and pointless effort six months later, and eventually the public would call for it to stop.
Yes, they actually expressed concern that the Confederates would have done nothing. Clearly that is what they should have done. They could have left a skeleton force securing the cannons around Sumter, and then just let everyone else go home. If Anderson decided to attack something, they could rally quickly to respond, but it would have ratcheted down the tension and probably would have resulted in them keeping their independence.
Lincoln needed a war. They didn't. They shouldn't have helped him start one.