“...Jefferson Davis was more culpable: he let Lincoln maneuver him into firing the first shot...”
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I await your educational comments as to what role Jefferson Davis played at Fort Sumter.
Davis ordered the Confederate commander to fire on the fort. Once the fort was provisioned, it would have remained in Union hands. The problem being that it commanded the entrance to to the port of Charleston. The greater problem being that South Carolina was the biggest nest of fire-eaters. Maybe if Davis had waited it out, though, the North would have pressured Lincoln to withdraw.There was a lot of sympathy in the Northeast to let the South go. There was a growing feeling in Virginia to join the Confederacy. Lincoln held off on a decision with abandon the ports in hopes of keeping Virginia in. If Virginia stayed so would Kentucky and of course Maryland.