As was your's.
None of the Confederate initiatives asked for surrender. That is again your opinion.
The initiatives made it clear that there was one outcome acceptable to them - recognition. They were not interested in Lincoln's position or alternatives to recognition. If the only acceptable outcome is your own and your opponents positions are not open for discussion then what is your opponents alternative but complete surrender to your demands?
You admit that the Confederacy sent peace commissioners to Washington in the early days of the Lincoln administration to negotiate peace and organize payment to the Federal government for any property or debt for which it had responsibility.
Somehow, you want to draw the conclusion that the word “surrender” applies to that.
Since there was no war at that point, there was no issue of surrender. Since the Confederacy was not asking for anything that belonged to the other states, nothing was being taken.
The status quo was peace, which the Confederacy was attempting to reinforce through diplomacy.
Lincoln's position from the beginning had been the forceful retention of two federal posts on Southern property. To say that they were not interested in his position is correct.
To say that they were not interested in Lincoln's alternative to peace was correct.
But they remained loyal to the concept of peaceful existence with the Union, and made every effort to enable that to happen.
The great statesman, politician, freedom loving Lincoln made sure that death replaced peace and offers of compensation turned into seized, trampled, and burned property.