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You were given the following to show that even before Lincoln's invasion of Charleston, that the term was already in use, not the late “20th century” misrepresentation that you tried to make.

But never in reference to the men Davis dispatched with his demands.

Proof of your effort at prevarication.

Proof of your poor scholarship. Why would anyone refer to the men Davis dispatched as the "Virginia Peace Commissioners"? Virginia did not join the confederacy until after the South fired on Sumter.

“But never in reference to the men Davis dispatched with his demands.”

Here is the document that proves you wrong.

Leslie's Illustrated News. 4/13/61. Front cover has the CSA Peace Commissioners to avoid a Civil War

You might want to look up this last one. It is an excellent rendition of Messrs. Crawford, Forsythe, and Roman, all waiting to negotiate peace with the new President Lincoln's government.

“Why would anyone refer to the men Davis dispatched as the “Virginia Peace Commissioners”?”

You were the one that tried to make the connection, not the newspaper article.

Here is another “late 20th Century” (your baseless assertion) reference to Peace Commissioners in Washington in February of 1861. This again proves your assertion is a prevarication.

On February 24, 1861 and from the The New York Herald

“The city was thrown into great commotion yesterday by the receipt of intelligence that Mr. Lincoln, the President elect, had unexpectedly appeared in Washington city.... In the evening he held a reception, when the members of the cabinet, the Peace Commissioners, and a large number of ladies and gentlemen waited upon him to pay their respects. Mrs. Lincoln, and the party comprising the Presidential suite, reached Washington early last evening.”

It is not likely that these Peace Commissioners were Crawford, Forsythe, and Roman, but the indisputable case is made that the term PEACE COMMISIONER was in wide usage as Lincoln was being inaugurated.