[Non-Sequitur]

Buchanan chose not to challenge the Confederacy.

But he made it clear that he believed their actions to be illegal.

And whether or not Lincoln thought the actions illegal isn't the point, so much as the Confederacy wanted peace, and to be left ALONE.

Then they had an odd way of showing it when they bombarded Sumter.

[Ditto]

Lets quit beating around the bush. Davis chose war for one reason -- he had to. The Upper South states had rejected secession and the so-called Confederacy of the Cotton States had no chance of viability unless they got the more populus and wealthy southern states, especially Virginia, to join them and the only way to accomplish that was to start a war before people realized how rediculus that little combination of plantations called the Confederate states were.

They had to accomplish that before passions cooled and people realized that the Slave Power couldn't even deliver the mail let alone be a true republic.

[TexConfederate1861]

Since a Warship with soldiers was being sent to re-supply and
reinforce a fort in the middle of a busy port, what other choice would they have. None.