Harriett Lane- three 9-inch Dahlgrens, one 30-pounder Parrott Rifle, and one 12-pounder -to be used as an armed escort ship for the troop carrying passenger steamer Baltic
Pawnee-15 gun warship-crew of 94
Pocahontas-6 gun warship-crew of 95
Powhatan-warship-many guns plus 4-12 pounders-300 sailors and launches (Klein p414)
Baltic-civilian merchant/passenger steamer-10 small boats-300 men (troops) (Klien p358)
Illinois-civilian merchant/passenger steamer-carrying an unspecified number of troops (Klien p406)
Atlantic- civilian merchant/passenger steamer-600 troops aboard (U.S. Navy History records)
Yankee-ocean tug-returned to port
Uncle Ben-ocean tug-returned to port
Freeborn-ocean tug-never got to sea.
Just by itself, the Sumter supply fleet consisted of eight warships carrying 26 guns and 1,400 troops. (Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government by Jefferson Davis Volume 1 p284).
You said: "(Right about) Everything I post".
Well, you made an error when you attributed the above data to only Klein. You incorrectly left out two other sources: 1. Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government by Jefferson Davis Volume 1 p284, and 2.U.S. Navy History records. So you do make errors after all, don't you.
And as I said, neither the Official Record or any of the other books on Sumter that I've read include the Atlantic or the Illinois in any attempt to resupply Sumter. The Atlantic did bring troops to Pickens after the Sumter attack, but fewer than half the number you mention. So you can repeat Klein's summary all you want, it is not supported by any evidence I've seen. And you're summary also neglects to mention that the Baltic was also loaded with food and supplies destined for Sumter.
ust by itself, the Sumter supply fleet consisted of eight warships carrying 26 guns and 1,400 troops. (Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government by Jefferson Davis Volume 1 p284).
Davis' claims are even less accurate than your's are. There weren't 1400 troops available in New York to send to Sumter even if Lincoln had wanted to. He was scraping the bottom of the barrel to round up the few hundred that actually went.
The actual historical record shows five war ships plus three hired tug boats. The Baltic transported about 200 troops, and the Powhatan another 300 sailors, but neither landed at Fort Sumter.
Troop strength within Fort Sumter was effectively zero before Major Anderson moved there from nearby Fort Moultree on December 26, 1860 with around 100 troops.
Soon after, President Buchanan, who did not believe military force could be used to prevent Southern secession, sent a hired civilian ship Star of the West to Fort Sumter with supplies for Major Anderson.
The Southern forces then in Fort Moultree fired on the Star of the West and these were the first shots of the Civil War -- against an unarmed civilian ship attempting to supply Fort Sumter.
Of course, President "dough-face" Buchanan did nothing about it, but President Lincoln on April 6 notified South Carolina Governor Francis W. Pickens that:
"an attempt will be made to supply Fort Sumter with provisions only, and that if such attempt be not resisted, no effort to throw in men, arms, or ammunition will be made without further notice, [except] in case of an attack on the fort."
"In response, the Confederate cabinet, meeting in Montgomery, decided on April 9 to open fire on Fort Sumter in an attempt to force its surrender before the relief fleet arrived."
Point is this: the SIZE of the federal resupply force sent to Fort Sumter had nothing to do with it. The South had already fired on the unarmed civilian Star of the West sent by President Buchanan in January.
So, whether Lincoln had sent one ship or fifty wouldn't have mattered. The South was determined to prevent resupply of Fort Sumter, no matter what.
Bottom line: Beaureguard's firings on Fort Sumter on April 12 were not the first shots of the war. Firing on the Star of the West on January 9 were the first shots. And Lincoln in April was simply attempting to accomplish what Buchanan had failed at in January.
The South was committed to using military force against the North on January 9 -- just three weeks after South Carolina declared its secession, and in the face of a President Buchanan who declared he would use no military force to prevent secession.