rustbucket: "If the war started that early, then according to the people involved and to some historians, it was started by Union shots on January 8, 1861, at Fort Barrancas."
Nonsense, and you should know it.
Such a local incident in Florida, even before Florida seceded, did not start a war.
But conditions necessary for war did exist as early as February 5, after:
1) South Carolina demanded Fort Sumter's surrender,
2) announced that resupplying Fort Sumter was tantamount to war, and
3) President Buchanan told South Carolina officials Fort Sumter would not be surrendered. When
4) President Lincoln advised Gov. Pickens on April 6 of the resupply of Fort Sumter, the war's beginning only waited a Confederate order to start firing.
rustbucket: "...eight days after he was inaugurated, Lincoln sent a command to reinforce Fort Pickens without telling the South, an action that broke the agreement/armistice negotiated at high levels on both sides that kept the fort from being attacked. Was that not an act of war? Why would a peace loving person do that?"
Do you not remember, ol' pal, that the day before Lincoln was inaugurated, Confederate President Davis ordered military preparation for actions against Fort Sumter? And just how publicly was this announced? Did Davis tell Lincoln he was getting ready to kill Union forces in Fort Sumter?
Consider this: neither of presidents Buchanan & Lincoln recognized Southern secession as constitutional or lawful. Neither was willing to surrender Fort Sumter. Both attempted to resupply Fort Sumter by sea. Both attempts resulted in cannon fire from Southern shore batteries. What was the difference?
Difference #1: After Buchanan's failed attempt of Jan 9 to resupply Fort Sumter, South Carolina announced on Jan 14: any future attempts would be tantamount to war. Then on March 3, Confederate President Davis ordered military preparations to force Sumter's surrender.
Difference #2: Unlike Buchanan, President Lincoln warned South Carolina five days ahead of time (April 6) that Fort Sumter was being resupplied, and also advised there would be no war if the South did not begin shooting.
The obvious and appropriate warning from Lincoln: firing on Union forces meant war.
Now rustbucket, you can argue all day long that somehow the South didn't really WANT war. But the obvious way to avoid war was to not shoot at Union forces. This the South not only refused to do, but the mood in Charleston after April 13 was reported as deliriously happy the war had begun!
From the beginning, my argument here has been: where the South saw war as inevitable and necessary, the North (Buchanan & Lincoln) hoped to reunite the nation peacefully.
The South declared in January that simply resupplying Federal forces in Fort Sumter was tantamount to war, but war requires shooting, and it was the South which began shooting to force Sumter's surrender.
rustbucket: "To use one of your arguments, it took the US years to resolve the question of British occupation of forts in the Northwest Territories. But after only eight days, Lincoln secretly ordered the truce agreement to be broken without notifying the other side, likely resulting in an attack on the fort. Lincoln clearly must not have wanted peace."
According to Major Anderson, Fort Sumter must be resupplied or surrendered by April 15. But President Buchanan had already told South Carolina officials Fort Sumter would not be surrendered. Therefore, it must be resupplied.
Once again, a review of basic historical facts:
Again, note the basic sequence of events:
South: resupplying Fort Sumter means war.
North: we are resupplying Fort Sumter.
South: Begins firing on Fort Sumter.
Source, please. The order to fire on Fort Sumter did not occur until Lincoln sent an armed fleet down to invade South Carolina's territorial waters.
March 3, 1861, the day before Lincoln's inauguration, was a Sunday. Davis probably went to church. Beauregard arrived in Charleston on March 3 to assume command of Confederate forces there. Perhaps that is what you meant.
The Confederate Congress passed a law setting up a provisional army for the defense of the country on February 28, 1861 ("An Act to raise provisional forces for the Confederate States of America, and for other purposes"). The Confederate Congress was setting up the details of that army on March 4. That is what countries do for their self defense. It wasn't until after Lincoln's March 4 inauguration speech that the Confederates knew that Lincoln really was going to do things that would result in war -- steal tariff revenues of the South and occupy the South by maintaining armed forts within their borders (bold and italics below as in original Gazette & Sentinel of Plaquemine, Louisiana on March 9, 1861).
Latest from Montgomery
War Considered Inevitable -- The Standing Army -- the War Strength
Montgomery, March 5th -- Since the receipt of the Inaugural address of Mr. Lincoln, it is universally conceded here that war between the Confederate States and the United States is inevitable. Mr. Benjamin said last night, that in his opinion, there would be a clash of arms within thirty days.
Mr. Conrad concurred in this view of the aspect of affairs. The standing army of the Confederate States will be fixed at ten thousand men. Congress is now engaged in organizing the army. Of course, in case of hostilities, the number of men put in the field will be greater. It is calculated that the states now composing the Confederacy can place 80,000 on a movable war-footing.
As a result, the Confederate Congress passed on March 6 a law that allowed Davis to call up to 100,000 volunteers to defend the Confederacy. It was titled, "An Act to provide for the Public Defence." It said, in part:
The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That in order to provide speedily forces to repel invasion, maintain the rightful possession of the Confederate States of America in every portion of territory belonging to each State, and to secure the public tranquility and independence against threatened assault, the President be, and he is hereby authorized to employ the militia, military and naval forces of the Confederate States of America, and to ask for and accept the services of any number of volunteers, not exceeding one hundred thousand, who may offer their services, either as cavalry, mounted riflemen, artillery or infantry, in such proportion of these several arms as he may deem expedient, to serve for twelve months after they shall be mustered into service, unless sooner discharged.
The South correctly believed that they could legally secede from the Union. They were simply exercising the understandings of the NY, VA, and RI ratifiers of the Constitution that their states/people could reassume their governance if it comported to their happiness. Did you ever find statements from other states at the time of ratification of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights that said the NY, VA, and RI ratifiers were wrong?
The obvious and appropriate warning from Lincoln: firing on Union forces meant war.
Governor Pickens had told Lincoln's messenger Lamon in March that no warship would be allowed in the harbor for any purpose. Yet Lincoln sent them.