“The attack on Ft. Sumter would not have happened had Lincoln not sent a fleet of warships to attack the Confederates around Sumter. It was the arrival of the first of the warships that triggered the attack.”
That’s nonsense. Lincoln sent ships to resupply the Fort with food only, and notified the confederates that was his plan.
The attack on Fort Sumter was the stupidest act of statecraft until December 7, 1941 was even stupider. Confederate Secretary of State Robert Toombs warned Jeff Davis just how disastrous his planned attack would be, but to no avail.
+1
The Powhatan, The Pocahontas, The Pawnee, The Harriet Lane, The Yankee, and even the Thomas Freeborn has a big cannon on it. The "Baltic" was being used as a troop carrier and had troops and munitions on it.
Let me show you a picture of some of these "supply" ships.
The Powhatan and the Pocahontas were even more formidable.
Do those look like "Supply" ships?