[Non-Sequitur]

And yet by April 27th Virginia had named Robert Lee as commander of the state forces which had been mobilized. They had also sent state troops to sieze the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. The first hostile acts lay with Virginia, not Lincoln.

[bjs1779]

And yet by April 27th Virginia had named Robert Lee as commander of the state forces which had been mobilized. They had also sent state troops to sieze the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. The first hostile acts lay with Virginia, not Lincoln.

The Linclonized federal government seizes property everyday from citizens of this country for non-constitutional purposes. I know this timeframe is not relevant to you because if it doesn't take place in the 19th century, your "eyes glaze over". Good way to distance yourself from Walt though.

[GOPcapitalist]

The first hostile acts lay with Virginia, not Lincoln.

Actually, the first hostile act was when Lincoln's ship, the Harriet Lane, fired upon the steamer Nashville as it was entering Charleston harbor on April 11, 1861 the day before the Sumter bombardment.

As for Virginia, the issue being discussed was the reason of its secession. I noted earlier that the fact it was being blockaded didn't exactly encourage it to stay in the union when secession came up for a vote. Another poster disputed this suggesting that Lincoln did not blockade the state until after it left, which was simply not true.