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Also, the Lincoln administration kept telling Southern representatives and the Governor of South Carolina that Fort Sumter would be evacuated...

Of course that is false.

President Lincoln said clearly in his first inaugural:

"The power confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the government..."

So I don't know why you would tell a big lie like that.

Walt

So I don't know why you would tell a big lie like that.

Put the "L" word back in your holster, Walt. You should know by now that I don't post things without backup, and if I make an error I acknowledge it. In this case, I'm right.

If you will remember, I've posted to you before about how the Southern Commissioners charged the Lincoln administration with perfidy about being misled about the evacuation of Fort Sumter. As I remember, the culprit in this case was Seward.

The book, Days of Defiance by Maury Klein notes that Lincoln's law partner and sometime bodyguard Ward Lamon had been sent by Lincoln to Charleston to assess the situation. The book says he intimated to Governor Pickens that Sumter would be evacuated. I've also seen this cited in other places too but can't remember where at the moment.

I found another reference to Ward Lamon. General Beauregard sent a message to Anderson: "Having been informed that Mr. Lamon, the authorized agent of the President of the United States, advised Governor Pickens, after his interview with you at Fort Sumter, that yourself and command would be transferred to another post in a few days..."