The Supreme Court of the United States affixed the date of the start of the war as the date that Lincoln ordered the call for troops and the blockade.
Their argument was simply that War is declared by the public act of a legally empowered government body. According to the Confederate Constitution, the legal body empowered to declare war was its Congress.
You cannot produce any document of the Congress that records a vote for war.
Only for purposes of law-suits involving statutes of limitations.
Also in that same decision, Supremes clearly acknowledged that war was started by Confederates, but did not feel obliged to pick which single Confederate action should be designated as their first act of war.
PeaRidge: "Their argument was simply that War is declared by the public act of a legally empowered government body."
No, as I re-read (and re-read) their ruling, it's absolutely clear they only intended:
PeaRidge: "According to the Confederate Constitution, the legal body empowered to declare war was its Congress.
You cannot produce any document of the Congress that records a vote for war."
You continue your role as Prince of DeNile against the obvious fact that Confederate Congress passed and President Davis approved on May 6, 1861 -- for all intents and purposes -- a Declaration (or "recognition") of War on the United States.
There continue to be no -- zero, zip, nada -- differences, practical, legal or logical between the Confederate "recognition" and other "declarations" of war.