This is what folks don’t understand - the South knew they would lose, and yet fought anyways. Davis knew it. Lee knew it. They knew it back in 1860.
Davis anticipated an attack on the fort without his explicit instruction and attempted to corral it before it was done, all the while negotiating with the United States for fair and equitable treatment, before a shot was even fired.
Again - Lincoln could have chosen to recognize his Davis’ delegation. His hands, at this point, were not tied.
Well, I’m not going to fault Lincoln for not recognizing the commission that we have been discussing since I have seen no evidence that he even knew that it existed. I would hope that Seward would have told the President, but I couldn’t say for sure.
Many in the South knew that they were in an untenable position. Davis and Lee were only one in a choir of those who knew they were in deep trouble. But while Davis knew that they were in a precarious situation, he also made some critical mistakes that made that situation significantly worse. Resistance to federalizing the railroad, unrealistic expectations on the Tredegar Ironworks, even the approval of Lee’s advances into the North which never had the war ending effect they had hoped for either used, misused or misappropriated the very limited resources they had available.