[DiogenesLamp]

I did some reading. The fort was being starved out. Lincoln offered to resupply with provisions, but not war .materiel. But some sources say that one of the resupplying ships was a gunship.

They were ALL gunships except the "Uncle Ben" and the "Baltic" (which was a troop ship carrying troops) All of the rest of them mounted cannons.

Also there were at least 200 reinforcement troops on the "Baltic", as well as powder, shot, rifles, mortars, fuses and pretty much everything Lincoln said would not be put into the fort if the supply mission was allowed to continue.

Major Anderson was going to evacuate the Fort peaceably if Lincoln had just allowed him one more day. He had already written the evacuation order.

Here are some newspaper clippings from the New York Times from early April of 1861.

[Pearls Before Swine]

You know what I think? Whatever happened there. it was only a matter of time before something sparked the war. Lincoln and Davis were not ever going to reconcile, and public opinion was high on both sides.

[IrishBrigade]

‘Major Anderson was going to evacuate the Fort peaceably if Lincoln had just allowed him one more day. He had already written the evacuation order.’

‘The Confederate Congress at Montgomery, Alabama, had decided on February 15 that Sumter and other forts must be acquired “either by negotiation or force.” Negotiation, it seemed, had failed. The Confederates demanded surrender of the fort, but Major Robert Anderson, commander of Fort Sumter, refused.’... from History.com

any logical reason to believe you over actual historians...?

[Rome2000]

Do you have a link to where NYT editions from the early 1860’s can be viewed?