!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lieutenant Porter did not. Neither did Lincoln. No sane person doubts it was the South who first attacked. Perhaps no other fact of the war is as well established or as undebatable as that!
This is like debating a 3 year old. But Lost Causers aren’t big on history. Never have been. They don’t like to admit the South fought for slavery, either.
Since you apparently consider yourself "big on history," I recommend the following book to you, "Reassessing the Presidency" published in 2001 by the Ludwig von Mises Institute. It is a collection of essays about former presidents and their policies and actions. Among the essays is one by John V. Denson entitled, "Abraham Lincoln and the First Shot: A Study of Deceit and Deception."
Ah, the old "That crafty Lincoln tricked us into bombarding a fort into submission" excuse.
Lincoln strongly suspected his resupply mission would result in an attack on Union forces. He WANTED the South to shoot first. But he could not MAKE the South shoot first. That decision - to start the war by attacking Ft Sumter - was made by the political leaders of the South.
No, the attack did not surprise Lincoln. But in the end, it was not LINCOLN who ordered the cannons to start firing! He could not. The South made a conscious choice to fire first.