[Non-Sequitur]

They could have been.... But wasn't. Ships were not stopped, the city wasn't fired on, not a single hostile act was taken towards the people of Charleston or the Davis regime from the moment the rebellion began until the minute that the confederate army began the bombardment of Sumter. This in spite of confederate hostile actions like firing on ships, cutting off communications and food, refusing to allow U.S. officer on shore.

[rustbucket]

...not a single hostile act was taken towards the people of Charleston or the Davis regime from the moment the rebellion began until the minute that the confederate army began the bombardment of Sumter.

Tell that to the captain of one of the schooners chartered by Anderson to transport women, children, and supplies from Fort Moultrie to Fort Johnson on Dec 26, 1861. The Federal soldiers onboard overcame the captain of the schooner (he put up a fight), then redirected the ship to Fort Sumter.

Or tell that to the civilian workmen at Fort Sumter who were charged with bayonets by Abner Doubleday's troops on Dec 26, 1861.

[GOPcapitalist]

They could have been.... But wasn't. Ships were not stopped, the city wasn't fired on, not a single hostile act was taken towards the people of Charleston or the Davis regime from the moment the rebellion began until the minute that the confederate army began the bombardment of Sumter.

Yeah. And Saddam Hussein could have dumped anthrax in our cities but didn't. Nevermind that he had used the stuff elsewhere before and nevermind that in all likelihood he was plotting to use it against us if he ever got the chance. I guess the fact that he never did means we had no basis to remove him from power, and I guess that it is only legitimate to remove a threat to you AFTER it has pulverized a couple of your cities and waged terroristic warfare on your people.

The fact is that the Fort Sumter garrison was a hostile army exercising hostile and threatening intent against the city of Charleston. Under the doctrine of preemptive war the people of Charleston had every right in the world to remove that threat.