OK, then let's tackle the question directly. Did he know he would start a war? I don't know for sure and neither do you. My belief is that he feared he might but that he hoped that he would not. And I base this on the fact that, knowing he had no choice but to resupply Sumter, he chose the least provocative method of doing it. He made his intentions clear to the authorities in Charleston and basically left the question of peace or war in their hands. He could have tried to sneak into Charleston and land supplies. He could have set out from the beginning to land munitions, reinforcements, and supplies under the guns of a fleet. Instead he chose the way designed to maintain the status quo. Looking back from inauguration through the opening of the war, not one of Lincolns actions could be considered provocation except for the fact that he refused to surrender to Southern demands. If that is wanting war, well then you are welcome to your defintiion.
It is also about what the South told him they would do.
Put those two events together... and then you can make an historial evaluation.
You spend too much time defending Lincoln's choices and defining my positions. Stop the blaming and stop defending and stop propagandizing.
Just answer the question.
Did Lincoln know that if he sailed those ships into the harbor, the fighting would start?
And no you did not answer my question in your post...