The fact is that Lincoln notified Governor Pickens of his intent. The message was delivered by a personal emissary on April 8 making clear the purpose of the fleet was to land food and supplies only, and arms and munitions would be landed only if the effort was opposed. The confederate government was aware of what was in the offing long before Chew delivered the message to Pickens, and Davis ordered that any resupply of any kind be opposed. The entire question of war or peace was left in the hands of Jefferson Davis and as we know, he chose war. And got more than he bargained for.
Then President-elect Lincoln said this just a few days later:
“The words ‘coercion’ and ‘invasion’ are in great use about these days. Suppose we were simply to try if we can, and ascertain what, is the meaning of these words. Let us get, if we can, the exact definitions of these words-—not from dictionaries, but from the men who constantly repeat them-—what things they mean to express by the words.
What, then, is `coercion’? What is `invasion’? Would the marching of an army into South California, for instance, without the consent of her people, and in hostility against them, be coercion or invasion? I very frankly say, I think it would be invasion, and it would be coercion too, if the people of that country were forced to submit.”
Then just a mere eight weeks later, he instructed the Commandant of the Navy Yard in Brooklyn to outfit ships and under no circumstances communicate to the Navy Department the fact that the ships are fitting out."
He also instructed his cabinet to maintain secrecy.
On the evening of April 8, 1861, Union Lieutenant Talbot, a frequent messenger to Ft. Sumter, accompanied a State Department clerk, Robert Chew who read a note that announced that the fort would be supplied with provisions at every hazard. This dispatch read,
"I am directed by the President of the United States to notify you to expect an attempt will be made to supply Fort Sumter with provisions only, and that if such attempt be not resisted, no effort to throw in men, arms, or ammunition, will be made, without further notice, or in case of attack."
Lincoln’s note was not signed, nor did the courier carry any orders for receiving a reply from the Governor. Talbot was denied access to Major Anderson.
Lincoln did not say he would land men if opposed. Nor did he say that he would fight his way in if opposed, though those are the exact orders he gave to his fleet.
He said only that he was coming with food and that he would not land men if his ships were received. His memo to Pickens was a carefully phrased message designed to deceive and provoke.
Even if Lincoln said he was not going to land men both his manner of delivery and past experience gave Pickens more than ample reason to oppose it. The same northerners who had tried to sneak arms into Sumter three months earlier, were now sending a naval fleet to accomplish their goal of requiring the obedience of the people of South Carolina to the laws of the Union instead of the Confederacy.
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