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In January of 1861, the Legislature of the sovereign territory of South Carolina declared any attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter would be considered an open act of hostility and a declaration of war.

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.

You're pathetic. Why not complete the quote? Lincoln went on to say, "But if the United States should merely hold and retake its own forts and other properties, and collect the duties on foreign importations, or even withold the mails from places where they were habitually violated, would any or all of these things be 'invasion' or 'coercion'? Do our professed lovers of the Union, but who spitefully resolve that they will resist coercion or invasion, understand that such things as these, on the part of the United States, would be coercion or invasion of a state? If so, their idea of means to preserve the object of their great affection would seem to be of a thin and airy nature."

Lincoln's intention to hold on to property belonging to the United States was no secret. He had promised to do so in the speech at Indianapolis, in his inaugural address, and elsewhere.

Lincoln’s note was not signed, nor did the courier carry any orders for receiving a reply from the Governor.

The message was verbal, not written. Chew identified who it was from. And no, he was not authorized to accept a reply. What reply was necessary?

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.

Don't you read your own posts? He said no attempt would be made to land men or munitions unless the resupply was opposed. The exact words were, "...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." It's right there.

His memo to Pickens was a carefully phrased message designed to deceive and provoke.

His message was crystal clear. Peaceful resupply is possible, reinforcement if Davis chose war. Davis chose war.

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.

But no right. Sumter was a federal post. Lincoln, as commander in chief, was well within his authority to send supplies to the garrison. If anything, the South had given him ample reason to go in with guns blazing. But he was trying to avoid a war. A war that Davis was anxious to start.