LOL, got it. Truman was correct when he said "the only thing new in the world is the history you don't know."
Was an ancestor of your's one of the rebels in Baltimore? By the way, my attorney, Abraham Lincoln, disagreed with your "sovereign" country statement. Besides, since Ft Sumter was US territory, the first shot was AT Union forces.
>American Civil War: First Shots
Military History
Birth of the Confederacy
In February 1861, delegates from the seven seceded states met in Montgomery, AL and formed a new government known as the Confederate States of America. Working through the month, they produced the Confederate States Constitution which was adopted on March 11. This document mirrored the US Constitution in many ways, but provided for the explicit protection of slavery as well as espoused a stronger philosophy of states' rights. To lead the new government, the convention selected Jefferson Davis of Mississippi as president and Alexander Stephens of Georgia as vice president. Davis, a Mexican-American War veteran, had previously served as a US Senator and Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce.
Lincoln and the South
At his inauguration on March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln stated that the US Constitution was a binding contract and that the Southern states' secession had no legal basis. Continuing, he said that he had no intention of ending slavery where it already existed and did not plan on invading the South. He was, however willing to use military force to retain possession of federal installations in the seceded states.
Attempts to Relieve Fort Sumter
As of April 1861, the US only retained control of two forts in the South: Fort Pickens at Pensacola, FL and Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC. Shortly after South Carolina seceded, the commander of the Charleston harbor defenses, Major Robert Anderson, moved his men from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, located on a sandbar in the middle of the harbor. After refusing requests from the South Carolina government to vacate the fort, Anderson and the eighty-five men of his garrison settled in for what essentially became a siege. In January 1861, President Buchanan attempted to re-supply the fort, however the supply ship, Star of the West, was driven away by guns manned by cadets from the Citadel.
Fort Sumter Attacked
During March 1861, a debate raged in the Confederate government regarding how forceful they should be in trying to take possession of Forts Sumter and Pickens. Davis, like Lincoln, did not wish to anger the border states by appearing as the aggressor. With supplies running low, Lincoln informed the governor of South Carolina, Francis W. Pickens, that he intended to have the fort re-provisioned, but promised that no additional men or munitions would be sent. This news was passed to Davis and his cabinet in Montgomery, where the decision was made to compel the fort's surrender before Lincoln's ships arrived.
This duty fell to Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard who had been given command of the siege by Davis. Ironically, Beauregard had previously been a protégé of Anderson. On April 11, Beauregard sent an aide to demand the fort's surrender. Anderson refused and further discussions after midnight failed to resolve the situation. At 4:30am on April 12, a single mortar round burst over Fort Sumter signaling the other harbor forts to open fire. Anderson did not reply until 7:00 when Captain Abner Doubleday fired the first shot for the Union. After a 34-hour bombardment, and with his ammunition almost exhausted, Anderson surrendered the fort.
Lincoln's Call for Volunteers & Further Secession
In response to the attack on Fort Sumter, Lincoln issued a call for 74,000 90-day volunteers to put the rebellion down and ordered the US Navy to blockade Southern ports. While the Northern states readily sent troops, those states in the upper South hesitated. Unwilling to fight fellow Southerners, the states of Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina opted to secede and joined the Confederacy. In response, the capital was moved from Montgomery to Richmond, VA.
On April 19, 1861, the first Union troops arrived in Baltimore, MD on their way to Washington. While marching from one train station to another they were attacked by a pro-Southern mob. In the riot that ensued twelve civilians and four soldiers were killed. To pacify the city, protect Washington, and ensure that Maryland remained in the Union, Lincoln declared martial law in the state and sent troops.< |
