Essay on Lincoln and the Outbreak of Civil War

As President of The United States, Lincoln wanted to keep these seceding Southern states to remain a part of America. He felt that the union was not just an arrangement to govern over the states, but it indeed symbolized the future of American freedom where slavery would be abolished for good and protected the rights of every human being. When the Confederates decided to attack Fort Sumter, a Union fort, in April of 1861, the peace broke. This attack was known to have started the American Civil

After the defeat at Fort Sumter there were some northerners that tried to get Lincoln to let the south go. When deciding weather to take Fort Sumter by bombardment, one of Davis's ideas was a bargain with Washington , maybe purchase, for the peaceful turnover of the fort and other federal holding in the seceded states. Thinking Confederate independence was inescapable, Davis prayed that they would slow down long enough to recognize that they could save millions of dollars and many lives by stopping this. He believed that the honor of the Confederate States of America (CSA) would be reestablished if everyone seen Davis challenge Lincoln successfully. While dealing with all of this he still was ready to take Fort Sumter. Davis just wanted peace and to be left alone. The South was fighting a defensive war, which gave it inherent advantage.

"Sir; The government of the Confederate States has hitherto foreborne from any hostile demonstrations against Fort Sumter, in hope that the government of the United States with a view to the amicable adjustment of all questions between the two governments, and to avert the calamities of war would voluntarily evacuate it.

Lincoln inaugural appealed the secessionists in the Southern. Lincoln made promises in defending the rights of the state and also protecting the slaves in states where slavery existed. He clearly put across that, he will defend the Union and the Constitution. In his speech, he pleaded in finding a common ground. His speech appeared conciliatory to the Northerners, however, to the southern people, the speech was reportedly, like the declaration of the start of a war. The next morning after his inauguration, the garrison at Fort Sumter was reported to be forced to surrender unless there was a resupply. The Government of Confederate claimed the fort, and looked for reinforcements as an action of war. Surrendering the fort would have only strengthened the cause of

His ended his speech with a plea for the restoration of the bonds of union. The South just ignored his plea. Violence and outrage turned to belligerence in the North, which in turn had many southerners clamouring for war. At 4.30am on April 12th 1861, Confederate gunners opened fire on Federal - held Fort Sumter, situated in the middle of Charleston Harbour. The only real casualty was a horse. This gentle brawl was the start of a longer, harder and bloodier war than anyone could dream of.

The Battle of Fredericksburg is remembered as the Confederate Army’s most one-sided victory in its campaign against the Union Forces of the North. It was also the first battle to occur shortly after President Abraham Lincoln had delivered his “Emancipation Proclamation” and the President was hard pressed for a victory to use to bolster public support for it. General George McClellan fresh of his victory against of General Robert E. Lee’s forces at Antietam was being pressured by the President to

The April 12 paper included information on the confederates asking Major Anderson to surrender Fort Sumter and strategies for the defense of the fort. In the Times article “The Forts in Charleston Harbor” there is a sense that the union forces have positioned themselves well and the confederates have waited too long allowing the opportunity for reinforcements to arrive if needed at Fort Sumter. This feeling can be seen in the final sentence where it reads: “But be the motive what it may, there is little doubt that they have lost the golden opportunity, and that the Stars and Stripes will continue to wave over the old fort, unless puerile negotiations should allow the Confederate force to prepare

U.S. Major Robert Anderson occupied the unfinished fort in December 1860 following South Carolina’s secession from the Union, initiating a standoff with the state militia forces. When President Abraham Lincoln announced plans to resupply the fort, Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard shelled Fort Sumter in April of 1861. After a 34 hour exchange, Anderson and his soldiers surrendered the fort. Confederate troops then would come to occupy fort Sumter for almost four years, before abandoning the fort prior to William Truman’s capture of Charleston in February 1865. (The Civil War: Primary Documents on Events from 1860 to 1865, 79)

He feared for his own and his troop’s safety (McPherson, 55). The troop was stationed inside Fort Sumter until Lincoln’s Inauguration on March 4th, 1861 (McPherson, 56-57). It was then that Major Anderson revealed that there was only a six week food supply and his troops would need more supplies to survive. On April 11th Confederate forces wanted Anderson to surrender the fort. When Anderson refused, the Confederates fired upon the fort.

     After the Fort Sumter battle, both the North and the South began preparing for war by raising armies. This was done quickly and neither side spent much time training the troops. Both sides also did not know what a long and terrible war was ahead.

Northern troops were positioned at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, when the Southern states succeed from the Union. As a result, Lincoln faced the most difficult decision of his life. The troops there needed food and supplies, or they would die. If Lincoln sent armed reinforcements to the Fort, the South would assume it was an act of aggression and fire upon the union soldiers. Lincoln’s actions would either start a war between family and friends or recognize the South’s secession as legitimate and separate America into two different countries. His decision would decide the fate of the men in the fort and the country.

But the decision of Lincoln to resupply the South Carolina Fort Sumter is what opted the South to take action and open fire on Fort Sumter and capture it. The North understood that the only way to regain the union was to destroy the will of the South to fight. Therefore, opting for a total war, a war of attrition destroying everything and anything in their path to regain stability and to keep the South from seceding. (Hall 1999).

Taking after the withdrawal of seven states from the Union in 1861, various government fortifications were seized by the leaving states. In Charleston harbor, one of the remaining Union fortifications was Fort Sumter. Exactly when President Lincoln taught South Carolina that the Union was sending courses of action to the fortress, Southerners deciphered it as strongholds. The Southerners ambushed Fort Sumter with firearms on April 12, 1861. This strike on Sumters left the Union vanquished, yet impelled an engaging soul in the North. Exactly when Lincoln requested seventy-five militiamen from the state's, locals enthusiastically volunteered. It allowed the North to gather troops that would win the Civil War for the Union. (435, 436)

On December 20th, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union. During this time, 85 federal soldiers under the command of Major Robert Anderson were stationed at Fort Moultrie, which is also located near the Charleston Harbor. To protect the federal strong hold in the south, Major Anderson moved his troops to Fort Sumter in the dark of night on December 26th. When the people of Charleston heard the news of the invasion on the fort, it did not sit well with them and other Southern states. Fort Sumter was built to protect the harbor in Charleston, now it was a military threat.

The reason for writing this book from McPherson’s point of view was because out of all the material out there about President Lincoln the vast majority of it is about other topics besides his role as Commander in Chief. McPherson believes that this is surely unthinkable due to the sheer amount of time and energy Lincoln had to put into being the commander of our army throughout the four long years the Civil War reigned. This book, in the eyes of James McPherson, is a long overdue explanation of Lincoln in his main role as Commander in Chief. He tells of numerous occasions when Lincoln must make important decisions that could make or break the union army. These