South Carolina seceded in December 1861, followed by the other states of the Deep South in January and February. United States property remained within the boundaries of the Southern states. The most problematic of these were military stores and installations. Obviously the Southern states did not want islands of Federal control within their borders; they felt they were entitled to these arms and supplies themselves.

Geoffrey Ward explains in The Civil Warthat many Federal installations quickly concluded it was folly to hold out as Union-controlled blips deep within Confederate territory, and they turned over their materials and fortifications without a shot. The soldiers who were loyal to the Union then traveled north; soldiers in the Federal army with Southern sympathies often chose to leave the ranks of the Federal army and cast their lot with the Confederacy.

Most troublesome to the Federal troops were the fortifications at Charleston. The harbor was protected on either side by mainland Forts Moultrie and Johnson and by pentagon-shaped Fort Sumter on a small island in between, smack in the path of any ship wishing to reach or depart Charleston city. Federal troops at the garrison quickly understood they could not defend Forts Johnson and Moultrie from land attack, so they were abandoned to South Carolinians, who moved in with large numbers to man the batteries. The Federals under Major Robert Anderson withdrew to the relative isolation and safety of water-surrounded Fort Sumter.

Anderson was a veteran of the Mexican War and had strong Southern ties, yet he was loyal to the Union. Anderson settled into Fort Sumter with sixty-eight men to await orders from Washington. South Carolinians saw the fort as an insult to their sovereignty. They could not abide a Federal fort commanding Charleston, the most important city in their state and one of the most important in the seceded states. They demanded it be turned over to them, and negotiations began almost as soon as South Carolina seceded.

Buchanan's Dilemma

President Buchanan was stymied. As the leader of the U.S. government he believed the Constitution did not allow secession, but neither did it offer a way to prevent or reverse it. He also felt he could not readily surrender an important fort. Anderson reported that Fort Sumter could be defended, but he would need reinforcements and additional supplies.

According to Shelby Foote's Civil War: A Narrative, Buchanan decided to send reinforcements and supplies. A merchant steamer called Star of the Westcarried them, but as it approached Charleston harbor on January 9, Confederate gunners fired on it. Although the ship sustained no damage, her captain turned and abandoned the relief expedition. President Buchanan did not consider this an act of war because no blood had been shed.

Lincoln Addresses the Conflict

At Lincoln's inauguration on March 4, Lincoln vowed that the U.S. government would not start a war with the South, nor would it try to take back Federal facilities held at that point by Confederate forces. He did promise, however, to “hold, occupy, and possess” forts and other installations still under Federal control within the Confederacy, and that included Fort Sumter.

Lincoln was thrown into the first serious crisis of his presidency the day after his inauguration, when he received a frantic wire from Anderson at Fort Sumter, reporting that the facility had less than a six-week supply of food. The fort would be impossible to hold if new supplies were not sent immediately.

General-in-Chief Winfield Scott told Lincoln that resupplying the fort was impossible, and Secretary of State William Seward advised that the fort simply be evacuated in an attempt to cool growing agitation in Charleston. Lincoln chose an option he hoped would appease both sides: he would resupply the fort but not reinforce its defenses. He then sent a message to Francis Pickens, the governor of South Carolina, telling him of his decision and began to organize the relief fleet.