152 YEARS AGO TODAY...the bloodiest war in American history begins...

In order to coalesce the forces in the North, Lincoln had to stage an incident to inflame the populace, which he did. The firing on Sumter was by his own admission a setup for just such action. Lincoln was aware that provisioning Sumter could provoke a war.

Lincoln's letter to Gustavus Fox on 1 May, 1861, makes it clear that he was pleased by the result of the firing on Ft Sumter..." …You and I both anticipated that the cause of the country would be advanced by making the attempt to provision Ft Sumter, even if it should fail; and it is no small consolation now to feel that our anticipation is justified by the result. "

The “result” and the “cause of the country” that Lincoln wished to advance, was, of course, the war that the firing on Fort Sumter brought about. On July 3rd of that same year, Lincoln confided to Orville H. Browning, a close personal friend, about the plan to supply and reinforce Sumter and its actual intentions at the time: 

"The plan succeeded. They attacked Sumter - and it fell, and thus did more service than it otherwise could."

Lincoln’s biographers Nicolay and Hay reveal that, quote “When the President determined on war and with the purpose of making it appear that the South was the aggressor, he took measures…” WHEN THE PRESIDENT DETERMINED ON WAR!!! Who caused the first shot to be fired?

President Jefferson Davis later stated: “The order for the sending of the fleet was a declaration of war. The responsibility is on their shoulders, not on ours.”

It is also by Commander Anderson’s own writings that we know that Sumter was not “starving” or without the necessities of survival."