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Fort Sumter
Pages 497-500
No Time to Celebrate
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Lincoln had little time to celebrate winning
the election.
He wanted to save the Union and keep the
country together.
Seven states had already seceded from the
Union.
Decisions - Decisions
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Some people told Lincoln to just let the
Southern states go.
Others said he should give in on slavery
and hope the Southern states would return.
Some thought Lincoln should use the army
to end the revolt.
Losing Control
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When the Southern states seceded, they
took control of post offices, forts, and other
federal property in their states.
Fort Sumter, a fort on an island off the
coast of South Carolina, remained under
Union control.
Major Robert Anderson was the
commander of the fort.
Fort Sumter
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Major Anderson sent word to President
Lincoln that supplies at the fort were almost
gone.
He told President Lincoln that if fresh
supplies were not sent he would be forced
to surrender the fort to the Confederacy.
Lincoln’s goal was to keep Fort Sumter
under Union control.
A Tough Decision
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Lincoln had a few choices:
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He could send supplies to the fort but
Southerners might attack.
He could send troops to the fort but
Southerners would surely attack then.
He could choose to do nothing at all which
would mean he was giving the fort up to the
Confederacy.
Lincoln’s Choice
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President Lincoln
decided that he
should send supply
ships to the fort
and wait to see
how Southerners
would react.
President Jefferson Davis
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President
Jefferson Davis
had to make a
decision. His goal
was to take control
of Fort Sumter for
the Confederacy.
Davis’s Choice
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President Davis made a choice that would
possibly result in war.
Davis decided to take over the fort before
Union ships arrived with fresh supplies.
On April 12, 1861, Confederate leaders
demanded that Union forces surrender Fort
Sumter.
Major Anderson refused.
Shots Fired
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The Confederate troops fired on the fort.
The next day Major Anderson ran out of
ammunition and had to give up.
President Lincoln asked Americans to join
the army and stop the rebellion.
More States Secede
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Fearing that Northern armies would march
into the south, the states of Virginia,
Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina
joined the seven states that had already left
the Union.
A total of 11 states were now part of the
Confederacy.
The Civil War had begun.