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On the 4th of March, 1861, a few weeks after [[Jefferson Davis]] was inaugurated as president of the Confederacy, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the nation's 16th president.  In his address he reiterated his stance:  to not interfere with slavery where it existed, to prevent slavery from spreading in the territories, but above all to preserve the Union.  The substance of what he said was conciliatory, but it also mentioned the obvious

On the 4th of March, 1861, a few weeks after [[Jefferson Davis]] was inaugurated as president of the Confederacy, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the nation's 16th president.  In his address he reiterated his stance:  to not interfere with slavery where it existed, to prevent slavery from spreading in the territories, but above all to preserve the Union.  The substance of what he said was conciliatory, but it also mentioned the obvious

{{quotebox|In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to "preserve, protect, and defend it. [http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/lincoln_address1.html]}}

{{quotebox|In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to "preserve, protect, and defend it.<ref>Historical Document. [http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/lincoln_address1.html Lincoln's First Inaugural Address], ''PBS'', March 4, 1861.</ref>}}

However, communications between the fort and Charleston broke down, and Confederate general [[P.G.T. Beauregard]], believing Fort Sumter had a supply ship on the way, ordered the fort shelled on April 14, 1865.  The Civil War had begun.

However, communications between the fort and Charleston broke down, and Confederate general [[P.G.T. Beauregard]], believing Fort Sumter had a supply ship on the way, ordered the fort shelled on April 14, 1865.  The Civil War had begun.