<P> On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as president . He was almost immediately confronted with the surprise information that Major Anderson was reporting that only six weeks of rations remained at Fort Sumter . A crisis similar to the one at Fort Sumter had emerged at Pensacola, Florida, where Confederates threatened another U.S. fortification--Fort Pickens . Lincoln and his new cabinet struggled with the decisions of whether to reinforce the forts, and how . They were also concerned about whether to take actions that might start open hostilities and which side would be perceived as the aggressor as a result . Similar discussions and concerns were occurring in the Confederacy . </P> <P> After the formation of the Confederate States of America in early February, there was some debate among the secessionists whether the capture of the fort was rightly a matter for South Carolina or for the newly declared national government in Montgomery, Alabama . South Carolina governor Pickens was among the states' rights advocates who thought that all property in Charleston harbor had reverted to South Carolina upon that state's secession as an independent commonwealth . This debate ran alongside another discussion about how aggressively the installations--including Forts Sumter and Pickens--should be obtained . President Davis, like his counterpart in Washington, preferred that his side not be seen as the aggressor . Both sides believed that the first side to use force would lose precious political support in the border states, whose allegiance was undetermined; before Lincoln's inauguration on March 4, five states had voted against secession, including Virginia, and Lincoln openly offered to evacuate Fort Sumter if it would guarantee Virginia's loyalty . </P> <P> The South sent delegations to Washington, D.C., and offered to pay for the Federal properties and enter into a peace treaty with the United States . Lincoln rejected any negotiations with the Confederate agents because he did not consider the Confederacy a legitimate nation and making any treaty with it would be tantamount to recognition of it as a sovereign government . However, Secretary of State William H. Seward, who wished to give up Sumter for political reasons--as a gesture of good will--engaged in unauthorized and indirect negotiations that failed . </P> <P> On April 4, as the supply situation on Sumter became critical, President Lincoln ordered a relief expedition, to be commanded by former naval captain (and future Assistant Secretary of the Navy) Gustavus V. Fox, who had proposed a plan for nighttime landings of smaller vessels than the Star of the West . Fox's orders were to land at Sumter with supplies only, and if he was opposed by the Confederates, to respond with the U.S. Navy vessels following and to then land both supplies and men . This time, Maj . Anderson was informed of the impending expedition, although the arrival date was not revealed to him . On April 6, Lincoln notified Governor Pickens that "an attempt will be made to supply Fort Sumter with provisions only, and that if such attempt be not resisted, no effort to throw in men, arms, or ammunition will be made without further notice, (except) in case of an attack on the fort ." </P>

The first battle of the civil war took place at fort sumter