By this time, the United States had split into two nations, and many feared that only war could either reunite them or keep them apart. Many in the North also feared that more states would secede. Throughout the South, Federal troops remained stationed in isolated forts such as Fort Pickens in Florida and Fort Sumter in South Carolina.
The First Shots
In Washington, President Lincoln had decided to provision the Federal troops at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. As the supply ships headed south, many anxiously waited for the southern response.
Meanwhile, southerners prepared for war as General P.G.T. Beauregard demanded that Major Robert Anderson surrender his Federal garrison at Fort Sumter. When Anderson refused, Beauregard ordered the batteries to open fire. At 4:30 on the morning of April 12, the first shot was fired and the Civil War begun.
The Federals in the fort were hopelessly outnumbered by the Confederates firing at them from Charleston. Cannon pounded the fort for 34 hours with little response. When the artillery drove off the supply ships sent by Lincoln, Anderson knew that further resistance was futile. On April 13, he surrendered the fort to the Confederacy. A private was killed by an exploding magazine when Anderson’s men fired a 50-gun salute to their flag; he was the first fatality of the war.
War Hysteria Spreads
News of Fort Sumter’s surrender spread like wildfire throughout North and South. Southerners held massive celebrations while northerners were outraged. President Lincoln proclaimed that a state of insurrection existed and called for 75,000 volunteers to put down the rebellion. Confederate President Jefferson Davis called Lincoln’s proclamation a "declaration of war."
Lincoln’s call also prompted fury in Virginia. Believing that the proclamation was an affront to its sovereignty, the Virginia legislature voted to secede from the Union. This deprived the Union of Colonel Robert E. Lee, a loyal Virginian. Lee had been offered command of the Union Army but when Virginia seceded, Lee declared that he could not raise his sword against his home state.
Maryland Threatens Secession
In Baltimore, secessionists met to discuss whether Maryland should secede. This greatly alarmed the Lincoln administration because if Maryland seceded along with Virginia, Washington would then be surrounded by Confederate states. Furthermore, northern troops heading for Washington had to travel through Maryland. On April 19, a riot erupted in Baltimore when Massachusetts troops fired into protestors hurling rocks and bricks. At least 13 were killed in the melee.
The Baltimore riot stopped the flow of federal troops to Washington, leaving the capital vulnerable to southern invasion. In addition, southerners resigned from government jobs and military posts in droves, and many remained in the capital to work as spies or saboteurs. Good news for the Lincoln administration came when the Maryland legislature ultimately voted to remain in the Union. This was vital in keeping Washington secure.
Mobilization
President Lincoln imposed a naval blockade on southern ports this month. While slow in its effectiveness, the blockade would greatly damage the southern economy and war capabilities. Lincoln also suspended the writ of habeas corpus, which was a blatant violation of constitutional rights. Lincoln argued that the emergency at hand required such illegal action.
Meanwhile throughout the month on both sides, editorials blared the call to arms, people gathered to sing patriotic songs and hear emotional speakers, women made clothing and blankets for the new volunteers, communities took up collections to care for families without their men, and churches, schools and other organizations helped in any way they could. The New York Yacht Club even offered their yachts to help the southern blockade.
Conclusion
By month’s end, most people were exhilarated by war fever, and most believed that the war would be very short. The grim reality would come later.
Sources
Long, E.B. and Long, Barbara: The Civil War: Day by Day (New York, NY: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1971)
Ward, Geoffrey; Burns, Ric; Burns, Ken: The Civil War (New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990)
Walter Coffey - Walter Coffey is a freelance writer who resides in Houston, Texas. Walter has written several works of historical fiction and non-fiction, ...
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