Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division [LC-DIG-ppmsca-35361]

      FIGURE 3-1: The firing on Fort Sumter.

      DOUBLEDAY UP TO BAT

      Captain Abner Doubleday, second in command at Fort Sumter, aimed and gave the command to fire the first Union cannon shot of the Civil War. Although he became a major general, commanding a division, Doubleday’s name is more associated with baseball rather than the Civil War. Doubleday was believed to be the inventor of baseball in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839, a claim now discounted.

But Lincoln’s call for the 75,000 troops changed minds quickly and dramatically. It was one thing to debate whether the Constitution was a compact of voluntary association or an insoluble bond, but it was quite another thing for the federal government to use force against the states to enforce its will. None of these states would allow troops to be sent against fellow Southerners. Thus, when Lincoln declared the states in rebellion and intended to use coercive military force, the states of the upper South issued their own ordinances of secession. But these were different. There was no mention of slavery; instead, they asserted their rights as sovereign states to leave the Union voluntarily.

      To top it off, Maryland, Missouri, and Kentucky, all slaveholding states, threatened to leave the Union as well. A large and powerful group of angry people now confronted the U.S. government. Lincoln suddenly found himself with double the problem that he had before the fall of Fort Sumter.

      The bloodless battle that opened the war unleashed the torrent of long-held pent-up emotions. In both the North and the South, people laughed, cried, danced, sang, and prayed for joy at finally reaching a resolution to the tensions. Young men from all over America ran eagerly to join volunteer units forming up to fight. The excitement of adventure and glory was almost overwhelming. The North responded to Lincoln’s call for 75,000 men with over 100,000 volunteers.

      The hardest choice: Robert E. Lee takes his stand

      While the rookies jumped at the chance to play soldier, the professional soldiers were far less enthusiastic. For many of them, the army was all they had known. They had served where the country had sent them, often to desolate places with poor pay and little to do. But the secession of their states forced many to make a choice they never had thought would be necessary. The following facts help to tell the story of painful decisions made in the crush of events no one ever dreamed would happen:

One of these officers who faced this terrible decision was Colonel Robert E. Lee. He had served his country all his life. Lee was a graduate of West Point and served as its superintendent. He was an officer on General Winfield Scott’s staff in the Mexican-American War, whose intrepid gallantry led to major U.S. victories. He had commanded a cavalry regiment and in 1860 was in charge of the military department of Texas just before the state seceded. He was in Washington when Fort Sumter surrendered.

      Lee opposed secession and mistrusted the motives of the cotton states. But when Virginia left the Union, he saw (like many others) that his duty lay with his native state. He did not make his decision lightly; he knew it would cost him greatly. General Scott, who knew Lee well and admired his skills, offered him the opportunity that any professional soldier with talent covets — wartime command of the nation’s armies. Scott knew Lee’s sympathies but hoped the offer of command would change his mind. Lee’s answer was firm and eloquent: “I cannot raise my hand against my birthplace, my home, my children.” He offered his resignation from the army and sadly abandoned his wife’s family estate, Arlington, overlooking Washington. He never saw it again. The property was later confiscated and today is the site of Arlington National Cemetery. His decision made, Lee traveled to Richmond and, facing an uncertain future, offered his services to Virginia.

So, Who Started the War?

      This is a good question to ask about now. Who gets the blame for bringing the nation to such a terrible fate? The answer can very much depend on your partisan point of view. You can blame Lincoln for maneuvering Jefferson Davis into a confrontation, knowing that Davis had no choice but to resist the resupply effort. Lincoln even told him about the relief expedition just to make sure that Davis’s forces would be ready when it arrived. You can blame Jefferson Davis for being overly aggressive, seeking confrontation with the U.S. government over Sumter out of a misplaced sense of Southern national pride. You can also blame both of them equally for setting conditions neither could fulfill.

      The problem was that compromise was impossible for either president. It was inevitable that shots would be fired. Lincoln had pledged to save the Union in March; 40 days later, he was at war. If Lincoln did not force a decision, the Confederacy would have gone on unmolested, mocking Lincoln’s oath. Davis pledged to defend the new Confederacy in February; 50 days later, he was at war. If Davis didn’t force a decision, the Confederacy would have no legitimacy, and the act of secession would be meaningless.

By authorizing the attack on Sumter, Davis made a conscious decision, knowing that the Confederate states could not leave the Union peacefully as he had hoped. He was perfectly willing to risk war, however, to secure the independence of the Confederacy. Lincoln, too, made a conscious decision by calling for 75,000 volunteers to crush what he now called a rebellion. The Confederate attack had put the Union in danger and the Confederate states had initiated armed aggression against the nation. He knew full well that his action risked losing all of the slave states to the Confederacy and thus initiating a war of terrifying magnitude. Yet he was willing to risk such a war for the principle of the Union.

      Well, there you have it — plenty of blame to go around. Like it or not, history shows us that sometimes there just aren’t simple answers. Issues of war and peace can be mighty tough to sort out, and leaders can find themselves in a crisis with no other option except war. You pick your position and come out fighting.