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What were the events leading to the surrender of Fort Sumter?

When the South seceded from the Union, President Lincoln had to decide what he would do with the United States forts that were in the South. One of these forts was Fort Sumter. When the commander of Fort Sumter reported that he was running low on supplies, President Lincoln decided he would attempt to send unarmed ships to resupply the fort.


President Lincoln announced the decision and this forced Jefferson Davis to decide if he would attack the fort, which would lead to the start of the war. President Lincoln knew that Jefferson Davis couldn’t allow the unarmed Union ships to arrive at Fort Sumter. That would be an acknowledgement that the South really wasn’t an independent country. Thus, Jefferson Davis decided to attack Fort Sumter.


Before attacking the fort, Southern generals demanded that the Union surrender the fort. When the Union commander refused, the South attacked the fort the next day. The Civil War began with this attack.

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