How Did Lincoln’s Election Trigger the Battle That Tore America Apart?

What Really Happened at Fort Sumter Before the Civil War Began?

Explore the chaotic months before the Civil War in The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson. Discover how hubris, miscommunication, and the fall of Fort Sumter plunged a divided nation into its bloodiest conflict, offering haunting parallels to modern political divides.

Curious about the untold story behind America’s darkest hour? Read the full summary now to witness the dramatic countdown to Civil War and the decisions that changed history forever.

Genres

History, Biography, Memoir, Society, Culture

Introduction: Learn more about the state of the nation leading up to the American Civil War.

The Demon of Unrest (2024) captures the dramatic chaos and pivotal moments of the American Civil War’s early days. It vividly recounts the fall of Fort Sumter and delves into the intense emotions and strategic maneuvers that precipitated the event. Painting an eerily relevant portrait of a world on the brink of war, it displays how every decision and action at this critical time had the potential to alter the course of history.

While the American Civil War ended in 1865, divisions in the U.S. persist, many of which can be traced back to that nineteenth-century conflict. The phrase “demon of unrest” was coined by Dennis Hart Mahan, a professor at West Point, in a letter where he described the unsettling impact of the rapidly advancing industrial age. Mahan noted how this change disturbed wealthy plantation owners, who relied on slavery to sustain their businesses and way of life.

Change was on the horizon, and the Southern way of life – rooted in ideas of racial superiority – was in jeopardy. Not only was there the threat of industrial advancements, slavery was being made illegal in other countries and abolitionists in the North were gaining favor. It was indeed a time of unrest in America, but in the months leading up to the start of the Civil War, the politicians in the North would underestimate how deep the feelings of resentment ran in the Southern states.

In this Blink, we’ll look at those uneasy months leading up to the Battle of Fort Sumter, which finally tipped the scales and sent the nation into a bloody four-year war that continues to linger in the Nation’s consciousness today.

A new political power

In the months leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860, the United States was teetering on the edge of chaos. At the heart of the discord was slavery – an issue that was creating havoc in the nation’s political landscape.

The Democratic Party, which had long been dominant in Washington, had split into Northern and Southern factions, with each side nominating their own candidate for the presidency. A third party, the Constitutional Union Party, had also entered the fray, hoping to bridge the growing divide between North and South.

Meanwhile, the Republican Party was a rising political force that opposed the expansion of slavery in the growing United States. They’d chosen Lincoln as their candidate. With the three other contenders splitting the vote, Lincoln’s supporters saw a clear path to victory.

For the South, however, Lincoln’s potential win wasn’t just a political shift – it felt like an existential threat. Southern states, particularly those driven by radical pro-slavery “fire-eaters,” viewed Lincoln as a danger to their way of life. The “chivalry,” as the affluent Southern population called themselves, couldn’t exist without the use of slavery.

Despite Lincoln’s repeated assurances that he wouldn’t interfere with slavery where it already existed, it made little difference. The “chivalry” abhorred the Republican abolitionists and Lincoln. But it hardly mattered, Lincoln wasn’t even on the ballot in ten Southern states. Already, newspapers like South Carolina’s Charleston Mercury were calling for secession if Lincoln triumphed.

On November 6, 1860, as Lincoln won crucial states like New York, it became clear that the Republicans had secured the presidency. Despite earning less than half of the popular vote due to the divided race, Lincoln dominated the Electoral College. But his victory did little to unite the fractured country. In the South, he barely made a dent in the vote count. Even in Kentucky, his birth state, he received less than one percent.

It would be months before Lincoln would be sworn in as president, however, and during that time he remained unnervingly silent as calls for secession from the Union grew louder among the Southern states. In Charleston, South Carolina, military leaders like Colonel John Gardner were on edge. Gardner, commander of the US Army forces in Charleston, worried that local militias or even angry mobs might seize key forts, particularly Fort Sumter, a half-completed fortress in the city’s harbor.

Gardner pushed for more troops to protect these vulnerable installations, but in Washington, doubts arose about whether he was the right man for the job. He was soon replaced by Major Robert Anderson, a seasoned officer with Southern roots who, while sympathetic to the South, was known to be loyal to the Union. From the outset, Anderson found himself stepping into a pressure cooker in Charleston Harbor – one that was only going to intensify in the coming months.

An endangered way of life

Charleston was a bustling hub of the domestic slave trade. The city hosted regular slave auctions, where entire families were sold off to the highest bidder. In many ways, the city symbolized the South’s deep reliance on slavery. The enslaved population outnumbered the free, and they weren’t just confined to plantations – they were an integral part of the city, driving carriages and ensuring the smooth running of commerce and daily life for the Southern elite.

It was this deep entanglement with slavery that made the prospect of a Lincoln presidency so threatening. Men like James Hammond, a prominent South Carolina planter, embodied this fear. Rising from humble beginnings to become one of the wealthiest men in the state, Hammond saw slavery as the foundation of Southern society. However, by the late 1850s, Hammond’s defense of slavery was becoming harder to justify. A significant turning point came in 1852 with the publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The book became a sensation in the North and a lightning rod for criticism in the South. Hammond and his peers struggled to comprehend the Northern opposition, clinging to the belief that their chivalrous society, built on enslaved labor, was both ideal and just.

In 1857, Hammond surprised himself by winning a seat in the U.S. Senate. His comeback was due in large part to his powerful pro-slavery rhetoric, such as his infamous “Mudsills Speech,” where he argued slavery was the natural result of one race using an “inferior” race for the betterment of society. The speech was a resounding success among the Southern leadership.

Edmund Ruffin was another “fire-eater” – a popular voice for defending Southern “chivalry” from the so-called radical abolitionists in the North. Ruffin was actually excited by recent events, such as the 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry in Virginia, which saw abolitionist John Brown try to ignite a large-scale slave revolt. He felt that events like this might finally spur the Southern states into action and get them to break free from the oppressive forces of the North. As Ruffin explained, if the South did not secede and the North had its way, then emancipated Blacks might soon share equal standing with whites. This would inevitably lead to intermarriage, a concept Southerners referred to with horror as “amalgamation.” Even though Lincoln wasn’t advocating for racial equality, this dread permeated Southern society and was fervently stoked by the likes of Ruffin and Hammond.

A Christmas surprise

In Charleston, the push for secession reached its peak after Lincoln’s election, with Augustus Longstreet likening it to an unstoppable force of nature. Southern leaders like Edmund Ruffin were thrilled, while others, like Mary Chesnut, feared Lincoln’s presidency would lead to inevitable war. Even her husband, US Senator James Chesnut, resigned in order to join the secessionist cause. Across the North, reactions to Lincoln were mixed, with some doubting his ability to lead the nation through such a critical period.

As Southern states moved toward secession, President Buchanan, still in office, did little to quell the growing rebellion. His indecision frustrated both the North and the South. Southern leaders, including future Confederate President Jefferson Davis, were dismayed that Buchanan wasn’t doing more to protect their interests. At the same time, Buchanan also failed to properly defend federal forts, such as those in Charleston, leaving them vulnerable to attack. When South Carolina officially seceded on December 24, 1860, tensions surrounding these forts escalated even further.

Major Robert Anderson, stationed at Fort Moultrie in Charleston Harbor, quickly realized the fort was indefensible. Despite communicating this to Washington, President Buchanan hesitated to send reinforcements, fearing it would provoke war. Faced with growing tensions and the responsibility to protect his men, Anderson made a bold decision. Without waiting for direct orders, he devised a plan to move his troops to the more secure Fort Sumter, located in the middle of the harbor, with its thick stone walls capable of withstanding an attack.

On the night of December 26, 1860, under the cover of Christmas festivities, Anderson quietly evacuated his troops, their families, and supplies to Fort Sumter. Not only that, he had spiked Moultrie’s cannons to prevent their use and destroyed whatever ammunition he couldn’t take. By the time Charleston awoke the next morning, the transfer was complete, and smoke was seen rising from Fort Moultrie. Outraged, South Carolina’s Governor Francis Pickens called for the immediate seizure of remaining federal forts. Anderson’s move was hailed as heroic in the North but further inflamed tensions in Charleston.

Pickens quickly ordered supplies to Fort Sumter to be cut off and began positioning troops and artillery within striking distance. Meanwhile, in Washington, President Buchanan was caught off guard by the developments, though General Winfield Scott supported Anderson’s decision. Scott pushed for reinforcements, but logistical challenges delayed immediate military action. Instead, a plan was devised to covertly deliver troops using the commercial steamer Star of the West.

On January 8, 1861, the Star of the West approached Charleston, but Southern forces weren’t fooled. They fired warning shots, forcing the steamer to retreat. Anderson, wanting to avoid a full-blown conflict, held off from retaliating, but the incident made it clear that while the South was preparing for war, the North was still struggling to take decisive action. The standoff over Fort Sumter was now a ticking time bomb, with both sides poised on the brink of conflict.

Lincoln finally speaks to a growing rebellion

Every step of the way, Major Anderson was cautious. He didn’t want to be among the people responsible for an all-out war breaking out. But some among his troops, including Captain Abner Doubleday, didn’t see the point. To Doubleday, it was clear that a conflict was unavoidable. All Anderson was doing was prolonging the inevitable and making the US Army look timid in the process.

This issue grew more pressing with each passing day. As long as the men at Fort Sumter remained passive, their food rations dwindled and their opponents grew more fortified – much to Doubleday’s frustration.

In contrast, the Southern agenda was anything but uncertain. By January 28, Louisiana had seceded, bringing the total to six states. Meanwhile, in Charleston Harbor, over a thousand enslaved people were forced to help fortify the beaches, surrounding Fort Sumter with a ring of artillery. Anderson could only watch as his small garrison of 75 men now faced around 2,000 South Carolina soldiers.

In February, as the Confederate States of America was officially forming, Lincoln finally addressed the nation during his train journey from Illinois to his upcoming inauguration in Washington. At each stop, he reassured audiences, denying any intention to “invade” or “coerce” the seceding states. However, he firmly emphasized the Union’s right to protect its property, including the threatened army forts in Charleston.

During these critical early stages, the rising hostility in the South never seemed to fully reach Lincoln. He remained confident and focused on upholding the Constitution. His Secretary of State, William H. Seward, advised a strategy of nonaction, believing that strong pro-Union sentiment in the South would cause the rebellion to fizzle out. Needless to say, this was a serious miscalculation.

The severity of the situation

Lincoln’s inaugural address, on March 4, 1861, is famous for the closing remarks about the “mystic chords of memory” and “better angels of our nature.” But while it moved some audience members to tears, it also left many in the nation feeling uneasy. It walked the line between being firm and conciliatory, leaving it open to interpretation as to whether peace or war lay on the horizon.

For Ruffin and others in the South, Lincoln’s words pointed towards an inevitable war. As General Beauregard arrived in Charleston to bolster the defense, the mood shifted towards expectation of conflict, with Fort Sumter at the center of attention.

One of the first letters President Lincoln received was from Major Anderson, outlining the dire situation at Fort Sumter, where food and supplies were rapidly dwindling. General Winfield Scott, after reviewing the conditions, believed there was no option but to surrender. However, Lincoln was conflicted, sensing that abandoning Sumter would embolden the Confederacy and shatter Union morale. As Lincoln and his cabinet debated their next move, a bold plan was proposed by Gustavus Vasa Fox, an ambitious former Navy midshipman. Fox believed he could successfully deliver food, supplies, and reinforcements to Fort Sumter. Intrigued by the idea, Lincoln decided to send Fox to Charleston to assess the situation firsthand.

On March 22, Fox arrived at Fort Sumter and had a brief, tense discussion with Major Anderson, learning about the fort’s dwindling supplies and Anderson’s estimate that they couldn’t hold out past April 15 without reinforcements. While Fox left optimistic about his plan to resupply the fort, Anderson remained less convinced.

Complicating matters further, Fort Pickens in Florida faced a similar predicament. On March 28, General Winfield Scott presented Lincoln with a grim scenario: both forts would either need to be evacuated or saved through significant military action. This unsettling news finally pushed Lincoln toward action. In early April, he authorized a resupply mission to Fort Sumter and a reinforcement of Fort Pickens. However, the plan would encounter more than a few hitches along the way.

First shots fired

On April 5, 1861, President Lincoln discovered a critical mistake – he had inadvertently assigned the same warship, the Powhatan, to both the Fort Sumter and Fort Pickens expeditions. By the time the error was noticed and a corrective order sent, the Powhatan had already set sail for Fort Pickens. Efforts to recall the ship failed, as its captain, Lieutenant David Dixon Porter, ignored the order since it hadn’t come directly from Lincoln.

Meanwhile, Captain Fox, unaware of the miscommunication, pressed on through a severe storm, further delaying his mission. On April 8, news of the resupply effort reached Charleston, leaving the Confederates little choice but to act. One last hope to avoid violence came on April 11, when the Confederacy offered Major Robert Anderson the chance to surrender, which he politely declined. The following day, on April 12, 1861, at 4:30 AM, the bombardment of Fort Sumter began, with Edmund Ruffin honored to fire the first shot.

Inside Fort Sumter, Major Anderson and his men remained calm despite the bombardment. They scraped together a meager breakfast and waited until daylight to fire back at the Confederate positions. The Southern soldiers cheered when the cannonfire finally emerged from Sumter. Though the fort’s walls easily withstood the artillery, Sumter’s upper levels were vulnerable and unusable. Unfortunately this was where the heaviest and most powerful guns resided, leaving them all but useless.

By the time Fox arrived at the rendezvous point off Charleston Harbor, several of his ships were missing, including the critical Powhatan. Fox had hoped to approach under the cover of darkness, but with no reinforcements, the low tide, and rough waters, his plan never came to fruition.

On the morning of April 13, a cannonball broke through the unfinished upper levels of Fort Sumter, sparking a dangerous fire that threatened the fort’s stockpile of gunpowder. With food and ammunition running out, and the fire out of control, Major Anderson agreed to evacuate under the terms previously offered by Beauregard, which included a cannon salute to the Union flag. In a tragic twist, the only fatality during the battle was Private Hough, who died in a cannon mishap during the flag salute, marking the somber end of the engagement.

When the garrison finally departed from Fort Sumter, it was a moment of mutual respect. As Anderson and his men passed Morris Island aboard their steamer, Confederate soldiers silently removed their hats in a solemn tribute.

A legacy that lingers on

Charleston erupted in celebration over the taking of Sumpter. But there were other eyes on the scene. Sir William Howard Russell was a celebrated reporter for the London Times. Russell had embedded himself in Washington before touring the South. He was amazed at how few Northern politicians had ever set foot below the Mason-Dixon line or spoken to a Southerner. As he saw it, despite the celebrations in Charleston, the events at Fort Sumter were a sign that things were about to get much worse.

The day after Sumter’s evacuation, on April 15, 1861, President Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for seventy-five thousand troops. Their purpose was to suppress the rebellious groups in the seceded states and restore U.S. law. The first task would be to reclaim the federal forts and property seized by the Confederates.

He hoped this act would cause minimal damage and disturbance and offer a sense of security to the border states. Instead, it had an explosive impact, as the call to arms only intensified divisions. On April 17, Virginia voted to secede. Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee soon followed. North Carolina’s delegate described the sweeping secessionist fervor as a moral epidemic overtaking the entire population. Though Maryland, Missouri, Kentucky, and Delaware stayed with the Union, they were reluctant to comply with Lincoln’s call for volunteers. As the conflict escalated and war became inevitable, journalist William Russell observed there was no longer any hope of restoring the Union to its previous state.

Edmund Ruffin, the old fire-eater, had believed the war would be brief, sending his sons off to battle with confidence. But four years later, after 750,000 American lives were lost and slavery was abolished, it was the Union that celebrated at Fort Sumter on April 14, 1865 – the anniversary of its surrender. Robert Anderson was given the honor of raising the American flag over the fort once more.

Later that night, at the Charleston Hotel, heartfelt toasts were made, including one from Anderson, who praised Abraham Lincoln as the man who had reunited the nation. Unbeknownst to anyone in attendance, Lincoln was living out his final hours, having been shot at Ford’s Theater that same evening. While the war’s end brought some closure, it also left a profound impact, reminding the nation of the many unresolved conflicts that lay ahead.

Conclusion

The main takeaway of this Blink to The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson is that the months leading up to the American Civil War were a tense and transformative time. The dramatic events surrounding the fall of Fort Sumter had far-reaching consequences, and few understood the gravity of the situation. Those in the North significantly underestimated the deep-rooted emotions driving the South’s desire for secession.

Political maneuverings in Washington did little to prevent the conflict at Fort Sumter, ultimately setting the stage for the full-blown war. In fact, these actions only deepened the divisions and heightened the urgency across the nation, though few, North or South, realized the personal toll the war would eventually take. Larson’s narrative weaves together key historical moments with the personal experiences of important figures, offering a compelling look at a nation on the brink of civil war.