Southern Rebels fired the first shots -- and did so months before Sumter.
The South had been banging the drums of war for years before.
Lost Cause enthusiasts are such lost causes.
...
Just think about it using your own brain, dude. Why would the civilians of the Southern Confederacy let the Union keep forts that could blockade Southern ports at any time?
You think we would p[ut up with that crap today?
No, we would negotiate some kind of deal to get the forts under our control..
That is what the Southern civilians tried to do but were 'repulsed' (i.e. fired upon) in doing so.
But by all means, find me a case of Southern Confederate troops firing on Union civilians or military prior to January 8, 1861 and then you would have proven your case.
But you cant because it did not happen. You have been lied to about the Civil War your entire life, man. That is what victors do.
Lost Causers....a lost cause.
Florida had not even seceded, and no, no one was fired up then.
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Museum of Florida History - Crisis at Pensacola, 1861 »
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O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME 1 [S# 1] CHAPTER IV.
OPERATIONS IN FLORIDA.
No. 3. -- Reports of Lieut. Adam J. Slemmer, First U.S. Artillery, of the transfer of his command from
Barrancas Barracks to Port Pickens, and subsequent events (to February 5, 1861) in Pensacola Harbor.
FORT PICKENS, FLA., February 5, 1861.
SIR: Having heard rumors that the forts and other public property in Pensacola Harbor were to be seized by troops under the orders of the governor of Florida, and having been advised of the seizure of the forts in Mobile Bay, I deemed it proper, having received no instructions from Washington, to endeavor to prevent, by all the means in my power, a like seizure here.
On the morning of the 7th ultimo, accompanied by Lieutenant Gilman, I called upon the commander of the navy-yard, Commodore Armstrong, to consult with him in reference to some plan to be adopted to insure the safety of the public property. We had a similar consultation on the evening of the same day and on the morning of the 8th. The commodore, in the absence of any orders, deemed it inexpedient to cooperate with us.
On the morning of the 8th I removed all the powder from the magazine in the Spanish battery of Fort Barrancas to the inner magazines, because, from its exposed position, it was liable to seizure at any moment. I also caused all the batteries to be put in working order, and at night placed a sergeant's guard in the fort with the drawbridge raised. That night a body of men (about twenty in number) came to the fort with the evident intention of taking possession. The corporal of the guard caused the alarm to be given, upon which the assailants retreated precipitately. The guard was immediately strengthened by half the company, but nothing further occurred that night.
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On 9 October 1861 the commander of Confederate forces in Pensacola, General Braxton Bragg, ordered an assault on Fort Pickens that was ultimately unsuccessful. Colonel Harvey Brown, the commander of Union forces, felt this attack required an answer and planned an attack of his own. Fort McRee, the closest fortification to Fort Pickens and a road block to any attempted assault on Pensacola, was to be the primary target.
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The Star of the West was fired upon by southern rebel yahoos on the 9th of January:
January 9, 1861. On this day, Senators Judah P. Benjamin and John Slidell of Louisiana telegraphed Gov. Moore of that state (which had not yet seceded from the Union), that Federal gunboats were secretly bringing supplies to the forts at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Both men had yet to resign from the Senate.
Gov. Moore ordered Braxton Bragg and 500 troops to seize the forts and the United States arsenal at Baton Rouge.
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On this same day, the Star of the West attempted to resupply Fort Sumter but was fired on by a masked battery from Morris Island and then by guns from Fort Moultrie. In spite of the fact the ship was flying two United States flags, the ship was repeatedly fired on. The ship turned and steamed away.
Why Is There Controversy Over Confederate Monuments?
West Point teaches the first unofficial shots were fired by the South, on Star of the West.
Learn your history, racist rebel Bowie.
History is my life's profession, over three decades -- not from Southern Lost Causers still pissed by they lost the war, and certainly not like you try to pluck a Wiki single citation and pretend you know all history from that.