Lincoln Busted

It is widely accepted now that Lincoln's goal was to maneuver the South into firing the first shot at Fort Sumter; the fact that the dude was replenishing a fort that didn't need replenishing, had made it clear to Governor Pickens that the North would fire if the initial ship was boarded, had forwarded easily intercepted telegraphs to Captain Mercer which fully underscored this, etc.. And if you weren't convinced before that this was the case, here is another more piece of evidence; this, from the diary of Senator Orville Browning (probably Lincoln's closest friend in Washington) - "He himself (Lincoln) conceived the idea, and proposed sending supplies, without an attempt to reinforce, giving notice of the fact to Governor Pickens of S.C.. The plan succeeded. They attacked Sumter - it fell, and thus, did more service than it otherwise could." That's about as close to a smoking gun as you can get, folks, and, while, yes, I agree with Senator Toombs that it was a moronic idea (the fact that it served to rally the North at a time when most Northerners apposed intervention) to take the bait and attack Sumter, if this doesn't convince you then nothing will.