sentences:  Bates was non-committal, Cameron was not in attendance, and Seward and Smith opposed resupply.Later that day Lincoln gave Fox the order to begin assembling a squadron to reinforce Fort Sumter.Lincoln's policy of re-supplying the Fort Sumter and Fort Pickens was designed to deny the right of secession without resorting to violence, which he hoped would allow the administration maintain support among both Northerners and Southern Unionists.