states from the lower south followed South Carolina. They were Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. These seven states formed a new union called the Confederate States of America. The South gave three reasons for leaving the Union: The Confederate States felt the United States thought they had broken the Constitution. The Confederacy argued that the United States had failed to enforce the Fugitive Slave Laws. The government not allow slavery in the new territories. The upper southern states remained with the Union at this time. Virginia said that if the North decided to fight they would fight against them. Lincoln said they would not use force to get the states back into the Union. He hoped they would do so on their own. The Confederate States began taking over the forts on their land from the federal soldiers. There was no fighting. Only two federal forts were left in the South. They were Fort Pickens in Florida and Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. Both of the forts were surrounded by Confederate troops. Virginia voted to leave the Union a few days later. North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas followed shortly after Virginia. The slave states of Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware remained loyal to the Union. Western Virginia formed a new state, West Virginia, for those who wanted to be a free state. Fort Sumter On December 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union. Five days later, 68 federal troops stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, withdrew to Fort Sumter, an island in Charleston Harbor. The North considered the fort to be the property of the United States government. The people of South Carolina believed it belonged to the new Confederacy. Four months later, the first engagement of the Civil War took place on this disputed soil. When South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860, United States Maj. Robert Anderson and his force of 85 soldiers were positioned at Fort Moultrie near the mouth of Charleston Harbor. On December 26, fearing for the safety of his men, Anderson moved his command to Fort Sumter, an imposing fortification in the middle of the harbor. While politicians and military commanders wrote and screamed about the legality and appropriateness of this provocative move, Anderson’s position became perilous. Just after the inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln on March 4, 1861, Anderson reported that he had only a six week supply of food left in the fort and Confederate patience for a foreign force in its territory was wearing thin.
states from the lower south followed South Carolina. They were Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. These seven states formed a new union called the Confederate States of America. The South gave three reasons for leaving the Union: The Confederate States felt the United States thought they had broken the Constitution. The Confederacy argued that the United States had failed to enforce the Fugitive Slave Laws. The government not allow slavery in the new territories. The upper southern states remained with the Union at this time. Virginia said that if the North decided to fight they would fight against them. Lincoln said they would not use force to get the states back into the Union. He hoped they would do so on their own. The Confederate States began taking over the forts on their land from the federal soldiers. There was no fighting. Only two federal forts were left in the South. They were Fort Pickens in Florida and Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. Both of the forts were surrounded by Confederate troops. Virginia voted to leave the Union a few days later. North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas followed shortly after Virginia. The slave states of Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware remained loyal to the Union. Western Virginia formed a new state, West Virginia, for those who wanted to be a free state. Fort Sumter On December 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union. Five days later, 68 federal troops stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, withdrew to Fort Sumter, an island in Charleston Harbor. The North considered the fort to be the property of the United States government. The people of South Carolina believed it belonged to the new Confederacy. Four months later, the first engagement of the Civil War took place on this disputed soil. When South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860, United States Maj. Robert Anderson and his force of 85 soldiers were positioned at Fort Moultrie near the mouth of Charleston Harbor. On December 26, fearing for the safety of his men, Anderson moved his command to Fort Sumter, an imposing fortification in the middle of the harbor. While politicians and military commanders wrote and screamed about the legality and appropriateness of this provocative move, Anderson’s position became perilous. Just after the inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln on March 4, 1861, Anderson reported that he had only a six week supply of food left in the fort and Confederate patience for a foreign force in its territory was wearing thin.
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