The Influence Of The Battle Of Fort Sumter

Not long before the battle of Fort Sumter occurred, Jefferson served as a Senator but when his home state of Mississippi officially succeeded from the Union, he resigned his position from the Senate. It wasn’t long after Davis resigned his seat that he had been named a major general in the army supporting Mississippi. His devilish experiences didn’t take long to kick in as he began immediately to grow the Mississippi army in preparation for an attack from the north (McPherson 17-18). Meanwhile in Montgomery, the capital of the Confederate States, the delegates were quickly working on building a new constitution and sorting through those to put into political power to lead the succession from the north. After several days of debating
In fact, his language continued to drive hate and anger among those citizens in the south. The evidence of false hope for an easy win continued to build the imposing failure against the north. Speaking at a rally in Alabama, Davis was cited saying, “where food for the sword and torch awaits the armies...Grass will grow in the northern cities where pavements have been worn off by the tread of commerce” and that Northerners would “smell Southern powder and feel Southern steel” if coercion from the north attempted to persuade the south to rejoin the Union (McPherson 18). At the actual inauguration, the devilish powers continued to build. In fact, at the event, Davis went above and beyond what the typical president would say and do...the irony of the eternal battle between God (the good) and the devil (the evil) was evident as Davis bent down and kissed the Bible as he said, “So help me God”
Davis, well knowing the power of the Fort Sumter, and the rest of his Cabinet had discussed the possibilities of bombardment; yet, within a day, the Secretary of War, LeRoy Pope Walker contacted Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard, one of the first generals of the Confederate States of America and told him to “reduce it.” Davis’ reply, “Let us take Fort Sumter” (Davis). Once the first shots on Fort Sumter rang out around 4:30 a.m. on April 11, the updates of the attack on the Fort along with interest from the locals began to raise rumors of a victory; however, President Davis knew the battle was far from over: “Every message generated new excitement in the capital, and rumors soon flew through Montgomery’s streets that Sumter had fallen” (Davis). Soon after the battle had begun, the north surrendered the Fort and the reality of war was setting in as the President said that Sumter’s fall was “the beginning of a fearful war or the end of a political contest”