Tragic miscommunications and mixed signals from both Union and Confederate sides intensified tensions, propelling both sides closer to war.

The Role of Miscommunication

Southern states began seceding from the Union, with South Carolina leading the way. The movement was fueled by fears about slavery’s future.

The Fire of Secession Ignites

Tensions arose between Lincoln and his Secretary of State, William Seward, as the new administration struggled to maintain the Union.

Internal Division in Lincoln's Cabinet

The commander of Fort Sumter, Anderson, was a former slave owner sympathetic to the South but loyal to the Union, making him a pivotal figure in the crisis.

Major Robert Anderson: A Man of Two Loyalties

The Union’s defensive positions in Charleston Harbor, including Fort Moultrie, were inadequately prepared to withstand a Southern assault.

Charleston Harbor's Weak Defenses

Southern leaders like James Henry Hammond justified slavery as essential to the Southern economy and social structure, promoting the idea that certain groups must perform menial labor.

The Mudsill Theory of Slavery

Wife of a prominent planter, Chesnut provided a personal perspective on the conflict, reflecting on both marriage and slavery’s moral implications.

Mary Boykin Chestnut: A Witness To History

Efforts for a peaceful resolution ultimately failed, with Lincoln’s attempts to avoid war thwarted by the secessionists’ determination.

The Final Days of Diplomacy

On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter, marking the official start of the Civil War.

The Bombardment of Fort Sumter

Lincoln’s appeal for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion led to mass enlistment and escalated the path to all-out war.

Lincoln's Call For Troops

The attack on Fort Sumter galvanized public opinion, transforming the conflict from a political dispute into a national crisis.

Public Sentiment Erupts

Erik Larson masterfully chronicles the chaotic months that led to the Civil War, offering a gripping narrative filled with flawed leaders, conflicting loyalties, and the relentless march toward a war that would define a nation.

Lincoln’s unexpected election win on November 6, 1860, set the stage for national unrest, with Southern extremists calling for secession.	•	“Could I have anticipated them, I would not have believed it possible to survive them,” Lincoln later reflected.

Lincoln's Unforeseen Victory

Outgoing President Buchanan’s indecision and refusal to act decisively allowed Southern states to strengthen their secessionist stance.

James Buchanan's Passive Leadership

The focal point of the looming conflict was Fort Sumter, a federal stronghold in Charleston Harbor that symbolized Union authority in a seceding South.

Fort Sumter: The Flashpoint

Explore the turbulent five months between Lincoln’s election and the Civil War’s start, where hubris, heartbreak, and heroism clashed, culminating in the assault on Fort Sumter.

Ruffin, a radical secessionist, fueled pro-secession sentiment through fiery speeches and literature, pushing for Southern independence.

Edmund Ruffin: The Fanatic Firebrand

Dive into the chaotic months before the Civil War, where hubris, division, and miscommunication ignited America’s deadliest conflict.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of The Splendid and the Vile brings to life the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War in this “riveting reexamination of a nation in tumult” (Los Angeles Times). “A feast of historical insight and narrative verve . . . This is Erik Larson at his best, enlivening even a thrice-told tale into an irresistible thriller.”—The Wall Street Journal On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter. Master storyteller Erik Larson offers a gripping account of the chaotic months between Lincoln’s election and the Confederacy’s shelling of Sumter—a period marked by tragic errors and miscommunications, enflamed egos and craven ambitions, personal tragedies and betrayals. Lincoln himself wrote that the trials of these five months were “so great that, could I have anticipated them, I would not have believed it possible to survive them.” At the heart of this suspense-filled narrative are Major Robert Anderson, Sumter’s commander and a former slave owner sympathetic to the South but loyal to the Union; Edmund Ruffin, a vain and bloodthirsty radical who stirs secessionist ardor at every opportunity; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, wife of a prominent planter, conflicted over both marriage and slavery and seeing parallels between them. In the middle of it all is the overwhelmed Lincoln, battling with his duplicitous secretary of state, William Seward, as he tries desperately to avert a war that he fears is inevitable—one that will eventually kill 750,000 Americans. Drawing on diaries, secret communiques, slave ledgers, and plantation records, Larson gives us a political horror story that captures the forces that led America to the brink—a dark reminder that we often don’t see a cataclysm coming until it’s too late.

The Bombardment of Fort Sumter

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