Lincoln Did Use Force Against the Confederacy

The premise is incorrect. Following the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter (April 1861), President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the “insurrection,” instituted a naval blockade, and oversaw the creation of the Union Army. Four years of total war—including major campaigns at Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Atlanta—ended with Confederate surrender at Appomattox (April 1865). Lincoln’s use of military force was the defining act of his presidency.