“The firing on that fort will inaugurate a civil war greater than any the world has yet seen…you will lose us every friend at the North.
The battle of Fort Sumter is significant because it was the first battle of the war and the Confederates fired on fort and won
See what a lot of land these fellows hold, of which Vicksburg is the key... Let us get Vicksburg and all that country is ours. The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket."