Once again, Lincoln's personal letter to Captain Gustavus Fox in which Lincoln admits having "engineered" [my word] the firing of the first shot is completely overlooked in this otherwise learned and well organized paper.

Makes me wonder about James Ostrowski's credentials and in what direction he tilts.

"You [Fox] and I [Lincoln] both anticipated that the cause of the country would be advanced by making the attempt to provision Fort-Sumpter, even if it should fail; and it is no small consolation now to feel that our anticipation is justified by the result." - Abraham Lincoln, letter to Fox, May 1, 1861 (emphasis added)"