It was already a war of aggression against the north before Lincoln took office.
The war started before Lincoln was inaugurated. In 1859–60, the Secretary of War, John Floyd, shipped 115,000 muskets and rifled muskets to southern armories, so that they would be ready to hand. When he attempted to ship gun tubes (unmounted cannon), a clerk in the War Department complained, and Floyd quickly resigned and rode into his native Virginia. In many southern states, the contents of armories were seized in the first week of January 1861, by so-called state troops. Also seized were Post offices, Custom Houses, money and fortifications. On January 8th, 1861, so-called state troops of Florida and Alabama attempted to seize Forts Barrancas and McRee, with their cannon and about 20,000 lbs. of gunpowder. The young Federal Lieutenant in command had his men fire over the heads of the state troop who scurried back to Pensacola as fast as their legs would carry them. On January 10th, he had the guns spiked, and as they evacuated, and blew up the powder magazine. His company pulled out to Fort Pickens in the harbor, where they held out for more than three months until relieved.
On January 9th, 1861, cadets from the Citadel, the state military academy of South Carolina, fired on Star of the West, an unarmed merchant vessel attempting to deliver reinforcements and supplies to Fort Sumter.
Bringing the