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“. . .there is no doubt bitter feeling against all ‘rebels,’ and I do not look for good feeling from
northern friends or relatives.”
—Entry for 13 April 1868, in The Journals of Josiah Gorgas 1857–1878
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Although elected president in November 1860, Abraham Lincoln did not take office until March 1861. During the interim,
South Carolina seceded from the Union, soon followed by other states of the lower South—Mississippi, Florida,
Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.
South Carolina demanded the evacuation of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Lincoln refused and sent fresh supplies.
Before they arrived, Confederate batteries ringing the harbor began shelling the fort, which soon surrendered. Lincoln
called for volunteers, provoking the secession of Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
Choosing sides in the Civil War was an agonizing decision for many West Point graduates. Most remained loyal to their
home states. Of 977 graduates of the classes of 1833–1861 alive when war began, 259 joined the Confederacy (including
32 Northerners), while 638 fought for the Union (including 39 Southerners).
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