e prepared to bring food and other provisions to the beleaguered troops at Fort Sumter. Confederate authorities then decided that the sending of provisions was a hostile act and proceeded to attack the fort. The battle lasted 40 hours, and on April 13, Union forces surrendered. Lincoln had made sure that if the south was really determined to fight for it independence, it would have to begin by taking an aggressive action. On April 15, Lincoln proclaimed that an insurrection against federal authority existed in the deep south and called on the militia of the loyal states to provide 75,000 troops for a short-term service to put it down. Within the next five weeks, four more states seceded, making the total now 11 seceded states.The South had began inducing major foreign powers to recognize its independence and to intervene on the Confederate side. The hope that England and France could be convinced stemmed from the fact that these nations depended on the south for a majority of their cotton supply. England recognized the Confederacy as a belligerency and thus the Confederacy sent 2 envoys to England. On their way, however, a Union warship captured the 2 envoys. England threatened war with the United States if they did not release the two. After a few weeks, Lincoln allowed the two envoys to proceed to their destination. The two envoys reached England, but never managed to gain full recognition for the Confederacy. Meanwhile, Napoleon III, emperor of France, favored the southern cause, mainly because he was trying to set up a puppet government in Mexico and wanted to trade French support for Confederacy recognition of his regime south of the border. However, Napoleon was unwilling to risk war with the United States unless the British would co-sponsor his plan. The British would not go along with these plans, largely because the south had failed to win a clear victory at Antietam and was retreating.The last two and a half year...
