President Abraham Lincoln 
sends a message to South Carolina Governor Francis W. Pickens stating that he will attempt to send supplies to Fort Sumter:
…an attempt will be made to supply Fort Sumter with provisions only, and that if such attempt be not resisted, no effort to throw in men, arms, or ammunition will be made without further notice, except in case of an attack on the fort.
Today, in short, marks the final point of no return: few expect Confederate forces in South Carolina to allow the resupply of Fort Sumter, and Lincoln realizes he is inviting the South to act aggressively against his move.
Yet at this point, life continues uninterrupted for most Baptist congregations. The Big Glades Church (Primitive Baptist) in Big Glades, West Virginia (founded in 1847), for example, votes “to give the Arm of the Big Glades Church on Indian Creek license to be constituted a Church.” The term “Arm” is a common way of saying “mission church.” Like many other congregations, Big Glades was involved in church planting right up to the start of the Civil War. Such efforts would wane in Baptist life during the course of the war, however.
Source: Lincoln’s correspondence (link); historians’ analysis of April 6 (link); Big Glades Church information (link)
