How the Civil War Began, an April 1861 Timeline – April 10

In a pivotal moment during the American Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis’s Secretary of State, Robert Augustus Toombs, sent a critical telegram to General Pierre Gustav Toutant Beauregard. The message ordered Beauregard to demand the surrender of Major Robert Anderson, the Union commander at Fort Sumter. Toombs instructed Beauregard that if Anderson did not surrender, he was to "open fire" once it became clear that the fort was about to be resupplied. Beauregard promptly responded, stating he would "demand the surrender tomorrow at noon."

At the same time, the USS Pawnee, a Union warship, departed Hampton Roads, Virginia, en route to Fort Sumter. The vessel was under the command of U.S. Commander Stephen C. Rowan, further intensifying the standoff between Confederate and Union forces.