The Star of the West

In November 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican elected to the Presidency.  The party had only been formed in 1854 on account of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Comprise and thus led to Bleeding Kansas as both anti-slavery and pro-slavery forces flooded into the state in order that 'Popular Sovereignty' would choose their side when statehood came.  Many in the South viewed the party as an abolitionist party and, as such, the election of Lincoln signaled that a corner had been turned on the fight over slavery.  His election was viewed as a hostile act.

On December 20, South Carolina seceded from the United States.

On December 26, Major Robert Anderson abandoned Fort Moultrie and transferred those troops and some guns to Fort Sumter.

On January 3, 1861, Delaware rejected a vote on secession.

On January 4, a civilian steamship, The Star of the West, was dispatched with supplies for Fort Sumter.  At the time of its departure, South Carolina remained the only state to secede.  Buchanan specifically chose a civilian ship in order to minimize tensions.

On January 9, The Star of the West was fired upon as it navigated into the harbor.  Neither the Star of the West nor Fort Sumter returned fire on the Morris Island battery.  The Star of the West suffered minor damage and retreated without delivering supplies.  In the wake of the incident, Major Anderson wrote to Governor Pickens, noting that South Carolina had not declared war on the United States before firing on a US ship.  This incident is often viewed as the first shooting in the Civil War though it did not trigger war.  Also on this day, Mississippi seceded from the Union.

On January 31, a letter from Governor Pickens of South Carolina arrived in Washington.  In it, he demanded that President Buchanan surrender Fort Sumter.  He refused.  However, by this time, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana had also seceded.

On March 4, Lincoln is inaugurated.  By this time, Texas had also seceded.  Seven states had seceded before the reason for their secession had even entered office.

On April 12, Confederate batteries commenced a 34 hour bombardment on Fort Sumter.  This is the widely accepted date for the start of the Civil War.

On April 13, the Union forces surrendered Fort Sumter.

Considering the timeline, who started the war?  It seems obvious to me.  A friend declares that the entry of the Star of the West into Charleston Harbor was the beginning of the War of Northern Aggression.  From this, I don't see it.