In the historical novel Lincoln, Gore Vidal describes how Lincoln would have reacted to certain situations that occurred while he was president. The book is never told from Lincoln's point of view, but rather from the points of view of his loved ones and rivals. Vidal suggests that Lincoln was in fact a "political animal" and not simply a monolithic figure. Some of the most important events that Vidal talks about in the novel were the Battle of Fort Sumter, a battle near Charleston, South Carolina, from April 12 to 14, 1861. A battle that essentially started the American Civil War. This battle—and the action to resupply the troops involved—was Lincoln's first crisis as president. The novel also talks about the states seceding from the Union and what Lincoln did to try to stop them from seceding. Vidal's information on these two topics is generally very accurate, with little change in the events that took place. He doesn't go into a lot of detail, but just enough for you to understand who was on Lincoln's side and who definitely wasn't. The Battle of Fort Sumter essentially began on December 26, 1860 when Major Anderson moved his troops from Sullivan's Island to Fort Sumter. . President James Buchanan had unsuccessfully attempted to reinforce the fort's troops on January 9, 1861, just before Lincoln took over. The novel states that Lincoln said, "No, he had not prepared any instructions for the major because 'I have not yet taken the oath.' I will say how... I was impressed last month, as was everyone else, when General Scott sent a merchant steamboat with reinforcements to Fort Sumter and the governor of South Carolina was able to turn back this ship” (Vidal 40). Lincoln later told General Scott, during a meeting on the war, that "I would be... middle of paper... accurately, the novel adding some things and removing others." The Battle of Fort Sumter was one of the only battles described in the book and was accurate in the story of Lincoln's decision to resupply and evacuate troops from the fort. The book set out Lincoln's, as well as other officials', views on state secession after his election, which were also extremely accurate. Works Cited “Confederate History – The Confederate Society of America.” The Confederate Society of America. Np, and Web. January 4, 2014. “Digital History”. Digital history. Np, January 5, 2014. Web. January 3, 2014. “Lincoln on Secession.” National Park Service. National Park Service, December 14, 2013. Web. January 2, 2014. “Lincoln, slavery and racism. » The historical present. Np, and Web. January 3, 2014.Vidal, Gore. Lincoln: a novel. New York: Random House, 1984. Print.