9 Legacy and historical view. James was named for an older brother who died in infancy. After Abraham Lincoln's election as president, several Southern states announced their secession from the Union to form a new government, the Confederate States of America. In April 1861, the rebels bombarded Fort Sumter, one of South's last federal outposts, beginning the Civil War. Although he had no military training, Garfield knew that his place was in the Union Army.