Fort Sumter - The First Battle of

Fort Sumter

The First Battle of the Civil War

South Carolina was the first state to secede from the United States of America and was a gathering place for citizens who wanted to rebel against the U.S. government.

Fort Sumter was a fort for the Union but it was located in a Confederate state.

After South Carolina seceded, the Confederate troops began preparing to take over the United States' forts in the harbor including Fort Sumter.

Fort Sumter is located in Charleston, South Carolina.

Almost a week before the actual war, there was an accidental shot fired from the Confederate artillery that made a direct hit on Fort Sumter.

The Fort was named after Thomas Sumter. He was a commander of the South Carolina militia during the American Revolution.

General P.G.T. Beauregard of the Confederate army ordered an investigation about the matter but found nothing.

The fort is on a man-made island three miles away from Charleston, so it is only accessible by boat.

When the Confederate Army heard that President Lincoln was going to resupply the fort, they were ready to attack the fort.

The United States Government started building the fort in 1829, but it was actually never finished due to the attack.

Both sides fired many shots, but in this two-day battle there was not a single fatality on either side.

Thomas Sumter

The closest thing to death was during the 100 gun salute to the Union flag. During this ceremony, a man's gun exploded and killed him and injured people around him.

The Confederates managed to shoot the Union flag of the fort down and this made them believe the Union was surrendering.

On April 11, 1861, the Confederate general, General P.G.T. Beauregard, sent a three-man delegation to the fort with an ultimatum to remove the U.S. flag and evacuate the fort immediately.

The Union soldiers put up a good fight, but they were forced to surrender the fort over after running out of artillery shells and gunpowder.

The Union faced many obstacles.

The Confederate Army had the advantage because of their numbers and supplies. They fired on Fort Sumter for thirty-four hours.

1. They had fewer men.

2. They could only fight during the daylight hours because their supplies were running low.

3. Their firing did little damage to the Confederate batteries with an iron armor.

In the early morning of April 12, 1861, the first shot of the Civil War was fired by the artillery of the Confederate army on Fort Sumter.

Fort Sumter was an important place to control during the Civil War.

The Union attacked it two more times until they eventually took it back after surrendering it in April of 1861.

The firing on Fort Sumter forced people to pick sides in the South just as they did in the North.

Major Robert Anderson of the Union said he would be out of the fort by April 15th but Beauregard would not accept this and stated he would attack in an hour.

The Confederate victory at Fort Sumter led to the secession of Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee.