Battles - Fort Sumter

By Mary L. Bushong

1
Every war has a starting point.
The event may not seem important
by itself, but the timing can make it
significant. The shots which began
the American Civil War occurred in the Charleston, South Carolina harbor
on April !, "#.

2
When South Carolina first seceded from the $nion, there was a %uestion
about the $nion forts and weapons arsenal within her territory. A
commission was sent to Washington, &.C. to work out answers to these and
other %uestions. 'n &ecember (, "#), an agreement had been reached.
They would eventually be ceded to the state but for now would remain as
they were in both condition and ownership.

3
*t seemed pretty straight forward. +ort ,oultrie was accessible by land
and was garrisoned. +ort Sumter, on an island in the middle of the harbor,
was incomplete and ungarrisoned.

4
,a-or .obert Anderson commanded +ort ,oultrie. /orn and raised in
0entucky and married to a Southern woman, he sympathi1ed with the South,
but he served and was loyal to the $nion army. 2is orders were to maintain
his current position.

5
+ort ,oultrie was not in the most favorable position. *t was situated on
low ground, while hills and buildings in the area were higher. Anderson and
his officers saw troops being moved out of the harbor and were afraid they
would be attacked. *f riflemen were on the hilltops and buildings, they could
pick off soldiers inside the fort without ever showing themselves. Anderson
decided to take action on his own.

6
'n &ecember !#, "#), Anderson and his men took boats across the
harbor and took over the unfinished fort during the dead of night. When the
change was first noticed the ne3t morning, there was a huge outcry in the
city.

7
The ne3t day, the governor of the state sent an envoy to Anderson, asking
him politely to remove himself from that position. After telling him about
the agreement with the president over the disposition of forts, Anderson still
refused to move. That complicated the governor4s hope for a bloodless
secession.

8
Since Anderson, by his actions, had broken the agreement between the
$nion and the state, the governor took action on his own. 2e had all the area
forts taken over, including +ort ,oultrie, Castle 5inckney, and +ort 6ohnson.
2e also took control of the weapons arsenal in Charleston itself. 2e also had
a gun battery built on ,orris *sland, facing the shipping channel.

9
'n 6anuary (, "# a merchant steamer was sent to try to re7supply
Anderson with food and reinforcements. The ship was warned and then fired
upon before it turned and steamed out of range. When Anderson %uestioned
the aggressive action, he was told that the governor would allow him to
leave, but not to be re7supplied.

10
After the Confederacy had been formed, more demands were made to
Anderson and 5resident 8incoln to cede the fort. 'n April , "#, 9eneral
/eauregard demanded the evacuation of the fort. Anderson refused at first,
but finally named April : as a day to give it up. 2e knew that $nion forces
would come to help him and give him fresh orders before that date.

11
$nion ships were closing in and could be seen outside the harbor. At
;<!) a.m. 9eneral /eauregard gave Anderson a one hour warning to get out
or be shelled. Anderson stayed. 5recisely one hour later, the first shells were
fired. +ort Sumter was bombarded constantly for the ne3t thirty7four hours.
,uch of the interior of the fort was destroyed by fire.

12
Anderson surrendered the fort and was allowed to take a ship to =ew
>ork City along with all of his men. 2e lost only one man when sparks
caused a cartridge to prematurely e3plode in a gun. The e3plosion caused the
stack of cartridges beneath it to e3plode, in-uring five other men.

13
The Confederates held the fort until +ebruary "#:. *t was shelled
almost constantly by $nion forces from 6uly "#; until that time. *t was
reduced to little more than rubble. The fort has been largely rebuilt and is
available for tours.