Fort Sumter, South Carolina – Beginning the Civil War
Fort Sumter, a name etched in American history, stands as a stark reminder of a nation divided. Located in Charleston, South Carolina, this imposing fortress is best known as the ignition point of the American Civil War. However, its story extends far beyond those fateful first shots, encompassing decades of planning, construction, conflict, and eventual transformation into a national monument.
The genesis of Fort Sumter lies in the aftermath of the War of 1812. Recognizing the need to bolster coastal defenses, the United States government embarked on a project to construct a series of fortifications along the southern coastline. Named in honor of General Thomas Sumter, a celebrated hero of the Revolutionary War, the fort was strategically positioned at the entrance to Charleston harbor, a vital port city.
Construction commenced in 1829, a monumental undertaking that involved transforming a submerged sandbar into a formidable defensive structure. Over 70,000 tons of granite were painstakingly transported from the quarries of New England, a testament to the scale of the project and the commitment to fortifying this critical location. The granite formed the foundation upon which the five-sided brick structure would rise.
The design of Fort Sumter was ambitious, reflecting the military thinking of the era. The fort featured walls approximately 180 feet long, a formidable five feet thick, and soaring to a height of 50 feet. These substantial walls were intended to withstand heavy bombardment and provide a secure haven for the garrison within. The interior layout was planned to accommodate a force of 650 men and a staggering 135 guns, distributed across three tiers of gun emplacements. While the fort never reached its full intended capacity, its potential strength was undeniable. It’s also important to acknowledge that, like many federal projects of the time, the construction of this fort relied, in part, on the labor of enslaved people, a grim reminder of the societal context in which it was built.
However, Fort Sumter remained unfinished when, on December 26, 1860, Major Robert Anderson made a pivotal decision. Leading his small garrison of 85 men, Anderson moved his command into the incomplete fort. This act, seemingly simple, set in motion a chain of events that would irrevocably alter the course of American history and plunge the nation into civil war a mere four months later. The importance of Fort Sumter cannot be overstated as it marked the beginning of a violent conflict.
The year 1860 was a watershed moment for the United States. Deep-seated tensions over states’ rights and slavery had reached a boiling point. On December 20th, South Carolina, a state long simmering with discontent, took the momentous step of seceding from the Federal Union. The decision was unanimous among the delegates at a special secession convention. The election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States in November, without any support from the Southern states, proved to be the catalyst. South Carolina’s "Declaration of the Immediate Causes of Secession" explicitly stated the critical significance of this election. The document argued that a "geographical line" had been drawn across the nation, uniting the Northern states behind a president whose "opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery." This declaration underscored the Southern states’ conviction that their way of life, deeply intertwined with the institution of slavery, was under direct threat.
The declaration further asserted that the Federal Government had violated the Constitutional compact by infringing upon the rights of sovereign states. The primary grievance cited was the failure of Northern states to enforce the Federal Fugitive Slave Act, a law designed to facilitate the return of escaped slaves to their owners. The declaration also condemned the actions of antislavery organizations. South Carolina argued that these failures constituted a deliberate breach of the Constitution, thereby releasing the state from its obligations to the Union. Fear permeated the South, a fear that the "slaveholding States will no longer have the power of self-government, or self-protection, and the Federal Government will have become their enemy." This fear fueled the secessionist movement and propelled the nation toward armed conflict. The legacy of Fort Sumter is tied to these fundamental issues.
As the United States expanded westward, the issue of slavery became increasingly divisive. The question of whether to extend slavery into new American territories ignited fierce debates and political maneuvering. The fate of enslaved African Americans fleeing from the South further complicated the already fraught situation. Over decades, the North and South attempted, but ultimately failed, to reach agreements on geographic boundaries for slavery, the recapture of runaways, and the status of free blacks throughout the nation. These disagreements fractured national political parties, religious denominations, and even families, highlighting the deeply ingrained divisions within American society.
In the months following Lincoln’s election and leading up to his inauguration, as more Southern states declared their secession, desperate efforts at compromise continued. Southern Unionists, along with their supporters in the North, believed that the Union could be preserved without resorting to war. They proposed guarantees that the Federal Government would not interfere with the institution of slavery. One suggestion was a Constitutional amendment explicitly protecting the rights of slave owners. However, Lincoln ultimately concluded that no compromise plan would ever fully satisfy South Carolina, the state that had emerged as the leader in defending the rights of slaveholders and the right of secession. The impending conflict made Fort Sumter a central point of contention.
Within a mere six weeks of South Carolina’s secession, five other states – Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana – followed suit. In early February 1861, delegates from these seceding states convened in Montgomery, Alabama. They adopted a constitution, established a provisional government under the name Confederate States of America, and elected Jefferson Davis as their president. By March 2nd, when Texas officially joined the Confederacy, nearly all Federal forts and navy yards within the seven seceding states had been seized by the new government. Fort Sumter was among the few that remained under Federal control, a symbol of the crumbling Union and a point of contention that would soon erupt into open warfare.
At the time of South Carolina’s secession, four Federal installations existed around Charleston Harbor: Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island, Castle Pinckney on Shute’s Folly Island near the city, Fort Johnson on James Island across from Moultrie, and Fort Sumter at the harbor entrance. Of these, Fort Moultrie was the only one garrisoned by a substantial number of troops. Major Robert Anderson commanded two companies, totaling 85 men, of the First U.S. Artillery. Six days after South Carolina seceded, Anderson, fearing that Moultrie was indefensible, made the strategic decision to secretly transfer his command to Fort Sumter, located a mile away. On December 27th, South Carolina volunteers swiftly occupied Fort Moultrie, Fort Johnson, and Castle Pinckney, and began erecting batteries around the harbor, effectively tightening their grip on Charleston.
South Carolina viewed Anderson’s move as a breach of faith and demanded that the U.S. Government evacuate Charleston Harbor entirely. President James Buchanan, however, refused to comply with this demand. In January 1861, he attempted to send a relief expedition to Fort Sumter. However, South Carolina shore batteries, manned by determined Confederate forces, turned back the unarmed merchant vessel, Star of the West, which was carrying 200 men and several months’ worth of provisions, as it attempted to enter the harbor. This act further escalated tensions and demonstrated the Confederacy’s resolve to control Charleston and its surrounding waters.
In early March, Brigadier General Pierre G.T. Beauregard, a prominent figure in the Confederate military, assumed command of the Confederate troops stationed at Charleston. He immediately intensified efforts to fortify the harbor, strengthening existing defenses and establishing new gun emplacements. As the weeks passed, Fort Sumter gradually became the focal point of the escalating tensions between the North and the South, a symbol of the irreconcilable differences that were tearing the nation apart.
When Abraham Lincoln assumed the presidency on March 4, 1861, he delivered a firm yet conciliatory inaugural address. He vowed to uphold national authority, stating that the Government would not initiate aggression but would also not permit the division of the Union. "The power confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the Government," Lincoln declared, signaling his determination to retain control of Federal installations like Fort Sumter.
By April 4th, Lincoln had concluded that a relief expedition to Fort Sumter was feasible. He ordered merchant steamers, escorted by warships, to transport "subsistence and other supplies" to Major Robert Anderson and his beleaguered garrison. Lincoln also notified South Carolina Governor Francis W. Pickens of the impending attempt to resupply the fort. This notification was a calculated move, intended to force the Confederacy’s hand and clarify their intentions.
After considerable debate and some internal disagreement, the Confederate Secretary of War telegraphed Beauregard on April 10th, authorizing him to act if he was certain that Sumter was to be supplied by force. "You will at once demand its evacuation, and if this is refused, proceed, in such manner as you may determine, to reduce it," the telegram instructed. The stage was set for the inevitable confrontation.
On April 11th, Confederate General Beauregard formally demanded that Anderson surrender Fort Sumter. Anderson, bound by his duty and orders, refused. At 3:20 a.m. on April 12th, the Confederates informed Anderson that their batteries would open fire in one hour. At ten minutes past the allotted hour, Captain George S. James, commanding Fort Johnson’s east mortar battery, ordered the firing of a signal shell, a single shot that would echo through history. Within moments, Edmund Ruffin of Virginia, a fervent secessionist and hero of the movement, touched off a gun in the ironclad battery at Cummings Point. By daybreak, Forts Johnson and Moultrie batteries, Cummings Point, and other Confederate positions were unleashing a barrage of fire upon Fort Sumter.
Major Anderson, despite being heavily outgunned, withheld his fire until 7:00 a.m. Though some 60 guns stood ready for action within Fort Sumter, many never saw combat. Only nine or ten casemate guns returned fire, and by noon, only six remained operational. Throughout the battle, the guns of Fort Sumter inflicted minimal damage on Confederate positions. The cannonade continued relentlessly throughout the night. The following morning, a hotshot fired from Fort Moultrie ignited the officers’ quarters within Fort Sumter. Later that day, the flagstaff was shot away, further demoralizing the defenders. At approximately 2:00 p.m., Anderson agreed to a truce. That evening, he surrendered his garrison. Miraculously, no one on either side had been killed during the engagement, although five Federal soldiers sustained injuries. The surrender of Fort Sumter effectively marked the beginning of the American Civil War.
On Sunday, April 14th, Major Anderson and his garrison marched out of the battered fort and boarded a ship bound for New York. They had defended Sumter for 34 hours, enduring a relentless bombardment that left "the quarters entirely burned, the main gates destroyed by fire, the gorge walls seriously injured, the magazines surrounded by flames." The Civil War had officially begun, a conflict that would claim hundreds of thousands of lives and reshape the very fabric of the nation.
With Fort Sumter in Confederate hands, the port of Charleston became a persistent loophole in the Federal naval blockade of the Atlantic Coast. In 1863, a significant number of Confederate vessels successfully navigated Charleston Harbor, bringing in much-needed war supplies and exporting cotton in payment. The Union forces recognized the strategic importance of Charleston and the necessity of closing the port.
To achieve this objective, Fort Sumter, which had been repaired and armed with approximately 95 guns, needed to be recaptured. After an earlier Army attempt on James Island failed, the task fell to the U.S. Navy, and Rear Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont was tasked with taking the fort. On April 7, 1863, nine armored vessels slowly steamed into the harbor and advanced towards Fort Sumter. For two and a half hours, the ironclads engaged in a fierce duel with Confederate batteries located in the forts and around the harbor. The naval attack inflicted considerable damage on Sumter’s walls, but the Confederate fire, both more intense and more accurate, disabled five Federal ships. One of these ships, the Keokuk, sank the following morning.
Following the failure of the ironclad attack, the Federal strategy shifted. Du Pont was relieved of command and replaced by Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren, who devised a plan to combine land and sea operations. The objective was to seize nearby Morris Island and then use it as a platform to demolish Fort Sumter. Union troops, under the command of Major General Quincy A. Gillmore, began emplacing rifled cannons powerful enough to breach Sumter’s walls at a position secured by U.S. forces on Morris Island.
Meanwhile, inside Fort Sumter, Confederate laborers and enslaved African Americans worked tirelessly, day and night, to reinforce the walls facing the Federal guns, using bales of cotton and sand to buttress the structure. The fort’s garrison at this time consisted of five First South Carolina Artillery companies under the command of Colonel Alfred Rhett. Federal troops fired a few experimental rounds at the fort in late July and early August. The full-scale bombardment commenced on August 17th, with nearly 1,000 shells fired on the first day alone. Within a week, the fort’s brick walls were shattered and reduced to rubble, but the garrison refused to surrender, continuing to repair and strengthen the defenses.
Confederate guns at Fort Moultrie and other strategic points continued to defend Sumter. Another Federal assault on September 9th failed to achieve its objective, with the attackers losing five boats and 124 men in their attempt to take the fort from Major Stephen Elliott and fresh Confederate troops under his command. Except for one ten-day period of heavy firing, the bombardment continued intermittently until the end of December. By this point, Sumter’s cannon were severely damaged and dismounted, and its defenders could only respond with "harmless musketry."
In the summer of 1864, Major General John G. Foster replaced Gillmore as commander of land operations. Foster, who had been a member of Anderson’s 1861 garrison, believed that "with proper arrangements," the fort could be taken "at any time." However, a sustained two-month Union bombardment failed to dislodge the 300-man Confederate garrison. Foster was subsequently ordered to send most of his remaining ammunition and several regiments of troops north to aid Grant’s overland campaign against Richmond.
Sporadic firing against the fort continued through January 1865. For twenty long months, Fort Sumter had withstood Federal siege and bombardment, enduring a level of destruction that left it unrecognizable. Yet, despite its ravaged state, it remained strategically vital. It is estimated that Federal guns had hurled seven million pounds of metal at the fort, yet Confederate losses during this period amounted to only 52 killed and 267 wounded.
The Confederacy never formally surrendered Fort Sumter. However, General William T. Sherman’s relentless advance through South Carolina finally forced the Confederates to evacuate Charleston on February 17, 1865, and abandon Fort Sumter. In a symbolic flag-raising ceremony, the Federal government formally reclaimed possession of Fort Sumter on February 22, 1865.
When the Civil War finally came to an end, Fort Sumter presented a scene of utter desolation. Only remnants of the original walls remained visible on the left flank, left face, and right face. The right flank and the gorge walls, which had borne the brunt of the Federal bombardments, were now irregular mounds of earth, sand, and debris, forming steep slopes down to the water’s edge. The fort bore little resemblance to the imposing structure that had stood defiantly at the start of the war in 1861.
In the decade following the war, the Army embarked on a project to restore Fort Sumter to a semblance of its former condition as a military installation. The irregular contours of the damaged or destroyed walls were given some semblance of uniformity by leveling jagged portions and rebuilding others. A new sally port was cut through the left flank, storage magazines and cisterns were constructed, and gun emplacements were re-established. Eleven original first-tier gunrooms at the salient and along the right face were reclaimed and armed with 100-pounder Parrott guns.
From 1876 to 1897, Fort Sumter was not garrisoned and served primarily as a lighthouse station. During this period, maintenance was neglected, resulting in the deterioration of gun platforms, rusting of guns, and erosion of the area. However, the impending Spanish-American War prompted renewed activity, leading to the construction of Battery Huger in 1898 and the installation of two long-range 12-inch rifles the following year.
Fortunately, the Spanish-American War ended quickly, and the guns were never fired in anger. During World War I, a small garrison manned the rifles at Battery Huger. Although the Army maintained the fort for the next 20 years, it was not actively used as a military establishment. Instead, it became a popular tourist destination until World War II brought about its reactivation. The Battery Huger rifles, by then obsolete, were removed around 1943.
During the latter stages of World War II, 90-mm anti-aircraft guns were installed along the fort’s right flank and manned by a company of Coast Artillery. In 1948, Fort Sumter was designated a national monument, transferring its stewardship from the War Department to the National Park Service.
Today, the Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center, located at 340 Concord Street in Charleston, offers extensive exhibits that recount the story of growing sectionalism and conflict between the North and the South, and how these tensions culminated in the Civil War at Fort Sumter. The museum also details the construction of the fort and island, the events leading to the pivotal battle of April 12-13, 1861, and the subsequent bombardment and reduction of Fort Sumter later in the war.
Fort Sumter National Monument, accessible only by boat, is located in Charleston Harbor. The fort is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. between April 1st and Labor Day. Hours vary during other times of the year. Tour boats, operated by a National Park Service concessionaire, depart from the Fort Sumter Tour Boat Facility at Liberty Square in downtown Charleston. Liberty Square is situated on the Cooper River at the eastern end of Calhoun Street.
Although the Fort Sumter of today bears only a superficial resemblance to its original appearance, it remains a place steeped in history. Battery Huger, constructed across the parade ground during the Spanish-American War, dominates the interior. A walking tour offers views of the Sally Port, built in the 1870s, the ruins of the officer’s quarters, enlisted men’s barracks, gunrooms, and other points of interest, providing visitors with a tangible connection to the past and a deeper understanding of the events that unfolded at this pivotal site.