Fort Sumter is an island that is found in Southern Calorina. It draws the fame from being the first spot for the first shots of the American civil war. invaded Fort Sumter in December of 1860¹. This was followed by the announcement by President Abraham Lincoln to re-supply the port. Later the Fort Sumter was bombarded by Bauregard, and a 34 hour artillery fire exchange, Major Anderson and his eighty six soldiers had to surrender. They surrendered in April 13 in 1861. This led to the occupation of Fort Sumter by the Confederate troops for a period of close to four years. During this period, the troops resisted bombardment from the union forces, but they abandoned the garrison when William T. Sherman captured Charleston in the month of February 1965. The US forces, thus restored fort Sumter after the civil war. The US forces, thus manned the fort during the Spanish War of 1898, the world war 1, and also during the world war II.

The first battle of Fort Sumter took place when the Fort was still under construction. This is the time when South Carolina seceded from the union, on the 20^th day of December 1860. By this time, Charlestons Harbour stood as a major fort, even though it was manned by two companies-troops of the Federal government². When South Carolina militia forces seized other forts in the Charleston city, Fort Sumter was left as a Federal outpost. Later a standoff arose on the ^ninth day of January 1861.

1. David Detzer,Allegiance: Fort Sumter, Charleston, and the Beginning of the Civil War (Harcourt, ON: Houghton Mifflin, 2002), 75.
2. , 99.

A ship labeled the star of the West invaded Fort Sumter with more than two hundred US troops. When the vessel neared the Charleston harbor, the South Carolina Militia forces fired upon it. The vessel had no option then, but to turn back to the sea. Calls for Major Anderson to abandon Fort Sumter were futile. By around march of 1861, more than three thousand militia troops besieged Anderson’s garrison. Many of the US military facilities that had invaded the southern part had been seized, and this made Fort Sumter appear as the only remaining hurdle that needed to be overcome for sovereignty to be achieved.

The fort Sumter situation escalated further after the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln as president in March of 1861³. With knowledge that Anderson and his troops were running out of supplies, president Abraham Lincoln made an announcement of relieving fort Sumter by sending three unarmed ships. However, South Carolina forces saw any attempts to supply the fort again as an act of aggression. The forces, thus scrambled to respond. The militia commander, Bauregard P.G.T ordered Anderson to surrender the fort on April 11. However, Anderson was adamant. On April 12, 1861, Bauregard responded to the Anderson’s refusal by opening fire. The US captain, by then, Abner Doubleday, made an order for the first shots in defense of the fort.

The battle continued for the next thirty four hours. Bauregard attacked Fort Sumter by unleashing nineteen coastal batteries and firing around three thousand shots at the citadel⁴. The fortress five-foot thick brick walls broke in April 13^th and fire had entered the postSince Anderson’s stores of ammunition had been depleted, he had no optio

3. Zachary Kent,The Civil War: From Fort Sumter to Appomattox (Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc, 2011), 102.
4. , 103.

He thus surrendered by around 2.00 P.M. the Union troops had not been killed, although two men died as a result of an explosion that occurred in the artillery a few hours before the US troops had evacuated. The Fort Sumter’s bombardment is historical and has a historical significance of playing a major role in triggering the US civil war. President Abraham Lincoln, however, continued to call for peace, and strengthening of the union, although most of the southern states remained in support of the confederacy⁵.

The Fort Sumter also engaged further in battles of the civil war. When the Confederacy forces acquired it in 1861, they used the fort to establish a defense for the Charleston Harbour. They, however, concentrated on building and arming the fort. In 1863, Real admiral Francis Du Pont made a naval attack on the Charleston Harbour. He made an attack with a fleet of around nine ironclad warships. However, this attack was met with unfavorable weather conditions and poor coordination. Bauregard thus hammmerd the ironclad ships with artillery fire⁶. The Du Pont troops thus had to leave Fort Sumter, after they were hardly hit by the troops of The damages in Fort Sumter were repaired, and its defenses improved in the later days. An attempt to recapture Fort Sumter again in 1863 by the union troops led by Admiral John Dahlgren was easily repulsed by the confederate troops, and Fort Sumter was saved. Between September 1863 and February 1865, the union forces fought to re-capture Fort Sumter from the confederates. The Confederates, however, vacated the fort after February 1865, during the reign of union general William. T. Sherman, when he captured the Charleston Harbour.

5. Ira Wood,Fort Sumter: Where the Civil War Began (New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2005), 123
6. , 125.

Bibliography

Detzer, David. Allegiance: Fort Sumter, Charleston, and the Beginning of the Civil War.Harcourt, ON: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.

Kent, Zachary. The Civil War: From Fort Sumter to Appomattox. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc, 2011

Wood, Ira. Fort Sumter: Where the Civil War Began. New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2005.