Fort Sumter: The Attack That Started the Civil War

For months, the United States had been moving toward a breaking point. Southern states were leaving the Union, tensions over slavery and federal authority were intensifying, and both sides faced difficult decisions about what would happen next.

Then, before sunrise on April 12, 1861, Confederate artillery opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The bombardment transformed a political crisis into armed conflict and marked the beginning of the American Civil War.

A Fort Caught Between Two Sides

South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union in December 1860. Other Southern states soon followed, and in February 1861, they formed the Confederate States of America.

Fort Sumter remained under United States control despite its location in Charleston Harbor. Major Robert Anderson commanded the small federal garrison inside the unfinished fort.

The situation created a serious challenge for the new administration of President Abraham Lincoln. Abandoning the fort could appear to recognize Confederate authority, but sending troops or supplies could increase tensions.

By April, Anderson's men were running short of provisions. Lincoln decided to send supplies to the fort and informed South Carolina authorities of his intentions.

The Bombardment Begins

Confederate leaders demanded that Anderson surrender Fort Sumter. He refused.

At approximately 4:30 a.m. on April 12, Confederate batteries surrounding Charleston Harbor began firing on the fort. Artillery shells crossed the harbor as Union soldiers prepared to return fire.

The bombardment continued for more than 30 hours. Fires broke out inside Fort Sumter, ammunition supplies became increasingly difficult to protect, and the garrison's position steadily worsened.

Remarkably, no Union or Confederate soldiers were killed by enemy fire during the bombardment itself.

Fort Sumter Surrenders

With supplies running low and the fort badly damaged, Anderson agreed to surrender on April 13. The following day, the Union garrison evacuated Fort Sumter.

The battle itself had been relatively small compared with the enormous battles that would follow. Its political impact, however, was immediate.

After the attack, Lincoln called for 75,000 militia troops to suppress the rebellion. Additional slaveholding states, including Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas, subsequently joined the Confederacy.

A confrontation over one harbor fort had helped push the divided nation into full-scale war.

A War That Would Transform America

The Civil War lasted four years and became the deadliest conflict in American history. It ultimately preserved the Union and resulted in the abolition of slavery through the 13th Amendment.

Fort Sumter remained an important symbol throughout the conflict. Confederate forces controlled it for most of the war, while Union forces repeatedly attempted to regain Charleston Harbor.

On April 14, 1865, exactly four years after Anderson had evacuated the fort, he returned to raise the United States flag over Fort Sumter once again.

The ceremony represented how much the country had endured since those first artillery shots crossed Charleston Harbor.

Fort Sumter did not create the divisions that caused the Civil War. Those divisions had developed over decades, with slavery at the center of the sectional crisis. But the attack turned that crisis into open warfare and began a conflict that would permanently reshape the United States.