Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter is a former military island fort that was built at the entrance to Charleston Harbor in South Carolina. The US government ordered its construction to improve its coastal defenses after the War of 1812 (1812-1815). Fort Sumter is famous for being the place where the American Civil War officially began, though neither side lost any soldiers in the battle. The US military also garrisoned the fort during both World Wars, though it did not use the fort. Fort Sumter was decommissioned and made a national monument in 1948.

Overview

Constructed in 1829, Fort Sumter was one of a series of fortifications built so soldiers could better defend the East Coast if it was invaded by sea. Four of these fortifications were built in the Charleston Harbor, with Fort Sumter situated at the harbor's mouth. Fort Sumter saw no action in the decades before the Civil War. In fact, it was rarely ever fully garrisoned or armed, and by the time the Civil War began, several of its features were obsolete.

At the time of South Carolina's secession from the Union, Union General Robert Anderson was in command of Charleston Harbor's fortifications. He was aware of the growing tension between the newly declared Confederate state and his Union soldiers holding the fortifications. Anderson had stationed the two garrisons under his command in one of the other forts in the harbor. However, he worried that this fort would be inadequate if they had to defend themselves against an attack from inside the harbor itself. To avoid angering Confederate soldiers before he was ready for them, Anderson covertly moved his troops to Fort Sumter.

Once they realized what had happened, members of South Carolina's Confederate government were outraged. They sent representatives to Washington, D.C. to demand that the government order Anderson to abandon Fort Sumter, but President Buchanan refused. Instead, the president sent a ship with two hundred soldiers and additional supplies to reinforce the fort, but the Confederates had already garrisoned the other forts in the harbor. The crew turned the ship around and headed back when it realized it had no chance of reaching Fort Sumter without being sunk.

Soon after this, President Abraham Lincoln took office. Lincoln knew that if he gave up the fort, it might make the Confederacy seem legitimate, and European powers such as France and Britain might recognize and support it. Lincoln also did not want to further incite the Confederacy by appearing aggressive, so he sent notice to the Confederate leadership that he was going to send supplies—not troops—to reinforce the fort and would do so even if they tried to stop him.

By now, Anderson and his troops were running low on food, water, and munitions. Local Confederate officers knew that if Lincoln sent supplies to Fort Sumter, Anderson would make it incredibly difficult to take the fort. They immediately offered Anderson generous terms of surrender, promising safe transport for all Union troops out of Confederate territory, in addition to letting them keep their weapons and allowing them to salute the Union's flag before leaving. Anderson said he appreciated the honorable terms and dreaded the prospect of having to defend Sumter in its current state but that his conscience would not let him surrender the fort.

Then the assault on Fort Sumter began. Soldiers in the three other forts in the harbor, which the Confederates had stocked with large cannons and mortar, opened fire on Fort Sumter. Several artillery batteries that had been set up on shore joined them. The Union forces were quickly thrown on the defensive because they lacked adequate guns and munitions and could not do more than launch a token offense. After less than two days of constant pounding, most of Fort Sumter's cannons were heavily damaged and could no longer fire. Additionally, Confederate cannons and mortars reduced large sections of the fort to rubble. When a Confederate officer once again offered Anderson the same terms of surrender, Anderson had little choice but to accept. Amazingly, no soldiers on either side were killed in this battle. However, during the hundred-gun salute the Union soldiers were allowed to give before evacuating the fort, one of the cannons malfunctioned and two Union soldiers were killed. The salute was cut in half, and the Union soldiers left without protest.

Lincoln used this assault as a rallying cry for the North and said that the Confederates had opened fire unprovoked and seized federal property. With this claim, he was able to convince seventy-five thousand men to volunteer as soldiers to fight in the Civil War. Fort Sumter was repaired by the Confederates, who held it successfully until they were later forced to flee the area. However, after weeks of being fired upon by Union ships and soldiers, most of Fort Sumter was destroyed.

Fort Sumter never saw battle again. The government tried to repair and rebuild it into a useful fortification but had only limited success. During World War I, a garrison of soldiers was stationed at the fort to man the outdated artillery battery. During World War II, new anti-aircraft guns were installed at Fort Sumter and soldiers were stationed there to operate them in case of an attack but this never occurred. Fort Sumter is now a national historic site open to the public for tours and is no longer an active military fortification.

Tyler J. Biscontini

Bibliography

Bordewich, Fergus M. "Fort Sumter: The Civil War Begins." Smithsonianmag.com. Apr. 2011. Web. 6 Aug. 2014. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/fort-sumter-the-civil-war-begins-1018791/?all>

History.com Staff. "Fort Sumter." A+E Networks. History.com. 2004. Web. 6 Aug. 2014. <http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/fort-sumter>

Weiser, Kathy. "Fort Sumter." Legends of America. Nov. 2012. Web. 6 Aug. 2014.

<http://www.legendsofamerica.com/sc-fortsumter.html>