Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a fort near Charleston, South Carolina that is best known as the site of the first shots fired during the Civil War. South Carolina had seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard ordered the Union-held fort to be shelled on April 12, 1861, and the Union forces who were camped there, led by Major Robert Anderson, surrendered two days later. Anderson did manage to retain the American flag which had flown over Fort Sumter, and it became a major patriotic symbol used to rally pro-Union crowds up north. The Union managed to retake Fort Sumter in February, 1865 following General William T. Sherman's devastating March to the Sea.
Today, Fort Sumter is a National Monument operated by the U.S. National Park Service.
History
Fort Sumter was a Union fortification that received the first shots that began Civil War. In 1827, construction of the fort began and on December 26, 1860, shots were fired on the fort. Fort Sumter was then under command under Union Major Robert Anderson and being fired upon by Confederate Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard. Beauregard fired upon the fort for 2 straight days. Because the Union troops were weak from lack of supplies, Anderson surrendered his troops and the Confederate Army controlled the fort.
