Fort Sumter was built between 1829 and 1860 on a small artificial island in Charleston Harbor. It is a national monument, as it was the site of the first shot fired in the Civil War. The background to this event was the secession of South Carolina from the Union on December 20, 1860. With federal forces now deemed the enemy, rebels regarded the presence of a federal fort in one of their harbors as a provocation. With a mere 79 troops the fort was hardly a meaningful threat, but became a symbolic focus of the attempts of the two sides to assert claims to having right on their side.

On December 26, 1860, a small garrison of federal troops was transferred to Fort Sumter. South Carolina demanded the immediate withdrawal of the troops, but this was refused. The garrison was running short of supplies, so an attempt to relieve it was made. South Carolina batteries fired on the supply ship, forcing it to quickly withdraw.

President Buchanan did not wish to hand a national conflagration to incoming President Lincoln, and refused to view the attack as an act of war.

Lincoln needed to decide whether to resupply the fort or abandon it.

Because Buchanan had already relinquished so many forts to the Confederacy, it had become something of an election issue, and Lincoln had pledged to “hold, occupy and possess” all federal properties in the South. This made it hard to compromise over Fort Sumter. He attempted a couple of maneuvers that would allow him to surrender the fort in return for the reinforcement of Fort Pickens in Florida or the loyalty of Virginia to the Union. However, both plans were frustrated so Lincoln sent off a force to resupply the fort.

Meanwhile, South Carolina had been joined by six other states that had established the Confederate States of America. All moves were now crucial and Lincoln’s decision to resupply the fort was deemed unacceptable by many. At the same time Confederate President Jefferson Davis was placed under much pressure from extremists, notably state Governor Francis Pickens, who threatened to personally authorize an attack on the fort. Davis ordered the Confederate troops under General Beauregard to bombard Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861.

Major Anderson surrendered and on April 14 US troops withdrew.

Nobody had been killed, but Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to put down the “insurrection” in the South. The Confederacy declared that a state of war now existed. Union forces did not retake the fort until February 1865.

As the fort was bombarded by the Confederacy in 1861, then by the Union from 1863 to 1865, much was reduced to rubble.

Some original fortifications and gun emplacements remain. The concrete defenses were added later. Today there is an excellent museum with artifacts from the siege. The fort is accessible from Charleston Harbor. Tours depart from the City Marina.