Why Is Fort Sumter Important

After the firing of fort sumter, both sides knew that this meant war. Both sides started preparing according

Due to the geographical significance of this harbor, war could easily took place here. Both the North and the South were ready for battles.

more did later on). Meanwhile in Gettysburg, General John Buford, leader of the Union cavalry,

Though South Carolina was well-supported by the Confederate militia as they flooded Charleston with aid for its cause, Fort Sumter did not deliver the expected defensibility. More than three thousand militia members arrived ready to defend the secession and rid Fort Sumter of its Union occupation. Major Anderson was staffed with about 80 Union soldiers to defend Fort Sumter. However, the fort’s construction was never completed following its inception in 1820, and it was not equipped with a full armament of weapons, either. It was intended to maintain an armament of 135 canons, but only 15 canons were in usable conditions, including mounting. The five foot thick walls were intended to be the defensive requirement from a land based attack from

Diarist Mary Chesnet heard the opening shot. "I sprang out of bed." she wrote in her Charleston hotel room. "And on my knees--prostrate--I prayed as I never prayed before." The bombardment of Fort Sumter, or the Battle of Fort Sumter was the starting point of the American Civil War. Fort Sumter is a man-made granite island located in Charleston, South Carolina, which is closer to South. Fort Sumter is also designed to hold 540 soldiers and 146 big guns. The most important thing about Fort Sumter is that the first battle was held in Fort Sumter, and it was the first place where American Civil War started.

On April 12-14, 1861, the Battle of Fort Sumter happened. The location of the Battle of Fort Sumter is near Charleston, South Carolina. General P.G.T Beauregard, who was the commander of the Confederate army, ordered for the Union’s surrender of the Fort. However, Major Robert Anderson stood his front and refused to surrender which resulted in the Confederates opening fire on the Fort on April 12. Major Robert Anderson was unable to return the gunfire for the first two hours as the fort lacked ammunition and fuses. Abner DoubleDay, who was captain of the Union army, was the one who fired the first shot to defend the fort. The firing continued all day but lessened as the Union Army had to save their ammunition. On April 13, Major Robert Anderson decided to surrender the fort and it was a victory for the Confederates. There were 580 forces engaged, 80 from the Union and 500 from the Confederates. The important figures in this battle are General P.G.T Beauregard, Major Robert Anderson, Edmund Ruffin, Abner DoubleDay, Louis Wigfall, Private Daniel Hough, and Private Edward Galloway. Surprisingly, there were no casualties in this battle. It has major significance as it was the site of the first

Fort Sumter was a very important conflict in the civil war and without it they may have not gone to war without it. It was a federal fort located in SC and since it was union the Confederacy wanted full control of it . Lincoln knew there was going to be a war but he wanted the south to make the first fire. Their willingness to fight for their sovereignty.

The Eastport was an Ironclad that the Confederate Navy tried to make into an unstoppable war vessel. The vessel was planned to be a gigantic armored ship that could withstand incredible durability. It could man 150 people at a time and carry thousands of pounds of supplies. But it was lost to a Union attack on Fort Henry where it lay during construction. When the Union found it they finished construction on it and it became one of the strongest vessels in the war. But it was very slow and could not navigate more shallow water because of fear of mines in the water. The best feature was its revolving cannons that they could turn to any area within a 90-degree radius of itself; it was made as a full war machine. (Source 2)

The action against Fort Sumter would be the beginning to a war that would last from 1861 to 1865. At the beginning of the war slavery was not considered the number one reason for the war. By the wars end the politics on both side needed to justify the war to their respected public. The fight against slavery would become the North’s selling point to the public. The South would remain steadfast on the position of fighting for their overall rights as citizens of the United States and that included defending the right for slavery. The face of this war was now slavery (Mauser, 2011, 11). After the war ended on 9 April 1865, both sides had lost hundreds of thousands of men to some of the bloodiest battles in

On April 12, 1861 the Confederate States of America assaulted Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The

Fort Sumter is located in Charleston, South Carolina. The fort is in Charleston's harbor. The fort was not even complete when war broke out. This was a big turning point for the United States of America. It separated the north from the south and in some cases it separated families. This war would impact how the United States saw slavery. It is the most deadly war that the United States has every seen in its history.

It is clear that Lincoln favored the holding and supporting of Fort Sumter much more than the general public realized. This is evident not only in Lincoln's original draft of his Inaugural Address but in his reaction to his advisors’ suggestions. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, wrote that when Lincoln learned that Secretary of State Seward believed that it would be “impossible to relieve and reinforce the garrison,” he was “much distressed with the conclusions of the military officers” (Doc. 5).

The location of the fort was built on a man-made island that encompasses sea shells and granite shipped in from the north. Construction of Fort Sumter began in 1829 and was still under construction when the Civil War started.

His ended his speech with a plea for the restoration of the bonds of union. The South just ignored his plea. Violence and outrage turned to belligerence in the North, which in turn had many southerners clamouring for war. At 4.30am on April 12th 1861, Confederate gunners opened fire on Federal - held Fort Sumter, situated in the middle of Charleston Harbour. The only real casualty was a horse. This gentle brawl was the start of a longer, harder and bloodier war than anyone could dream of.

The Southern states had seceded and the South had fired on and captured Fort Sumter on April 12 1861.