Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter : 

Fort Sumter Where The American Civil War Began Decades of growing strife between North and South erupted in civil war on April 12, 1861, when Confederate artillery opened fire on this Federal fort in Charleston Harbor. Fort Sumter surrendered 34 hours later. Union forces would try for nearly four years to take it back. Information collected from: http://www.nps.gov/fosu/index.htm Pictures taken summer 2008 by Aimee Benton Engraving published in Harper's Weekly Jan 26, 1861.

Bombardment of Fort Sumter (1861) by George Edward Perine (1837-1885). : 

Bombardment of Fort Sumter (1861) by George Edward Perine (1837-1885).

Background : 

Background On Dec. 20, 1860 South Carolina voted unanimously to secede from the United States of America. In Nov., Abraham Lincoln had been elected President of the United States with little support from the southern states. The Declaration claimed that secession was justified because the Federal government had violated the constitutional compact by encroaching upon the rights of the sovereign states. As the primary violation, the Declaration listed the failure of 14 northern states to enforce the Federal Fugitive Slave Act or to restrict the actions of antislavery organizations. “Thus the constituted compact has been deliberately broken and disregarded by the non-slaveholding States, and the consequence follows that South Carolina is released from her obligation.”

Background : 

Background Major Robert Anderson, commander of the federal garrison in Charleston, had been told to avoid any action that might incite aggression There were 4 federal forts Anderson was located at Fort Moultrie, but thought that since he didn’t have very many men, he should try to hold the largest fort: Fort Sumter On Dec. 26, 1860 Anderson and his men secretly left Fort Moultrie and moved to Fort Sumter The actions were not meant to be taken as aggressive, but South Carolina interpreted it as such and demanded that President Buchanan have the fort evacuated President Buchanan refused

Background : 

Background The troops needed to be resupplied, so Buchanan sent the Star of the West, a merchant ship, to carry in supplies On Jan. 9, 1861, Citadel cadets fired on the Star as she approached the island; she turned around and went home Feb. 4 1861 CSA was created A month later Lincoln was sworn in – he did not want to initiate a war but needed to resupply the fort Lincoln needed the South to fire on him, so that he could be justified in using force to defend the USA and bring the CSA back into the Union

Background : 

Background Crittenden Compromise – proposed amendments to appease the South but was voted down by Lincoln and the Republicans (one of many proposals to avoid war) Men were running out of supplies. On April 6, 1861 Lincoln sent word to the Governor of SC that he would be sending a fleet of ships with provisions for the men Confederate troops were under the command of General Pierre G.T. Beauregard who sent word to Anderson on April 11 that Anderson must evacuate the fort April 12th, 1861 4:30AM: the first shot was fired from Ft. Johnson – the war had begun

Slide 9: 

Dedicated Oct. 20, 1932 An allegorical depiction of the Confederate defense of Charleston during the Civil War, the monument consists of two figures atop an octagonal granite base set on a circular platform. The male figure is the defending warrior, with a sword in his proper right hand and a shield bearing the South Carolina state seal in his proper left hand. The female figure represents the City of Charleston. She holds in her proper right hand a garland of laurel, symbolizing immortality, and with her proper left hand points towards the sea to the enemy. On the base are scenes in relief of figures repairing the shattered walls of Fort Sumter with sand bags. Eleven stars on the lower base represent the eleven Confederate states. Source: http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?uri=full=3100001~!17865!0#focus

Background : 

Background After being shelled for 34 hours, Major Anderson sent word that he would surrender April 14, 1861 Anderson and his men lowered the US flag and boarded a ship for NY Exactly 4 years later to the day, Anderson returned to Fort Sumter to raise the flag that he had lowered in 1861 bringing a symbolic end to the war that had started at that site

Fort Sumter Flag : 

Fort Sumter Flag

Random Fact : 

Random Fact No one from either side was killed during the bombardment, with only five Union and four Confederate soldiers severely injured. During the 100-gun salute to the U.S. flag—Anderson's one condition for withdrawal—a pile of cartridges blew up from a spark, killing one soldier instantly (Private Daniel Hough) and seriously injuring the rest of the gun crew, one mortally (Private Edward Galloway); these were the first fatalities of the war. The salute was stopped at fifty shots. Galloway and another injured crewman were sent to the hospital in Charleston where Galloway died. Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Sumter#cite_note-11

Beauregard and Anderson Correspondence April 11-14, 1861 : 

Beauregard and Anderson Correspondence April 11-14, 1861

Beauregard (1818-1893) and Anderson (1805-1871) : 

Beauregard (1818-1893) and Anderson (1805-1871) Beauregard was an 1838 graduate of West Point, and one of Anderson’s favorite students Anderson was an 1825 graduate of West Point, and Beauregard’s artillery instructor

Assignment : 

Assignment Write a paragraph in your notebook explaining how it would feel to have to fight against and possibly kill someone that you know well and with whom you may be friends. We will talk about this again when we watch Gettysburg: Pickett’s Charge Friendship between General Lewis A. Armistead of Virginia and Winfield S. Hancock of Pennsylvania