Fort Sumter was the site of the opening shots of the Civil War. The fort was one of a series of coastal fortifica- tions built after the War of 1812. When South Carolina seceded from the Union, there were four Federal military installations around Charleston Harbor: Fort Mountrie on Sullivan's Island, Castle Pinckney on Shute's Folly Island near the city, Fort Johnson on James Island across from Moultrie, and Fort Sumter at the harbor entrance. The only post garrisoned by more than a nominal number of soldiers was Fort Moultrie under the command of Major Robert Anderson. Anderson concluded that Moultrie was indefensible and, under cover of darkness, moved his troops to Fort Sumter, a mile away.

Sumter, as the only Federal installation of any consequence left, became the focus of the growing dispute between the newly established Confederate states and the Union. The Confederacy demanded that Fort Sumter be surrendered. Union forces refused. On April 11, 1861, Confederate forces began shelling Fort Sumter. For four hours, the Union held its fire, then began firing. However, Sumter cannons did little damage to Confederate positions. At 2 p.m. on the 12th of April, Anderson agreed to a truce. Union troops left the Fort on April 14, having defended the Fort for only 34 hours. The Fort was heavily damaged by Confederate cannon fire.

Picture 1 shows Fort Sumter as it appears today. Note the large black mass arising from the center of the Fort. This massive concrete gun implacement was built after the Civil War. It served as the mounting for several large artillery pieces. Picture 2 shows Fort Sumter as originally built. Note that it was three stories tall with gun implacements at each level. During the Civil War battle, the top two levels were mostly blasted away.

The third picture is a 6.4-inch rifled Parrott cannon, installed in the 1870s modernization of Sumter. Picture 4 shows a mounting for one of the large artillery pieces included in the remodeled Fort Sumter with a view toward open sea. These guns were never used in combat from this Fort.