Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina; A brick fort named for General Thomas SUMTER (Revolutionary War hero) built 1827-1860 (and never completely finished) as a five-sided brick structure, 170 to 190 feet (58 m) long, with walls five feet thick, standing 50 feet (15 m) over the low tide mark. It was designed to house 650 men and 135 guns in three tiers of gun emplacements, although it was never filled near its full capacity.
On 26 December 1860 U.S. Army Major Robert ANDERSON relocated companies E and H of 1st U.S. Artillery (127 men) to Fort Sumter. Over the next few months, repeated demands for the evacuation of the fort Sumter were ignored by the Major.
On 11 April 11 1861, the Revenue Cutter HARRIET LANE was also on scene (this may be the sidewheeler seen in the picture).
On or about 11 April 1861, the Charleston tax collectors were threatened and ran to the fort; The garrison fired an unknown number of shells as warning shots towards pursuing southerners.
On 12 April 12 1861 at 0430, Confederate batteries opened fire, firing for 34 straight hours, on the fort. Edmund RUFFIN and Lieutenant Henry S. FARLEY claim both claim they fired the first shot on Fort Sumter.
On 13 April, the fort was surrendered and evacuated. Ironically, for all the violence and death of the war to come, no Union soldiers died in the actual battle, though a Union soldier died and another was mortally wounded during the 47th shot of a 100 shot salute. (This gun was rifled by inventor John ERICSSON, whom the Navy Board blamed for the accident; As result, ERICSSON swore never to take another Navy contract, but recanted just in time to build another marvel of the American Civil War, USS MONITOR.)
