Fort Sumter National Monument

Fort Sumter, the site of the first shots in the American Civil War, is located in Charleston Harbor. The photo below shows that the fort is surrounded by water:

Fort Sumter was constructed following the War of 1812 to protect Charleston Harbor. Granite blocks were imported from New England to build up a shallow sand bar. The fort was originally three stories tall, reaching 50 feet above the low tide mark. Only ruins remain now:

The city of Charleston is visible in the distance in the photo above, and the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge is also visible to the right of the city.

Abraham Lincoln was elected president on November 6, 1860, and inaugurated on March 4, 1861. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the United States of America. Other states followed and the Confederate States of America was formed on February 4, 1861. The CSA demanded control of all USA forts and properties within their boundaries. In Charleston, the only USA force was at Fort Sumter, commanded by Major Robert Anderson with a small force of about 130 men. On orders from President Lincoln, Major Anderson refused to surrender until fired upon. Confederate batteries opened fire on April 12, 1861, and fired continuously for 34 hours until Major Anderson surrendered. No one was killed during the battle, and Major Anderson and his men were allowed to evacuate to New York.

Our visit to Fort Sumter on Thursday was in the afternoon, and we watched the lowering of the flag at the end of the day. This is the same flag as in the second photo above:

Fort Sumter was re-armed during the Spanish-American War, but it only saw combat during the American Civil War.