Fort Sumter Falls

Fort Sumter


In April of 1861, Abraham Lincoln announced that he intended to resupply Fort Sumter in South Carolina.  Because the South saw itself as a new sovereign nation, "foreign" troops in one of it most vital harbors would seem unacceptable.  In an attempt to peacefully capture Fort Sumter before the supply ships arrived, Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States, had a letter delivered to major Robert Anderson by April 12, 1861.  After the established time of surrender passed, Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter.  After thirty-three hours of bombardment, Major Anderson and his men surrendered.

The attack on Fort Sumter was the first attack to occur during the Civil War.  The attack marked the beginning of the Civil War in the United States.