The first engagement of the Civil War took place at Fort Sumter on April 12 and 13, 1861. After 34 hours of fighting, the Union surrendered the fort to the Confederates.
On April 10, 1861, Brig. Gen. Pierre G.T. Beauregard, in command of the provisional
Confederate forces at Charleston, SC, demanded the surrender of the U.S. garrison
of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Garrison commander Robert Anderson refused.
On April 12, Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort, which was unable
to reply effectively. At 2:30 p.m., April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort
Sumter, evacuating the garrison on the following day. The bombardment of Fort
Sumter was the opening engagement of the American Civil War. From 1863 to 1865,
the Confederates at Fort Sumter withstood a 22-month siege by Union forces.
During this time, most of the fort was reduced to brick rubble.
(This information is reproduced from the National Park Service's
Fort Sumter National Monument and American Battlefield Protection Program websites.)
For more information, visit the National Archives’ Treasures of Congress Online Exhibit.
Also, see the Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan: Letters, Telegrams, and Photographs Illustrating Factors that Affected the Civil War.
