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FORT SUMTER National Monument South Carolina
FORT SUMTER National Monument South Carolina
by Frank Barnes NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES NO. 12 WASHINGTON, D. C., 1952 (Revised 1962) The National Park System, of which Fort Sumter National Monument is a unit, is dedicated to conserving the scenic, scientific, and historic heritage of the United States for the benefit and enjoyment of its people. The housetops in Charleston during the bombardment of April 12-13, 1861. From Harper’s Weekly, May 4, 1861. At 4:30 A. M., April 12, 1861, a mortar battery at Fort Johnson fi
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Construction of Fort Sumter
Construction of Fort Sumter
“... the character of the times particularly inculcates the lesson that, whether to prevent or repel danger, we ought not to be unprepared for it. This consideration will sufficiently recommend to Congress a liberal provision for the immediate extension and gradual completion of the works of defense, both fixed and floating, on our maritime frontier....” —President Madison to Congress, December 5, 1815. The rock-ring of Fort Sumter’s foundation as it looked 4 years after operations were begun. C
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Major Anderson Moves Garrison from Moultrie to Sumter
Major Anderson Moves Garrison from Moultrie to Sumter
On December 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union. On the night of the 26th, fearing attack by the excited populace, Maj. Robert Anderson removed the small garrison he commanded at Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter out in the harbor. Ignorant of an apparent pledge to maintain the harbor status quo , given by President Buchanan some weeks before, Anderson moved in accordance with instructions received December 11, which read: “... you are to hold possession of the forts in this harbor, and i
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The Star of the West
The Star of the West
President Buchanan was persuaded to send off a relief expedition almost immediately. Initial plans called for the dispatch of the sloop of war Brooklyn for this purpose, but when word came which indicated that the South Carolinians had obstructed the harbor entrance by sinking several ships, it was decided to use an ordinary merchant ship. The Brooklyn , of heavy draft, could probably not now pass into the harbor. A merchant ship would certainly excite less suspicion and would avoid the appearan
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Preparations for War
Preparations for War
Fort Sumter was now preparing for attack. Thirty-eight more guns were mounted in the first tier of casemates and along the parapet, including heavier “42 pounders” and Columbiads. Five Columbiads were mounted in the parade as mortars and three howitzers about the sally port in the gorge. By April 12, a total of 60 guns was ready. “Bombproof” shelters and “splinter-proof” traverses were constructed on the parade ground and along the parapet. Overhanging galleries were built out from the parapet a
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Lincoln Orders a Relief Expedition to Fort Sumter
Lincoln Orders a Relief Expedition to Fort Sumter
On March 4, Abraham Lincoln assumed office as President of the United States. In a firm, but generally conciliatory, inaugural address, he made it clear that national authority must be upheld against the threat of disunion. As to the Federal forts and property in the seceded States he said: “The power confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the Government....” He did not say “repossess.” Furthermore, there needed to be “no bloodshed or violen
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The Confederates Demand Fort Sumter’s Evacuation
The Confederates Demand Fort Sumter’s Evacuation
Artist’s conception of the Confederate floating battery. The structure at the right was designed to be a hospital. From Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, March 30, 1861. After cabinet debate in Montgomery, the Confederate Secretary of War ordered General Beauregard to demand the evacuation of the fort, and if that demand were refused, to “reduce it.” On the afternoon of April 11, three of Beauregard’s aides visited the fort under a flag of truce and presented the ultimatum. Major Anderson re
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The War Begins—April 12, 1861
The War Begins—April 12, 1861
“I count four by St. Michael’s chimes, and I begin to hope. At half past four, the heavy booming of a cannon! I sprang out of bed and on my knees, prostrate, I prayed as I never prayed before.” At 4:30 a. m., a mortar at Fort Johnson fired a shell which arched across the sky and burst almost directly over Fort Sumter. This was the signal for opening the bombardment. Within a few minutes, a ring of guns and mortars about the harbor—43 in all—were firing at Sumter. Artist’s conception of the bomba
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Charleston and the Federal Blockade—1861-63
Charleston and the Federal Blockade—1861-63
With Fort Sumter in Confederate hands, the port of Charleston became a most irritating loophole in the Federal naval blockade of the Atlantic coast—doubly irritating because at Charleston “rebellion first lighted the flame of civil war.” As late as January 1863, it was reported that “vessels ply to and from Charleston and Nassau [Bahamas] with the certainty and promptness of a regular line.” In 2 months of the spring following, 21 Confederate vessels cleared Charleston and 15 came in. Into Charl
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Federal Ironclads Attack Fort Sumter
Federal Ironclads Attack Fort Sumter
On April 5, 1863, a fleet of 9 Federal ironclads, armed with 32 guns “of the heaviest calibres ever used in war,” appeared off Charleston bar. Seven were of the single-turret “cheesebox on a raft” monitor type; one was a double-turreted affair; the flagship New Ironsides was an ironclad frigate. With the ebb tide, on the afternoon of the 7th, the “newfangled” ironclads steamed single file up the main ship channel east of Morris Island. The weather was clear and bright; the water “as stable as of
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The Morris Island Approach to Fort Sumter
The Morris Island Approach to Fort Sumter
Folly Island and Cole’s Island, next south of Morris Island, had been occupied by Northern troops just prior to the naval attack. In June and July, the northern end of Folly Island was fortified. In a remarkable operation, 47 guns and mortars were secretly placed “within speaking distance of the enemy’s pickets.” Some 11,000 men were concentrated on the island. Brig. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore, the “breacher” of Fort Pulaski, assumed command on June 12. Rear Adm. John A. Dahlgren superseded Admiral
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The First Great Bombardment of Fort Sumter
The First Great Bombardment of Fort Sumter
After some experimental firing starting August 12, the bombardment of Fort Sumter began in earnest on August 17. Nearly 1,000 shells were hurled at the fort that first day; nearly 5,000 more during the week following. Even at the end of the first day it was obvious that Fort Sumter was never intended to withstand “200 pound Yankee Parrotts.” Then, 3 days later, a 13-ton monster throwing 250-pound shells was added, making 18 rifled cannon in action. Because of the range involved, the fort could n
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The Small-boat Assault
The Small-boat Assault
On the night of September 8-9, 400 sailors and marines made the attempt. A tug towed the small boats within 800 yards of the fort, then, too awkwardly, cast them loose. In the darkness and confusion, plans went awry. Without the benefit of a diversionary assault, two columns advanced simultaneously upon the right flank of the fort. The Confederate garrison coolly held fire till the leading boats were in the act of landing, then let loose with a galling fire of musketry, hand grenades, “fire ball
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The Second Great Bombardment
The Second Great Bombardment
On October 26, “on the strength of certain reports ... that the enemy have recently been at work remounting some guns,” Gillmore resumed the bombardment; at least Fort Sumter could be “kept down” while the Navy prepared. For the next 12 days, the concentration of fire was comparable to the great bombardment of the preceding August. But now, firing from the new batteries on Cummings Point, with range shortened to less than a mile, the effect was far greater. For the first time, 16 heavy mortars w
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Stalemate—Spring of 1864
Stalemate—Spring of 1864
The general had made his last sustained effort against the fort. On only four other days in December did he fire any rounds at all. During the 4 months he remained in command the firing was intermittent, never more than “minor” in character. Meanwhile, forthcoming operations in Virginia required all the troops available. On May 1, 1864, General Gillmore departed for Fort Monroe with 18,000 picked men and quantities of valuable matériel. General Grant’s operations required the services of the add
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Fort Sumter Strengthened
Fort Sumter Strengthened
In the preceding December, Fort Sumter had been an “almost chaotic ruin.” At night, below the “rugged outline of the ramparts,” wrote one of the garrison, all was— “dark with piles of disordered material; a chance shower of sparks blows out from smouldering fire and lights up some great rough blocks of brick work and the pools of stagnant water into which they have been violently thrown some days before. Or lanterns move about in unseen hands, some to light a way for long trains of men toiling w
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The Third Great Bombardment
The Third Great Bombardment
The onset of summer, 1864, brought one more attempt to take Fort Sumter; likewise another officer of the original Fort Sumter garrison came into the operation. Maj. Gen. J. G. Foster, engineer of the fort in April 1861, succeeding to Gillmore’s command on May 26, was convinced that “with proper arrangements” the fort could easily be taken “at any time.” The “proper arrangements” included special light-draft steamers and 1,000-man “assaulting arks” equipped with elevated towers for sharpshooters
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Sherman’s March Forces Sumter’s Evacuation
Sherman’s March Forces Sumter’s Evacuation
The last great bombardment of Fort Sumter had taken place. The firing was no more than desultory after September 1864; less than a hundred rounds were hurled at the fort in the months of December and January; none at all in February. During the autumn months it was all Foster’s batteries could do to make a “decent defense” of Morris Island, let alone carry on any offensive operations. Wrote one of the commanders in mid-September: “The shelling from the enemy’s mortars was severe ... and having b
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Major Anderson Returns
Major Anderson Returns
On April 14, 1865, Robert Anderson, now a retired brigadier general, returned to Fort Sumter to raise again the flag he had pulled down 4 years before. The guns of the harbor thundered in salute. In an address before the throng of spectators brought down from New York, Henry Ward Beecher said: Raising the original flag at Fort Sumter, April 14, 1865. Contemporary artist’s sketch from French and Cary , The Trip of the Steamer Oceanus to Fort Sumter. “We raise our fathers’ banner, that it may brin
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Fort Sumter After 1865
Fort Sumter After 1865
In the 1870’s the rubble and ruin of war were cleared from the interior of Fort Sumter, and the work of reconstruction began. The outer walls of the gorge and right flank, largely destroyed by the bombardments, were partially rebuilt. The other walls of the fort, left jagged and torn 30 to 40 feet above water, were leveled to approximately half their original height. Through the left flank a new sally port was constructed. Within the reconstructed walls of the fort, the earth and concrete works
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Guide to the Area
Guide to the Area
The following guide should be used with the map on pages 22 and 23. Numbers on the map correspond to the numbers in the text below. One of the 12-inch guns of Battery Huger, as mounted in 1901. 1. LEFT-FLANK EXTERIOR. Entrance to Fort Sumter is by way of a modern sally port built through the center of the fort’s left flank. This sally port, erected after the Civil War, replaced a gun embrasure. The two 13-inch mortars mounted outside this entry serve as the visitor’s introduction to the ordnance
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Administration
Administration
Fort Sumter National Monument was established by Congress in 1948 and enlarged in 1961 with the acquisition of Fort Moultrie on Sullivans Island. The monument is administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Communications concerning the monument should be addressed to the Superintendent, Fort Sumter National Monument, U.S. Custom House, Charleston, S.C....
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Related Areas
Related Areas
Other units of the National Park System pertaining to the Civil War are: Antietam National Battlefield Site, Md.; Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Va.; Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site, Miss.; Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Ga. and Tenn.; Fort Donelson National Military Park, Tenn.; Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Va.; General Grant National Memorial, N.Y.; Gettysburg National Military Park, Pa.; Harpers Ferry National Monu
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Suggested Readings
Suggested Readings
Catton, Bruce , The Coming Fury . Doubleday & Co., Garden City, 1961. Chesnut, Mary B ., A Diary From Dixie . Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1949. Johnson, Robert U ., & Clarence C. Buel , editors, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War . Reprint edition by Thomas Yoseloff, Inc., New York, 1956. Vols. I and IV. Stampp, Kenneth M. , And The War Came . Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, 1950. Swanberg, W. A ., First Blood . Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1957. United S
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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES
(Price lists of National Park Service publications sold by the Government Printing Office can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D.C.)...
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