The Bombardment of Fort Sumter: The History of the Civil War's First Battle

Almost immediately, the inherent weakness of Fort Sumter became apparent to its defenders. The fort had been designed to withstand a naval assault, and naval warships of that time did not mount guns capable of elevating high enough to shoot over the walls of forts, but the Confederates' land-based cannons could lob artillery shells and mortar directly inside Fort Sumter. Though the defenders managed to protect themselves inside the fort, their return fire was completely ineffective, and by the morning of April 13 the fort was on fire, threatening the garrison.

Unable to effectively reply or defend themselves, Major Robert Anderson raised the white flag early in the afternoon of April 13, bringing the first battle of the Civil War to a close. No casualties were suffered on either side during the dueling bombardments across Charleston Harbor, but ironically, two U.S. Army soldiers were killed by an accidental explosion during the surrender ceremonies.

Fort Sumter is popularly remembered today as the first fighting of the Civil War, and a relatively painless battle at that, but much of the history before April 12 that led to the shelling of the fort is often overlooked. The federal garrison had been stationed there months before the fight, carefully watching the secession of South Carolina, the buildup of Confederate forces in the region, and the actions of the Buchanan administration and incoming Lincoln administration in the weeks leading up to the bombardment.