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{{Infobox Protected area
| name = Fort Sumter National Monument
| iucn_category = V
| photo = FortSumter2009.jpg
| map = US_Locator_Blank.svg
| map_caption =
| locator_x = 235
| locator_y = 120
| location = [[Charleston County, South Carolina]], [[United States|USA]]
| lat_d = 32
| lat_m = 45
| lat_s = 8
| lat_NS = N
| long_d = 79
| long_m = 52
| long_s = 29
| long_EW = W
| area = 199 acres (0.80 km²)
| established = April 28, 1948
| visitation_num = 319,147
| visitation_year = 2000
| governing_body = [[National Park Service]]
}}
'''Fort Sumter''' is a [[Seacoast Defense (US)#Third system|Third System]] masonry coastal fortification located in [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]] harbor, [[South Carolina]]. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the [[American Civil War]] were fired, at the [[Battle of Fort Sumter]].


THIS IS @!##%^$#%^ FORT sUMTER
== Construction ==
Named after [[Thomas Sumter|General Thomas Sumter]], [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] hero, Fort Sumter was built following the [[War of 1812]], as one of a series of fortifications on the southern U.S. coast. Construction began in 1827, and the structure was still unfinished in 1860, when the conflict began. Seventy thousand tons of granite were imported from [[New England]] to build up a [[sand bar]] in the entrance to Charleston harbor, which the site dominates. The fort was a five-sided brick structure, 170 to {{convert|190|ft|m}} long, with walls five feet thick, standing {{convert|50|ft|m}} over the low tide mark. It was designed to house 650 men and 135 guns in three tiers of gun emplacements, although it was never filled near its full capacity.

==Civil War==

On December 26, 1860, five days after [[Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union|South Carolina declared its secession]], [[U.S. Army]] [[Major Robert Anderson]] abandoned the indefensible [[Fort Moultrie]] and secretly relocated companies E and H (127 men, 13 of them musicians) of the [[1st U.S. Artillery]] to Fort Sumter without orders from Washington, on his own initiative.<ref>Official Record Series 1- Volume 1- Chapter 1- page 117</ref><ref>Official Records Series 1 - Volume 1- Chapter 1- Page 103</ref><ref>Robert Anderson to Rev. R. B. Duane, December 30, 1860</ref><ref>Robert Anderson to Robert N. Gourdin, December 27, 1860.</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.usregulars.com/usartillery/1us_art.html | title=History of the 1st U.S. Artillery | first=William, Major, 1st U.S. Artillery | last=Haskin | year=1896}}</ref> He thought that providing a stronger defense would delay an attack by South Carolina militia. The Fort was not yet complete at the time and fewer than half of the [[cannon]]s that should have been available were not, due to military downsizing by President [[James Buchanan]]. Over the next few months, repeated calls for the United States evacuation of Fort Sumter<ref>Official Records Series 1 - Volume 1- Chapter 1- Page 13</ref> from the government of South Carolina and later [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[Brigadier General]] [[P.G.T. Beauregard]] were ignored. United States attempts to resupply and reinforce the garrison were repulsed on January 9, 1861 when the first shots of the war prevented the steamer ''[[Star of the West]]'', a ship hired by the Union to transport troops and supplies to Fort Sumter, from completing the task. After realizing that Anderson's command would run out of food by April 15, 1861, [[Abraham Lincoln|President Lincoln]] ordered a fleet of ships, under the command of [[Gustavus Fox|Gustavus V. Fox]], to attempt entry into Charleston Harbor and support Fort Sumter. The ships assigned were the steam sloop-of-war USS ''Pawnee'', steam sloop-of-war USS ''Powhatan'', transporting motorized launches and about 300 sailors (secretly removed from the Charleston fleet to join in the forced reinforcement of Fort Pickens, Pensacola, Fla.), armed screw steamer USS ''Pocahontas'', [[United States Revenue Cutter Service|Revenue Cutter]] USS ''Harriet Lane'', steamer ''Baltic'' transporting about 200 troops, composed of companies C and D of the 2nd U.S. Artillery, and three hired tug boats with added protection against small arms fire to be used to tow troop and supply barges directly to Fort Sumter.<ref>Official Records Series 1 - Volume 1- Chapter 1- Page 240</ref><ref>Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies Series I - Volume 4- Pages 223-225:</ref> By April 6, 1861 the first ships began to set sail for their rendezvous off the Charleston Bar. The first to arrive was the ''[[USRC Harriet Lane (1857)|Harriet Lane]]'', before midnight of April 11, 1861.<ref>Official Records Series 1 - Volume 1- Chapter 1- Page 304</ref> [[Image:fort sumter 1861.jpg|thumb|right|200px|1861, inside the fort flying the [[Confederate Flag]]]]

===First Battle of Fort Sumter===
{{main|Battle of Fort Sumter}}
On April 11, Beauregard sent three aides, Colonel [[James Chesnut, Jr.]], Captain [[Stephen D. Lee]], and Lieutenant A. R. Chisolm to demand the surrender of the fort. Anderson declined, and the aides returned to report to Beauregard. After Beauregard had consulted the Secretary of War, [[Leroy Walker]], he sent the aides back to the fort and authorized Chesnut to decide whether the fort should be taken by force. The aides waited for hours while Anderson considered his alternatives and played for time. At about 3 a.m., when Anderson finally announced his conditions, Colonel Chesnut, after conferring with the other aides, decided that they were "manifestly futile [..] and not within the scope of the instructions verbally given to us". The aides then left the fort and proceeded to the nearby Fort Johnson. There Chesnut ordered the fort to open fire on Fort Sumter.<ref>Official Records Series 1 - Volume 1- Chapter 1- Pages 59–60</ref>

On April 12, 1861, at 4:30 a.m., Confederate batteries opened fire, firing for 34 straight hours, on the fort. [[Edmund Ruffin]], noted Virginian agronomist and secessionist, claimed that he fired the first shot on Fort Sumter. His story has been widely believed, but Lieutenant Henry S. Farley, commanding a battery of two [[Siege artillery in the American Civil War#Mortar|mortars]] on [[James Island, South Carolina|James Island]] fired the first shot at 4:30 A.M. {{Harv |Detzer|2001|pp=269–71}}. The garrison returned fire, but it was ineffective, in part because Major Anderson did not use the guns mounted on the highest tier, the barbette tier, where the gun detachments would be more exposed to Confederate fire. On [[April 13]], the fort was surrendered and evacuated. During the attack, the Union colors fell. Lt. Norman J. Hall risked life and limb to put them back up, burning off his eyebrows permanently. No Union soldiers died in the actual battle though a Confederate soldier bled to death having been wounded by a misfiring cannon. One Union soldier died and another was mortally wounded during the 47th shot of a 100 shot salute, allowed by the Confederacy. Afterwards the salute was shortened to 50 shots. Accounts, such as in the famous diary of [[Mary Chesnut]], describe Charleston residents along what is now known as [[Battery Park (Charleston)|The Battery]], sitting on balconies and drinking salutes to the start of the hostilities.

The [[Fort Sumter Flag]] became a popular patriotic symbol after Maj. Anderson returned North with it. The flag is still displayed in the fort's museum.

===Union Siege of Fort Sumter===
{{main|Second Battle of Fort Sumter}}
Union efforts to retake Charleston Harbor began on April 7, 1863, when [[Rear Admiral]] [[Samuel Francis Du Pont]], commander of the [[Union blockade|South Atlantic Blockading Squadron]], led the [[ironclad warship|ironclad]] frigate [[USS New Ironsides (1862)|''New Ironsides'']], the tower ironclad [[USS Keokuk (1862)|''Keokuk'']], and the [[Monitor (warship)|monitors]] [[USS Weehawken (1862)|''Weehawken'']], [[USS Passaic (1862)|''Passaic'']]. [[USS Montauk (1862)|''Montauk'']], [[USS Patapsco (1862)|''Patapsco'']], [[USS Nantucket (1862)|''Nantucket'']], [[USS Catskill (1862)|''Catskill'']], and [[USS Nahant (1862)|''Nahant'']] in an attack against the harbor’s defenses. The attack was unsuccessful, the ''New Ironsides'' never effectively engaged, and the ironclads fired only 154 rounds, while receiving 2,209 from the Confederate defenders {{Harv |Wise|1994| p=30}}. Due to damage received in the attack, the ''Keokuk'' sank the next day, {{convert|1400|yd}} off the southern tip of [[Morris Island]]. Over the next month, working at night to avoid the attention of the Federal squadron, the Confederates salvaged the ''Keokuk’s'' two XI-inch [[Dahlgren gun]]s {{Harv |Ripley|1984| pp=93–6}}. One of the Dahlgren guns was placed in Fort Sumter.

[[Image:FtSumterDrawing.jpg|thumb|Drawing of Fort Sumter.]]
The Confederates, in the mean time, were strengthening Fort Sumter. A workforce of just under 500 slaves, under the supervision of Confederate army engineers, were filling casemates with sand, protecting the gorge wall with sandbags, and building new [[traverse]]<ref name = tr>[http://civilwarfortifications.com/dictionary/xgt-007.html Traverses], Civil War Fortifications dictionary.</ref>, [http://civilwarfortifications.com/dictionary/xgb-005.html blindages], and [http://civilwarfortifications.com/dictionary/xgb-012.html bombproofs]. Some of Fort Sumter’s artillery had been removed, but 40 pieces still were mounted. Fort Sumter’s heaviest guns were mounted on the barbette, the fort’s highest level, where they had wide angles of fire and could fire down on approaching ships. The barbette was also more exposed to enemy gunfire than the [[casemate]]s in the two lower levels of the fort.

A special military decoration, known as the [[Gillmore Medal]], was later issued to all Union service members who had performed duty at Fort Sumter under the command of Major-General [[Quincy Adams Gillmore]].

'''Armament Fort Sumter, August 17, 1863'''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Location
! Armament
|-
| Left flank barbette
| Two {{convert|10|in|mm|sing=on}} [[columbiad]]s
|-
| Left face barbette
| Two {{convert|10|in|mm|sing=on}} columbiads, two {{convert|8|in|mm|sing=on}} columbiads, four 42-pounders
|-
| Left face, first tier casemates
| Two {{convert|8|in|mm|sing=on}} shell guns
|-
| Right face barbette
| Two {{convert|10|in|mm|sing=on}} columbiads,

five rifled and banded 42-pounders
|-
| Right face, first tier casemates
| Two 32-pounders
|-
| Right flank barbette
| One XI-inch Dahlgren, four {{convert|10|in|mm|sing=on}} columbiads, one {{convert|8|in|mm|sing=on}} Columbiad, one rifled 42-pounder,

one {{convert|8|in|mm|sing=on}} Brooke
|-
| Gorge barbette
| Five rifled and banded 43-pounders,

one 24-pounder
|-
| Salient, second tier casemates
| Three rifled and banded 42-pounders
|-
| Parade
| Two {{convert|10|in|mm|sing=on}} seacoast mortars
|}

<gallery widths="120px" perrow="4">
Image:InteriorViewFtSumter1864.jpg|Interior View of Fort Sumter, taken by a Confederate photographer, 1864.
Image:ExteriorViewFtSumter1865.jpg|Exterior view of Fort Sumter, 1865. Banded rifle in foreground, [http://civilwarfortifications.com/dictionary/xgf-009.html fraise] at top.
Image:ViewFtSumterSandBar1865.jpg|View of Fort Sumter from the sandbar, 1865.
Image:FortSumter1865.jpg|View of Fort Sumter, 1865
</gallery>

After the devastating bombardment, both General [[Quincy A. Gillmore]] and [[Rear Admiral]] [[John A. Dahlgren]], now commanding the [[Union Blockade|South Atlantic Blockading Squadron]], determined to launch a boat assault on Fort Sumter for the night of September 8–9, 1863. Cooperation between the Army and Navy were poor, Dahlgren refusing to place his sailors and [[United States Marine Corps|marines]] under the command of an army officer. So two flotillas set out towards Fort Sumter that night. The army flotilla was detained off [[Morris Island]] by the low tide. By the time they could proceed, the navy assault had already been defeated and the army flotilla returned to shore.

The [[U.S. Navy|Navy’s]] assault involved 400 sailors and marines in 25 boats. The operation was a fiasco from beginning to end. Poor reconnaissance, planning and communication all characterized the operation. [[Commander]] [[Thomas H. Stevens]], commanding the [[Monitor (warship)|monitor]] [[USS Patapsco (1862)|''Patapsco'']], was placed in charge of the assault. When Commander Stevens protested that he “knew nothing of [the assault’s] organization “ and “made some remonstrances on this grounds and others.” Dahlgren replied “There is nothing but a corporal’s guard [about 6–10 men] in the fort, and all we have to do is go and take possession.” {{Harv |Stevens|1902| p=633}}. This underestimation of the Confederate forces on Dahlgren’s part may explain why he was hostile to a joint operation wishing to reserve the credit for the victory to the Navy. Less than half of the boats landed. Most of the boats that did land landed on the right flank or right gorge angle, rather than on the gorge where there was a passable [http://civilwarfortifications.com/dictionary/xgb-011.html breach]. The Union sailors and marines who did land could not scale the wall. The Confederates fired upon the landing party and as well as throwing hand grenades and masonry. The men in the boats that had not landed fired muskets and revolvers blindly at the fort, endangering the landing party more than the garrison. The landing party took shelter in shell holes in the wall of the fort. In response to a signal rocket fired by the garrison, Fort Johnson and the Confederate gunboat [[CSS Chicora|''Chicora'']] opened fire upon the boats and landing party. The boats that could withdraw withdrew, and the landing party surrendered. The Union casualties were 8 killed, 19 wounded, and 105 captured (including 15 of the wounded). The Confederates did not suffer any casualties in the assault.

After the unsuccessful boat assault, the bombardment recommenced and proceeded with varying degree of intensity, doing more damage to Fort Sumter until the end of the [[The American Civil War|war]]. The garrison continued to suffer casualties. The Confederates continued to salvage guns and other material from the ruins and harassed the Union batteries on [[Morris Island]] with [[Marksman#U.S. Civil War|sharpshooters]]. The Confederates mounted four {{convert|10|in|mm|sing=on}} [[columbiad]]s, one {{convert|8|in|mm|sing=on}} columbiad rifled, and two rifled 42-pounders, in the left face, bottom tier casemates. The Confederacy never surrendered Fort Sumter, but General [[William T. Sherman]]’s advance through South Carolina finally forced the Confederates to evacuate Charleston on February 17, 1865 and abandon Fort Sumter. The Federal government formally took possession of Fort Sumter on February 22, 1865 with a flag raising ceremony.

== After the war ==
When the Civil War ended, Fort Sumter was in ruins. The U.S. Army worked to restore it as a useful military installation. The damaged walls were re-leveled to a lower height and partially rebuilt. The third tier of gun emplacements was removed. Eleven of the original first-tier gun rooms were restored with 100-pounder [[Parrott rifle]]s.

[[Image:Ftsumter.GJLee.jpg|frame|Fort Sumter view from webcam mounted to cupola of Calhoun Mansion, 5 Dec. 2007]]
From 1876 to 1897, Fort Sumter was used only as an unmanned lighthouse station. The start of the [[Spanish-American War]] prompted renewed interest in its military use and reconstruction commenced on the facilities that had further eroded over time. A new massive concrete blockhouse-style installation was built in 1898 inside the original walls. Named "Battery Huger" in honor of Revolutionary War General [[Isaac Huger]], it never saw combat.

During [[World War I]], a small garrison manned the two twelve-inch (305&nbsp;mm) rifles at Battery Huger. Until [[World War II]], the fort was unused except as a tourist destination; two 90&nbsp;mm antiaircraft guns were then installed. Fort Sumter became a [[U.S. National Monument]] in 1948.
{{clear}}

==Fort Sumter National Monument==
Fort Sumter National Monument encompasses three sites in [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]]: the original Fort Sumter, the Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center, and the [[Fort Moultrie National Monument]] on Sullivan's Island. Access to Fort Sumter itself is by a 30 minute ferry ride from the Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center.

The Visitor Education Center's museum features exhibits about the disagreements between the North and South that led to the incidents at Fort Sumter. The museum at Fort Sumter focuses on the activities at the fort, including its construction and role during the Civil War.

<gallery widths="120px" perrow="4">
File:Ft Sumter ground.jpg|ground
File:Ft. Sumter entrance.jpg|Entrance
File:Ft. Sumter over.jpg|Overview
File:Ft. Sumter inside.jpg|Inside
File:Ft. Sumter inside ground.jpg|inside ground
File:Ft. Sumter cannon.jpg|Cannon
File:Ft. Sumter cannon shell in wall.jpg|Cannon shell in wall
File:Ft. Sumter inside ground 2.jpg|Inside ground
</gallery>

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{Citation
| last =Detzer
| first =David R.
| year =2001
| title =Allegiance: Fort Sumter, Charleston and the Beginning of the Civil War
| place =New York
| publisher =Harcourt
}}.

{{cite journal
| last =Elliott
| first =Stephen, Jr.
| title =Detailed report, September 12, 1863
| journal =Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I.
| volume =14
| pages =637–9
| publisher = Government Printing Office
| location =Washington, D.C.
| year =1902
| url = http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/ofre.html
| accessdate =2007-11-18
}}

{{Citation
| last =Ripley
| first =Warren
| year =1984
| title =Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War
| place =Charleston, S.C.
| publisher =The Battery Press
}}.

{{cite journal
| last =Scott
| first =Robert N.
| title =Return of Casualties in the Confederate forces at Fort Sumter, August 12 – December 11 (1863)
| journal =The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I.
| volume =XXVIII
| issue =Part I
| pages =650
| publisher = Government Printing Office
| location =Washington, D.C.
| year =1890
| url =http://0-cdl.library.cornell.edu.source.unco.edu/moa/browse.monographs/waro.html
| accessdate =2007-11-05
}}

{{cite journal
| last =Stevens
| first =Thomas H..
| title =Delayed report, September 28, 1865
| journal =Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I.
| volume =14
| pages =633
| publisher = Government Printing Office
| location =Washington, D.C.
| year =1902
| url = http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/ofre.html
| accessdate =2007-11-18
}}

{{cite journal
| last =Turner
| first =John W.
| title =Reports
| journal =The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I.
| volume =XXVIII
| issue =Part I
| pages =212–25
| publisher = Government Printing Office
| location =Washington, D.C.
| year =1890
| url =http://0-cdl.library.cornell.edu.source.unco.edu/moa/browse.monographs/waro.html
| accessdate =2007-11-05
}}

{{Citation
| last =Wise
| first =Stephen R.
| year =1994
| title =Gate of Hell: Campaign for Charleston Harbor, 1863
| place =Columbia, S.C.
| publisher =University of South Carolina Press
}}.

== External links ==
{{Commons|Fort Sumter}}
* [http://www.tourfortsumter.com Virtual 360 degree tour of Fort Sumter, over 30 panoramas]
* [http://www.nps.gov/fosu/ National Park Service's Official Website for Fort Sumter]
* [http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/charleston/ Historic Charleston's Religious and Community Buildings, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary]
* [http://blueandgraytrail.com/event/Fort_Sumter Timeline and narrative of the battle of Fort Sumter]
* [http://www.footnote.com/image/4346744 Major Robert Anderson's telegram announcing the surrender of Fort Sumter] — Image of original telegram
* [http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/battle-fort-sumter.htm Battle of Fort Sumter] — Historical Preservation Site
* [http://www.tulane.edu/~sumter/ Crisis at Fort Sumter] — Multimedia teaching tool from Tulane University including text from historical documents
* [http://www.charlestoninsidersguide.com/fort-sumter.php Charleston, SC Insider's Guide] — Short article about Ft. Sumter for travelers
* [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.sc0247 Extensive collection of photos and drawings from The Library of Congress]
* [http://civilwarfortifications.com/index.html The Civil War Field Fortifications Website]
* [http://www.charlestonscrealestate.us/ Charleston SC Real Estate] — Webcam provides live streaming video of Fort Sumter
* [http://www.familytales.org/results.php?collection=17 Letters associated with the first battle of Ft. Sumter]

{{Registered Historic Places}}
{{Protected Areas of South Carolina}}

[[Category:American Civil War forts|Sumter, Fort]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in South Carolina]]
[[Category:Forts in South Carolina|Sumter]]
[[Category:National Monuments in South Carolina]]
[[Category:South Carolina in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Museums in Charleston, South Carolina]]
[[Category:American Civil War museums in South Carolina]]

[[cs:Fort Sumter]]
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[[ko:섬터 요새]]
[[he:פורט סאמטר]]
[[la:Castellum Sumter]]
[[lt:Samtero fortas]]
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[[zh:萨姆特堡]]

Revision as of 18:43, 1 December 2009

THIS IS @!##%^$#%^ FORT sUMTER
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