Chapter One The First Shots Fired In 1861 the United States was in crisis Much of the North wanted to stop slavery from spreading Much of the South felt the North was taking away their right to make decisions Tensions were rising among the states Abraham Lincoln had been elected president in the fall of 1860 The South saw Lincoln as a threat to slavery Beginning in December 1860 southern states began to secede from the Union They formed a new country known as the Confederacy The Civil War was about to begin Fort Sumter sits in the harbor of Charleston off the coast of South Carolina In early 1861 the fort was not even finished when the first shots of the Civil War rang out The Union and the Confederacy both wanted to control the fortress As southern states left the Union they took control of the forts within their borders Only four Abraham Lincoln led the Union during the Civil War 5
forts remained under Union control in the spring of 1861 Fort Sumter was one of them Although South Carolina had seceded in December 1860 Fort Sumter still belonged to the Union James Buchanan was still president in January 1861 He ordered that troops and supplies be sent to Major Robert Anderson the U S army commander who controlled the fort A ship tried to reach Sumter with food weapons and soldiers on January 9 Confederate forces along the Charleston shoreline opened fire No one was injured or killed but the supply ship turned around Anderson was This map shows the states that seceded during the Civil War 6
left empty-handed Everyone wondered what would happen next Abraham Lincoln took office on March 4 1861 He became president in the middle of the crisis Lincoln realized that Anderson would run out of supplies by the following month Lincoln doubted that Confederate officers would allow more supplies in They had already ordered the Union to abandon the fort Nonetheless Lincoln sent five warships and three tugboats into Charleston’s harbor in April 1861 Lincoln notified South Carolina’s governor of his plans Unless the Union was attacked the president would send only supplies to Fort Sumter not troops I sprang out of bed And on my knees I prayed as I never prayed before I knew my husband was rowing around in a boat somewhere in that dark bay and who could tell what each shot accomplished of death and destruction Mary Chestnut wife of the Confederate soldier who delivered Beauregard’s message to Anderson on hearing the cannon fire at Fort Sumter Brigadier General P G T Beauregard led the Confederate troops in Charleston On April 11 1861 he again ordered Anderson to surrender the fort Anderson refused However Anderson admitted that he would have to abandon the fort within days because he was out of supplies Beauregard was not happy with this answer His men opened cannon fire beginning at 4 30 the following morning 7
