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
Braving the Blaze The Union forces at Sumter also faced several fires in the fort Shots from Confederate cannons set the fort’s wooden barracks ablaze Despite the panic and danger the soldiers faced they often risked their lives to make sure that the American flag still flew over the fort Even after surrendering Union troops proudly raised the flag one final time during a cannon salute Two Union soldiers were killed when a cannon being used for the salute exploded Union troops took the banner with them as they left Charleston’s harbor At first Anderson attempted to fight back His efforts were useless He had too few cannons and guns The ships Lincoln had sent arrived at the entrance to the harbor but none could dock during the attack Fewer than 100 Union troops faced Beauregard and his 500 men The Union surrendered 34 hours after Beauregard began the siege No one was killed during the attack However two Union soldiers died accidentally from a cannon Fort Sumter was ruined by the 1861 attack 8
The Confederates attacked Fort Sumter on April 12 1861 salute after the fort surrendered The events at Fort Sumter stirred both the Confederacy and the Union to gather men and supplies Both sides prepared to fight for their beliefs Lincoln soon asked the states for 75,000 soldiers to crush the rebellion Four more southern states seceded The Civil War had truly begun 9
