• Currier & Ives lithograph depicting the bombardment of Fort Sumter

    Fort Sumter

    National Monument South Carolina

Where the American Civil War Began

Decades of growing strife between North and South erupted in civil war on April 12, 1861, when Confederate artillery opened fire on this Federal fort in Charleston Harbor. Fort Sumter surrendered 34 hours later. Union forces would try for nearly four years to take it back.

Did You Know?

15-inch Rodman cannons at Fort Moultrie

Fort Sumter National Monument has one of the best collections of 19th century seacoast artillery anywhere in the United States. Fort Sumter National Monument, SC