Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter (1842-1947) - A Third System masonry fort begun in 1829 and unfinished when the U.S. Civil War began. Became a National Historic Monument in 1948.
Fort Sumter History
Established as one of the forts protecting the entrance to Charleston Harbor along with Fort Moultrie and Castle Pinckney.
Fort Sumter was built upon a sand bar in Charleston Harbor. Seventy thousand tons of New England granite were imported to build the base of the structure. The fort itself was a five-sided brick structure, 50' high and 170' by 190', with walls 5' thick. It was designed to house 650 men and 135 guns in three tiers of gun emplacements, it was never filled to capacity with guns or men.
U.S. Civil War
The Confederate attack on Fort Sumter on 12 Apr 1861 marked the first battle and the real beginning of the U.S. Civil War. The shelling of the fort continued for 34 hours. The fort commander, Maj. Robert Anderson, surrendered on 13 Apr 1861 and the fort remained in Confederate hands until 22 Feb 1865. During the war the fort suffered considerable damage from Union bombardments and it is estimated that 3,500 tons of shells were rained down on the fort just between Apr 1863 and Feb 1865. At the end of the war only one wall remained standing with the others just jagged piles of rubble.
Post Civil War
After the U.S. Civil War the fort was reduced to a two tier structure and the first tier was restored with 100-pounder Parrott rifles. The fort was unmanned 1876-1897 but the Spanish American War saw the installation of an Endicott Period battery, Battery Huger, with 2 12" guns. The battery was manned during World War I by a small garrison. During World War II two 90mm antiaircraft guns were place in AMTB #1 as the only battery on the island.
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Current Status
Fort Sumter became Fort Sumter National Historic Monument in 1948. Can be reached by a 30 minute boat ride from Charleston, South Carolina.
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Location: Charleston Harbor, South Carolina Maps & Images Lat: 32.752344 Long: -79.87465 |
Sources:
- Lewis, Emanuel Raymond, Seacoast Fortifications of the United States: An Introductory History, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 7th printing, 1993, ISBN 1-55750-502-0, page 51
- Kaufmann, J.E. and Kaufmann, H.W., Fortress America: The Forts That Defended America, 1600 to the Present, DaCapo Press, 2004, ISBN 0-306-81294-0, page 236-239
- Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 722-723
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Fort Sumter Picture Gallery
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Fort Sumter 1864 ruins
