Fort Sumter, named after General Thomas Sumter, Revolutionary War hero, was built after the War of 1812, as one of a series of fortifications on the southern U.S. coast to protect the harbors. Construction began in 1829 and the structure was still unfinished in 1861, when the Civil War began.

Fort Sumter is a sea fort in the entrance to the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, notable for two battles of the American Civil War. It was one of a number of special forts planned after the War of 1812, combining high walls and heavy masonry, and classified as Third System, as a grade of structural integrity. Work started in 1829, but was incomplete by 1860, when South Carolina seceded from the Union.

The First Battle of Fort Sumter began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate artillery fired on the Union garrison. These were the first shots of the war and continued all day, watched by many civilians in a celebratory spirit. The fort had been cut off from its supply line and surrendered the next day.

The Second Battle of Fort Sumter (September 8, 1863) was a failed attempt by the Union to retake the fort, dogged by a rivalry between army and navy commanders. Although the fort was reduced to rubble, it remained in Confederate hands until it was evacuated as General Sherman marched through South Carolina in February 1865.

Fort Sumter is open for public tours as part of the Fort Sumter National Monument operated by the National Park Service.

Coordinates: 32.752222, -79.874722

From 1876 to 1897, Fort Sumter was used only as an unmanned lighthouse station. Used during WWI and WWII.

Third Systems Fort

I awake during the sunglow, drive to a f-mart for a cup of hot and watch the suntouch from the jammer. Over the last few days, I have noticed several times a flock of geese flying in formation heading south. Methinks this is the same flock that I have been seeing and we are all headed to the same direction, south. After getting a refill in my cup, I too make headway southward with the geese but of course, I use the jammer and drive on US highway 17.

The ranger at Fort Moultrie gives me driving directions to where I can catch the ferry to Fort Sumter National Monument and I drive there, pay the parking fee, ferry fee and then take the ferry ride to the small island at the entrance to Charleston harbor where Fort Sumter was built.

I learn that there were four forts involved in this first battle of the civil war: Fort Sumter held by the Federal forces after they had retreated from the land based Fort Moultrie. The Confederate forces helf, Fort Moultrie, Fort Johnson, and Fort Wagner as well as several other batteries that were placed in and around the harbor by the Confederates including Castle Pinckney.

Decades of growing political tension around the issue of slavery between North and South erupted in civil war on April 12, 1861 at 4:30 am 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.

All of the Confederate locations were involved in firing at Fort Sumter on 12 April 1961, which attack began the Civil War and resulted in the surrender of the Federal forces after only a short battle. The Union forces later tried several times to regain Fort Sumter but were unsuccessful.

For the Confederates, all seemed to be going well at this point!