This Day in History: April 12, 1861

American Civil War Begins

On April 12, 1861 the American Civil War began when Confederates fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Fort Sumter had been the source of tension between the Union and Confederacy for several months. After South Carolina seceded, the state demanded Fort Sumter to be turned over but the Union officials refused. A supply ship, the "Star of the West," tried to reach Fort Sumter on January 9, but the shore batteries opened fire and drove it away. For both sides, Sumter was a symbol of sovereignty. The Union could not allow it to fall to the Confederates, although throughout the Deep South other federal installations had been seized.

For South Carolinians, secession didn’t mean much if the Yankees still held the stronghold. This issue hung in the air when Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office on March 4. In his in his inauguration he addressed the issue by saying: "You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors."

Lincoln did not try to send reinforcements but he did send in food. This way, Lincoln could characterize the operation as a humanitarian mission, bringing, in his words, "food for hungry men." He sent word to the Confederates in Charleston of his intentions on April 6.

The Confederate Congress at Montgomery, Alabama, had decided on February 15, 1861 that Sumter and other forts must be acquired "either by negotiation or force." Negotiation, it seemed, had failed. The Confederates demanded surrender of the fort, but Major Robert Anderson, commander of Fort Sumter, refused. At 4:30 a.m. on April 12, the Confederate guns opened fire. For thirty-three hours, the shore batteries lobbed 4,000 shells in the direction of the fort. Finally, the garrison inside the battered fort raised the white flag. No one on either side had been killed, although two Union soldiers died when the departing soldiers fired a gun salute, and some cartridges exploded prematurely. This was a nearly bloodless beginning to America's bloodiest war. –History Channel

Take My Quiz - on - Fort Sumnter

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I forgot to buy lunch before coming here, and now I am starving. I just ordered some food from a place next door, so I am going to go get that now. Have a good one!!
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