Battle of Fort Sumter

Overview

The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender of the fort by the United States Army, beginning the American Civil War.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The bombardment of Fort Sumter by South Carolina militia forces, which compelled the U.S. Army garrison under Robert Anderson to surrender the fort, marked the opening of armed hostilities in the American Civil War. The fall of the fort to Confederate-aligned forces represented the first concrete military confrontation between Union and secessionist forces, transforming the political crisis over secession into open war. The engagement set the terms of the broader conflict that would follow: federal authority over installations in seceding states would be contested by force, and neither side would resolve the dispute through negotiation alone.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)