Battle of Fort Sumter
| Battle of Fort Sumter | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
American Civil War | ||
| Part of | N/A | |
| Date | April 12-13, 1861 | |
| Location | Charleston Harbor Charleston, South Carolina | |
| Outcome | N/A | |
| Combatants | ||
 |
 | |
| Commanders | ||
| Robert Anderson Major, USA |
Pierre G.T. Beauregard Brig. General, CSA | |
| Strength | ||
| 85 soldiers | 500 soldiers (est) | |
| Casualties | ||
| 2 (after bombardment ended) | None | |
The Battle of Fort Sumter (April 12 - April 13, 1861) is considered the first military action in the American Civil War.
Description of the fort
Fort Sumter in December 1860 was a five-sided brick masonry fort designed for three tiers of guns. It had walls which were five feet thick and stood about fifty feet tall at low tide; the fort enclosed a parade ground of about an acre in size. Two tiers of arched gunrooms were built into four of the walls, while the fifth wall (facing the city) was armed only on the parapet. Officers' quarters lined this wall, which was nicknamed the "gorge". This wall was to be armed only along the parapet. At the center of the gorge was the sally port, which opened on a 25-1/2-foot-wide stone esplanade that extended the length of the wall and on a 171-foot wharf.
Of the 135 guns planned for the gunrooms and the parapet, only 15 had been mounted by December 20, 1860 when South Carolina seceded from the Union. Most of these were "32 pounders"; none was heavier. Various details of the interior finish of barracks, quarters, and gunrooms were incomplete. Congressional economies had had their effect, as much as difficulties of construction. Work that had been planned for years to strengthen the fort was intermittent at best, and as late as 1858 and 1859 it had been virtually at a standstill for lack of funds.
First moves toward hostilities
On December 26, 1860, the fort's commander, Major Robert Anderson, removed the small garrison from nearby Fort Moultrie and placed it within Fort Sumter; the move created rage and anger within the city of Charleston, which believed Anderson reneged on a pledge to keep the status quo. It also angered Washington; President James Buchanan stated it was against his policy for the move. An emergency meeting of the cabinet was called, and on December 27 the Secretary of War Floyd wired Major Anderson:
- "Intelligence has reached here this morning that you have abandoned Fort Moultrie...and gone to Fort Sumter. It is not believed, because there is no order for any such movement. Explain the meaning of this report."
Calling it an "outrageous breach of faith," as well as an act of aggression, the governor of South Carolina demanded that the United States government evacuate Charleston Harbor. President Buchanan, anxious to conciliate as well as maintain authority, wavered. Cabinet pressures were brought to bear. Meanwhile, on the 27th, South Carolina volunteers seized Castle Pinckney and the empty Fort Moultrie. On the 28th, the President refused to accede to South Carolina's demand, causing cheers in the North and a vote of approval for Anderson's act within Congress.
But the situation at Fort Sumter was bleak. Anderson had two companies of the First United States Artillery — about 85 officers and men in a fortification intended for as many as 650. He had only "about 4 months" supply of provisions for his command. Reenforcement and supply could now come only by sea, with the openings to the harbor now mounting Confederate guns. How to supply Anderson without triggering a general war would trouble the remaining days of the Buchanan administration.
Relief ships
Buchanan was persuaded to send off a relief expedition almost immediately. At first, it was decided to send a naval warship, USS Brooklyn, to provide the needed supplies, but this was changed to a merchant vessel as it was less-provocative as well as practical: the South Carolinians had sunk several ships in the harbor entrance as soon as they heard the deep-draft Brooklyn was being sent. The lighter-draft Star of the West — a ship which regularly sailed southward from New York and was familiar in Charleston — was chartered. Two hundred men, small arms and ammunition, and several months' provisions were placed aboard. The men were to remain below deck on entering Charleston Harbor; the Brooklyn would follow behind, in case the Star of the West were fired upon and disabled. On January 9, 1861, the ship was fired upon by cadets from the Citadel on Cummings Point as she was about to enter the harbor. Although unscathed, the Star of the West turned about and headed back to sea.