Today In History: The 150th Anniversary Of Fort Sumter And The Start Of The Civil War

The first shots of the American Civil War were fired 150 years ago today.

On April 12 and 13, 1861, the bombardment of Fort Sumter by secession forces commenced, forcing the U.S. Army off the island fort after 34 hours of artillery fire. Though these are considered the first shots of the Civil War no one actually died during the battle. Two Union soldiers did die as a result of an accidental canon explosion during the surrender ceremonies however.

The short battle came after months of almost siege-like conditions.

Union soldiers had occupied the fort, which controls the Charleston harbor, under the command of U.S. Major Robert Anderson, in December 1860. For months the 85 soldiers were unable to receive supplies, and the situation became the first crisis under the administration of President Abraham Lincoln.

On April 10, Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, backed by 500 troops, called for the surrender of Union troops, and after they refused, Confederate forces fired. The assault began at 4:30 a.m. on April 12. Although Union forces returned fire, they were heavily outmanned, outgunned, and under-supplied.

After Anderson's surrender support mounted on both sides for a call to war. Lincoln immediately called for 75,000 troops to suppress the rebellion in the South, officially igniting the Civil War.

Comments

[wforvendetta]

11:46 PM on 04/12/2011

"I'm saying very plainly that the Yankees are better equipped than we. They've got factories, shipyards, coal mines and a fleet to bottle up our harbors and starve us to death. All we've got is cotton and slaves and ... arrogance." - Rhett Butler, "Gone With the Wind."

[MRb1000]

11:20 PM on 04/12/2011

THIS WAR IS OVER! YEAH AND IT HAS BE OVER FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS. SO WHY DO THEY KEEP BRINGING THIS UP! GET OVER IT YOU LOST! END OF STORY.

[MarkInTexas]

10:22 PM on 04/12/2011

The south shall rise again.

And then get their but t beat. Again.

..and I'm a southerner.

[Edward Standley]

10:41 PM on 04/12/2011

I make jokes at Southerner's expense sometimes, and I don't mean to be cruel about it. But in my better moments, I try to remember what a sad, brutal war it was, and that a lot of very good men were lost and maimed on both sides of the Mason Dixon. Hope we never see anything like it again.

[NotEve]

09:34 PM on 04/12/2011

Here's a recent news item to put this topic in perspective:

46% of self-described Mississippi Republicans think interracial marriage should be illegal.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/04/07/shock-poll-46-of-mississippi-republicans-think-interracial-marriage-should-be-illegal/

[Freesia2]

09:33 PM on 04/12/2011

I can't believe it took a war to make us as a people do the right thing (and both sides had guilt. The north bought the products made by slave labor. "Molasses to rum to slaves". "The touch the feel of cotton the fabric of our lives." A lot of money made in northern shipping trade.)

But Thank God we finally made it stop. I can't image what America would have been if we hadn't.

[NotEve]

09:22 PM on 04/12/2011

When my grandfather was a child he asked his father "why we fought the Civil War?"

My Great-Grandfather's answer was simple, "Because in the North we believe a mane should do his own work."

[Peace Walker]

12:40 AM on 04/13/2011

Fanned and Faved. And, I might say somewhat jaded by this post because as I checked your other posts... I kept reading them in the voice of your Great Grandfather, which turned out to be Mark Twain. So, male or female, in my mind you now speak in the voice of Mark Twain. Thanks for the laugh and some wise commentary... (even on paparazzi... well, we all need a little gutter time right?)

[NotEve]

08:08 AM on 04/13/2011

Peace Walker, you couldn't have given me a nicer compliment. I hold Mark Twain in high esteem and he's a favorite author of mine.

Today started out a bit rough, but you just put a broad smile on my face.

Many thanks

(and yes, regarding gutter time, and all other things, my philosophy is "all things in moderation - sometimes even moderation")

[pantherburns]

09:13 PM on 04/12/2011

Sherman stopped too soon.

[Freesia2]

09:10 PM on 04/12/2011

Michele Bachmann? If you're reading - this is the "shot heard round the world". Fort Sumter is in New Hampshire and the Confederacy pledged to try to free the slaves. The Founding Father Jefferson Davis later stood in Appomattox Court House and signed the Declaration of Independence with George Washington.

Don't forget.

[oldgrendel]

09:19 PM on 04/12/2011

She will write it on her palms ... oh, that was the other idiot!

[Freesia2]

09:26 PM on 04/12/2011

lol

I tell them apart by their accessories. The other one has the red high heels and short skirt with the baby dangling from her wrist. There ya go.  ;-)

[mike dougles]

09:50 PM on 04/12/2011

One of the 57 states.

[ricitizen]

08:51 PM on 04/12/2011

Do people really understand what slavery was? Yes, it was an essential part of the economic founding of the country from the 1600 Dutch trading that was going on in New York, going down to the south. Yes if was included by the 'Founding Fathers" in the Constitution because they could not reconcile the moral objections over politics and money. It was beyond economics, and beyond the idea of one person "owning" another person. Fundamentally no matter the laws created or culture, a human being CAN NOT BE OWNED BY ANOTHER. Slavery was the codification of laws against the rights of man almost since the dawn of man. It was legalized, kidnapping, assault and battery, thief, child abuse, child molestation, rape and murder on a huge scale that was done in full view of witnesses. You can not make fundamental rights to life and liberty legal. It was evil. And there are millions of people who were never brought to justice and their ancestors have profited from the crimes. Something we would not allow for today and never forget!

[mainstream madness]

08:40 PM on 04/12/2011

The civil war was a great tragedy and should never happen again

[oldgrendel]

09:20 PM on 04/12/2011

But I fear it just might.

[mike dougles]

09:52 PM on 04/12/2011

I doubt it would happen again, lets say that tomorrow the Texas goes, then SC then Alabama, Mississippi, Do you think Obama would fight to get them back, do you think the liberals in the north would take up arms to make them comeback? I dont.

[1murillo]

10:09 PM on 04/12/2011

It wouldn't happen again. A call for secession is merely electioneering bs. The states - and the governors know - are too dependent on federal dollars.
If it were to occur, Obama would do all he could in order to maintain the nation. No president would want to be known as the one that let the states secede.
I wouldn't want to lock the door on the states' way out. All we'd have are angry neighbors all around us.

[blueman00009]

08:19 PM on 04/12/2011

And we are celebrating treason that was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of americans and was an attempt to keep humans in degrading bondage? I simply do not understand any of this.

I heard on the news today that a teacher in the south was conducting a slave auction to teach about the civil war. The white students were bidding for the african-american students. Is the south sick or what?

[ricitizen]

08:36 PM on 04/12/2011

Wow...that last bid of news in your post is beyond shocking. They just don't get it.

[psmarc93]

10:05 PM on 04/12/2011

I think a commemoration of the bloodiest war in American history needs to be remembered, our dead honored on both sides, and events such as re-enactments can be patriotic and informative. The slave auction is in bad taste unless there is a way to reverse the roles, have everyone present wearing sneakers be the "slaves" for example, or everyone wearing blue, so that people get an education on how ARBITRARY racism really is, and how scary.

[Bob Wood]

07:31 PM on 04/12/2011

A war fought to continue the institution of slavery...and people want to celebrate it. Go figure. I grew up in Richmond, Va...travel down Monument Ave and observe the great statues of Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart and Stonewall Jackson. Great men serving the absolute wrong side...to preserve slavery. It's sad to celebrate such a tragedy. Where's the honor in it ? There is none...we should be ashamed of it...(sigh)

[amaboss52]

07:21 PM on 04/12/2011

Glad it's over, if the leaders of today were fighting it back then, in 2011 we'd still be invading and rebuilding the South.

[LaFlow]

07:04 PM on 04/12/2011

In the final analysis, Reconstruction was too brief and did not adequately force contrition upon the former insurgents. They were allowed too much leeway to re-integrate and were showed far too much compassion.

[lhanderson86]

07:31 PM on 04/12/2011

Agreed and agreed. Also, you have to wonder if race relations in this country might be better if we actually gave the slaves that 40 acres and mule we promised and never delivered.