Here’s what happened in April 1861, leading up to the firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, which spurred the launch of the American Civil War.

Authorized in 1827 by Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, Fort Sumter was still not finished when the nation slid into civil war over sectional issues. Nevertheless, it became the “flashpoint for the ...

"No Name Beach," a sandbar that has grown large enough to connect Fort Sumter and James Island at mid tide and low tide could ...

You probably remember Fort Sumter as the place where the first shot of the Civil War was fired back in 1861. Today, you can see for yourself where all the action happened by taking a ferry to the ...

On April 12, 1861, Captain George S. James fired the first Confederate shot at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, leading to a siege, a Union retreat and the start of the Civil War. Exhibits ...

Fort Sumter National Monument Superintendent Tim Stone said Monday the flags will be part of an historical display at the fort where the Civil War began. The display will include flags that flew ...

On April 12, 1861, barely a month after Lincoln took office, Confederate forces fired on Union troops at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, and the Civil War began. Lincoln acted swiftly, wielding more ...

Beginning with a searing indictment of slavery, this first episode dramatically evokes the causes of the war, from the Cotton ... the firing on Fort Sumter, and the jubilant rush to arms on ...

Students of the American Civil War will be familiar with Fort Sumter, an uncompleted brick fortress on an artificial island in the middle of the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. Today a site ...