Battle of Fort Sumter

The Battle of Fort Sumter (April 12–13, 1861) was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, by the South Carolina militia, which ended with the surrender of the fort by the United States Army and began the American Civil War. After South Carolina seceded on December 20, 1860, Major Robert Anderson surreptitiously moved his small command from the vulnerable Fort Moultrie to the substantial Fort Sumter, which controlled the entrance to Charleston Harbor. An attempt by President James Buchanan to resupply Anderson with the unarmed merchant ship Star of the West failed when it was fired upon by shore batteries on January 9, 1861.