Fort Sumter

Fort in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, USA, 6.5 km/4 mi southeast of Charleston. The first shots of the US Civil War were fired here on 12 April 1861, after its commander had refused the call to surrender made by the Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard.

The attack was successful, with the South holding the fort until 1865; it had been prompted by President Lincoln's refusal to evacuate the fort and his decision instead to send reinforcements. Southern leaders felt they must attack to lend weight to their claims of independence.