the fort located at which the first shot of the civil war was fired was at charleston, south carolina.
the fort located at which the first shot of the civil war was fired was at charleston, south carolina.
where was the fort located at which the first shot of the civil war was fired?
charleston, south carolina
originally a united states mail service ship, the usms "nashville" was built at greenpoint, brooklyn in 1853. between 1853 and 1861 she was engaged in running between new york city and charleston, south carolina. during the battle of fort sumter, the usms "nashville" sailed into charleston without flying the us national standard and was fired upon by the usrc "harriet lane" which marked the first shot of the naval war in the civil war. the "nashville" raised the american flag, and after the surrender of sumter, the "nashville" docked at charleston.
css nashville (1853)
on friday, april 12, 1861, at 4:30 a.m., confederate batteries opened fire, firing for 34 straight hours, on the fort. edmund ruffin, noted virginian agronomist and secessionist, claimed that he fired the first shot on fort sumter. his story has been widely believed, but lieutenant henry s. farley, commanding a battery of two 10 inch siege mortars on james island fired the first shot at 4:30 a.m. no attempt was made to return the fire for more than two hours. the fort's supply of ammunition was not suited for the task; also, there were no fuses for their explosive shells, which means that they could not explode. only solid iron balls could be used against the confederate batteries. at about 7:00 a.m., captain abner doubleday, the fort's second in command, was given the honor of firing the union's first shot, in defense of the fort. he missed, in part because major anderson did not use the guns mounted on the highest tier, the barbette tier (where the guns could engage the confederate batteries better), where the gunners would be more exposed to confederate fire. the firing continued all day. the union fired slowly to conserve ammunition. at night, the fire from the fort stopped, but the confederates still lobbed an occasional shell into sumter. on saturday, april 13, the fort was surrendered and evacuated. during the attack, the union colors fell. lt. norman j. hall risked life and limb to put them back up, burning off his eyebrows permanently. a confederate soldier bled to death having been wounded by a misfiring cannon. one union soldier died and another was mortally wounded during the 47th shot of a 100 shot salute, allowed by the confederacy. afterward, the salute was shortened to 50 shots. accounts, such as in the famous diary of mary chesnut, describe charleston residents along what is now known as the battery, sitting on balconies and drinking salutes to the start of the hostilities.
fort sumter