confederate states army shot the first shot at fort sumter.
confederate states army shot the first shot at fort sumter.
who shot the first shot at fort sumter?
confederate states army
the battle of fort sumter (april 12–13, 1861) was the bombardment of fort sumter near charleston, south carolina by the confederate states army, and the return gunfire and subsequent surrender by the united states army, that started the american civil war. following the declaration of secession by south carolina on december 20, 1860, its authorities demanded that the u.s. army abandon its facilities in charleston harbor. on december 26, major robert anderson of the u.s. army surreptitiously moved his small command from the vulnerable fort moultrie on sullivan's island to fort sumter, a substantial fortress built on an island controlling the entrance of charleston harbor. an attempt by u.s. president james buchanan to reinforce and resupply anderson using the unarmed merchant ship "star of the west" failed when it was fired upon by shore batteries on january 9, 1861. south carolina authorities then seized all federal property in the charleston area except for fort sumter.
battle of fort sumter
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