Thomas Sumter the "Fighting Gamecocks." Since 1903 the college's teams have been simply known as the "Gamecocks." Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, a fort planned after the War of 1812, was named for him. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter. Counties in South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Alabama are named for him. Thomas Sumter Thomas Sumter (August 14, 1734 – June 1, 1832) was a soldier in the Colony of Virginia militia; a brigadier general in the South Carolina militia during the American
1st U.S. Light Artillery, Battery E Corps, to May 1863. 2nd Regular Brigade, Artillery Reserve, Army of the Potomac, to June 1863. 2nd Brigade, Horse Artillery, Artillery Reserve, Army of the Potomac, to June 1864. 3rd Brigade, DeRussy's Division, XXII Corps, to July 1864. 1st Brigade, DeRussy's Division, XXII Corps, to October 1865. Defense of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, April 12-13, 1861. Evacuation of Fort Sumter April 13. Reached Fort Hamilton, N.Y. Harbor, April 19. Moved to Chambersburg, Pa., June 3. Ordered to Washington, D.C., August 26, 1861. Duty at the federal arsenal and at Camp Duncan, defenses of Washington, until March 1862. Moved to the