Battle of Fort Sumter 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 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
Fort Jay players and regimental musicians. The army located its General Recruiting Service for infantry troops at Fort Columbus in November 1852, and many regiments in the army detailed officers to Fort Columbus on recruiting details. Twice, in December 1860 and April 1861, the Army "secretly" dispatched troops and provisions from Fort Columbus to relieve the besieged garrison at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. Outgoing President James Buchanan initiated the first effort, but a battery garrisoned by cadets from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina fired on the Army-chartered New York-based steamship "Star of the West" on January 9,