Fort Sumter Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a sea fort in Charleston, South Carolina, notable for two battles of the American Civil War. It was one of a number of special forts planned after the War of 1812, combining high walls and heavy masonry, and classified as Third System, as a grade of structural integrity. Work started in 1829, but was incomplete by 1860, when South Carolina seceded from the Union. The First Battle of Fort Sumter began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate artillery fired on the Union garrison. These were the first shots of the war and continued all day,
Wilmot Gibbes de Saussure sons and three adult daughters survived their brother. Wilmot Gibbes de Saussure began his Civil War service as a colonel in the 1st South Carolina Artillery Regiment of the 4th Brigade of the South Carolina militia at the siege of Fort Sumter. His force occupied Fort Moultrie when the U.S. Army garrison withdrew to Fort Sumter on December 26, 1861. De Saussure was in command of the Morris Island batteries during the bombardment of Fort Sumter on April 12 through April 14, 1861. In August 1861, de Saussure was appointed a brigadier general in the South Carolina militia and was