Fort O'Rourke Fort O'Rourke Fort O'Rourke is a former Union Army installation now located in the Belle Haven area of Fairfax County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It was the southernmost fort built to defend Washington, D.C. in the American Civil War. Following the surrender of Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 14, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln declared that "an insurrection existed," and called for 75,000 troops to be called up to quash the rebellion. The move sparked resentment in many other southern states, which promptly moved to convene discussions of secession. The Virginia State Convention passed an ordinance
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