Project 365 2009 Day 301

Sunday morning we got up early to catch the first ferry out to Fort Sumter.  The day was absolutely beautiful and cool.

It's about a 30-minute boat ride to the man-made island on which Fort Sumter is built.

Fort Sumter was started to protect the coastline during the War of 1812.  It was a 5-year project that still was not finished when the Civil War began.

The park ranger gave us a 20-minute overview of the history of Fort Sumter.

At the time of the secession of South Carolina, the walls of For Sumter were as high as the red line on this flag pole.

No troops were stationed there since it was not yet finished.  Union troops were at nearby Fort Moultrie, across the river, and did not feel safe there.  So they decided to move over to Fort Sumter during the night to protect themselves.

When the people of South Carolina saw the Union flag flying over Fort Sumter the next morning, they took this as an act of aggression.

They told the commanding officer of the Union army that if they did not leave Fort Sumter, they would be fired upon.

The officer explained that if they would just wait till the middle of April, he would be out of food anyway and have to leave.  So they waited.

One morning in April, Union supply ships were seen in the harbor.  South Carolina again warned that if Major Anderson did not give up Fort Sumter, they would begin firing.

Major Anderson refused.  General PGT Beauregard, a former teacher's aide to Major Anderson at West Point, informed Major Anderson they would begin bombarding Fort Sumter at 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861.

Major Anderson moved his troops to the lower level of the fort to protect them and didn't put up much of a fight.  After 34 hours of bombing, an agreement to evacuate the fort (not surrender) was made...but first, Major Anderson wanted a 100-gun salute to his troops.

Not a man had been killed on either side during the bombardment, but on the 47th round of the 100-gun salute, a cannon exploded and killed two men--the first casualties of the Civil War.

Tomorrow, scenes from the boat ride...