Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter was a turning point in determining the outcome of the Civil War. Fort

Sumter was built on a man-made island of seashells and granite. It was a pentagon shape

that was fifty feet high and the walls were eight to twelve feet thick. Fort Sumter is

located in South Carolina. It was a defense system for Charleston Harbor. It was named

after a Revolutionary War hero from South Carolina.

For one of the causes of the Civil War was that the South demanded that fort

Sumter be turned over to its new government. United States troops were to leave the fort.

President Abraham Lincoln refused to let them. Lincoln said that Fort Sumter belonged to

all of the people of the United States, not just to South Carolina. The people of South

Carolina were determined to have the fort. They threatened to starve the men stationed

there. Lincoln sent food and supplies to the men stationed there. The Carolinians fired on

the ship and, then they fired on the fort and destroyed it. That was how the war began

On April 13, 1861, Fort Sumter surrendered after heavy bombardment to

Confederate forces. Accounts of this victory created wild excitement in North Carolina.

The Union was deeply saddened that war had started. On the other hand, the South was

ecstatic.

President Lincoln had a major role in the Civil War. Lincoln refused to withdraw

soldiers from Fort Sumter. He sent a supply ship after the South threatened to stop

supplying them. He differed with other northern leaders by that the other leaders told him

to back out and Lincoln did not listen to them. He refused to let the South leave the

United States. Lincoln proclaimed a blockade on April 16, 1861. The blockade extended

from Virginia to Texas. At the time, it was impossible for the federal government to

enforce a blockade of the coastline measuring almost four thousand miles and containing

one hundred and eighty-nine harbors.

In conclusion, many important battles such as Gettysburg and Antietam took place

after. The Civil War lasted for four years. Today, Fort Sumter is a tourist attraction and it

attracts many visitors.