In 1861, a 34-hour bombardment of Fort Sumter ignited the American Civil War
The American Civil War erupted when Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter, a federal stronghold in South Carolina, forcing a surrender after a relentless thirty-four-hour artillery bombardment.
On April 12, 1861, the first shots of the American Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Confederate batteries unleashed a massive bombardment on the federal garrison, which was low on supplies and cut off from reinforcements. After thirty-four hours of intense shelling, the Union commander, Major Robert Anderson, surrendered the fort.
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