The Battle of FT Sumter or Fort Sumter refers to the surrender of the fort following its bombardment located near Charleston in South Carolina. This event is considered to mark the beginnings of the American Civil War with the first shots having been fired in 1861. Fort Sumter was the guarding fort of Charleston Harbour.

Here are some facts to know about FT Sumter.

• The Fort was constructed in 1829 with the objective of serving as a coastal garrison and protecting Charleston from any foreign invasion. The design of the fort was done in a manner so as to repel any naval attack and not combat bombardments from within the fort city itself.

• The Northern forces of the Fort were led by Major Robert Anderson who inhabited the unfinished fort from December 1860. In spite of having lost the battle, he was considered a national hero and thereby promoted to the rank of Brigadier.

• The Southern forces were led by General P.T Beauregard.

• On 10th April, 1861, the surrender of the Union garrison of Fort Sumter was demanded by Brig. Gen. Beauregard promising bombardment if they didn’t comply. On refusal by Commander Anderson, the Confederate batteries opened fire on April 12th. Major Anderson evacuated the garrison the following day and this bombardment marked the beginnings of the American Civil War.

• In spite of the design of the Fort, Major Anderson thought the fort would serve as the safest place for his men and carry out his commandments. His had 150 soldiers with him.

• However they were unable to hold out for long and when merchant ships were sent to Charleston to bring provisions but they were asked to vacate the Fort as per the demands of secessionist government of South Carolina. These events led to the build op of events and eventually the bombardment of the fort.

• President Lincoln was sworn in around this time and as soon as he came to power, he had been asked to deal with the serious situations at Fort Sumter. He had later said that the events were inevitable.

• It is said that Anderson and Beauregard were close friends and Anderson had even served as his assistant right after his graduation from West Point.

• There was no major casualty in the bombardment except for one Union artillerist who was killed and three wounded of which one’s wounds were fatal.

• Governor Henry Wise had commented on the battle as “a war of purification. You want war, blood, fire, to purify you.”

• The surrender of Fort Sumter took place on 14th April around mid-day with a 100 gun fire salute to which Anderson lowered the US Flag. It was during this surrender gunfire that an untimely shot killed one of the soldiers.

• 75,000 soldiers were appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to subdue rebellions that rose around the South. States supporting the secession viewed this as a direct threat and instead of being subdued rose was angered to greater protest thus effectively starting off the Civil War.

Although the Civil War is said to have started with a bloodless battle, it led to one of the greatest changes and immense bloodshed which historians account as one of the deadliest wars in the history of United States of America.