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Battle of Fort Sumter: Quick Facts

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Facts

Date April 12, 1861 - April 14, 1861
Location Charleston • South Carolina • United States
Participants Confederate States of America • United States
Context American Civil War

Photos and Videos

Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter Aerial View
Antique map of South Carolina from 1902, showing county borders, towns, railroads, rivers, and major roads across the state. An inset in the lower left details Charleston, its harbor, and surrounding areas, with streets and waterways labeled. The map has a beige background and fine black and red detailing typical of early 20th-century atlases.
Fort Sumter
American Civil War: secession
Map of the United States during the Civil War, color-coded to show Union free states, Union slave states, Confederate states that seceded before and after April 1861, and West Virginia, which joined the Union in 1863. The map also marks federal and unorganized Indian territories, with the Confederacy highlighted in green and border slave states in orange.
P.G.T. Beauregard
Abraham Lincoln: inauguration
Fort Sumter
Battle of Fort Sumter
Know how the Battle of Fort Sumter signaled the start of the American Civil War
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics

Timeline

Fort Sumter
Battle of Fort Sumter
April 12, 1861 - April 14, 1861
Winchester, Battle of
Shenandoah Valley campaigns
July 1861 - March 1865
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run
July 21, 1861
American Civil War: Vicksburg Campaign
Vicksburg Campaign
1862 - 1863
See the animated map and learn about the Battle of Shiloh
Mississippi Valley Campaign
February 1862 - July 1863
Fort Donelson, Battle of
Battle of Fort Donelson
February 13, 1862 - February 16, 1862
Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack
Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack
March 9, 1862
Shiloh, Battle of
Battle of Shiloh
April 6, 1862 - April 7, 1862
American Civil War: Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
August 29, 1862 - August 30, 1862
Battle of Antietam: Confederate dead
Battle of Antietam
September 17, 1862
Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
December 13, 1862
Map showing the site of the Battle of Chancellorsville during the American Civil War, with key roads, rivers, and locations marked. The map highlights Chancellorsville, Hazel Grove, Catherine Furnace, and Marye's Heights, along with major roads such as the Orange Plank Road and Turnpike, and the Rapidan and Rappahannock rivers. Numbered red circles indicate significant positions or events related to the battle.
Battle of Chancellorsville
April 30, 1863 - May 5, 1863
American Civil War: Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
July 1, 1863 - July 3, 1863
Storming Fort Wagner
Second Battle of Fort Wagner
July 18, 1863
Wood engraving depicting the Fort Pillow Massacre.
Fort Pillow Massacre
April 12, 1864
American Civil War: Atlanta Campaign
Atlanta Campaign
May 1864 - September 1864
wounded soldiers at the Battle of the Wilderness
Battle of the Wilderness
May 5, 1864 - May 7, 1864
American Civil War: Spotsylvania Court House
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
May 8, 1864 - May 19, 1864
Grant at Cold Harbor
Battle of Cold Harbor
May 31, 1864 - June 12, 1864
Petersburg campaign: ruins of the Richmond & Petersburg Railroad bridge
Petersburg Campaign
June 1864 - April 9, 1865
Early, Jubal A.
Battle of Monocacy
July 9, 1864
ruins of an Atlanta depot
Battle of Atlanta
July 22, 1864
Battle of the Crater
Battle of the Crater
July 30, 1864
19th-century print depicting the Battle of Mobile Bay, with warships firing cannons amid clouds of smoke near a coastal fortification.
Battle of Mobile Bay
August 5, 1864 - August 23, 1864
Map and infographic detailing Sherman's March to the Sea during the American Civil War, showing the route of Union General Sherman's troops from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia, with colored lines for different corps. The left side features the route across Georgia, while the right side provides facts, a timeline, troop numbers, and casualty comparisons with other major battles.
Sherman’s March to the Sea
November 15, 1864 - December 21, 1864
Nashville, Tennessee
Battle of Nashville
December 15, 1864 - December 16, 1864
Battle of Five Forks
Battle of Five Forks
April 1, 1865
Appomattox Court House surrender
Battle of Appomattox Court House
April 9, 1865

Key People

Abraham Lincoln portrait
Abraham Lincoln
president of United States
Portrait of Jefferson Davis wearing a dark suit and bow tie, with short wavy hair and a pointed beard, set against a blue oval background.
Jefferson Davis
president of Confederate States of America
Robert Anderson
Robert Anderson
United States Army officer
James Buchanan
James Buchanan
president of United States
P.G.T. Beauregard
P.G.T. Beauregard
Confederate general

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54th Massachusetts Regiment. "Storming Fort Wagner," by Kurz & Allison, c. 1890. Depicts the assault on the S.C. fort on 7/18/1863. American Civil War, 54th Regiment Massachusetts Infantry, 1st all African-American regiment, black soldiers, black history
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