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13 unusual facts about Fort Sumter


Battle of Port Royal

Shortly after the bombardment of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor had started the war, Confederate Brigadier General P. G. T. Beauregard did not believe that Port Royal Sound could be adequately defended, as forts on opposite sides of the sound would be too far apart for mutual support.

Benjamin W. Lacy

Lacy enlisted in the Confederate States Army on April 19, 1861, a week after the bombardment of Fort Sumter.

Doomsday rule

Suppose that you want to find the day of week that the American Civil War broke out at Fort Sumter, which was April 12, 1861.

First Battle of Fort Wagner

If Union artillery could be placed in those locations, they could assist in the bombardment of Fort Sumter, whose guns prevented the U.S. Navy from entering the harbor.

Fort Sumter Range Lights

The original front light was built at Fort Sumter and the original rear light was in the steeple of St. Philip's Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Francis Preston Blair

On April 17, 1861, just three days after the surrender of Fort Sumter, Lincoln asked Francis Blair to convey his offer to Colonel Robert E. Lee to command the Union Army.

Jeremiah S. Black

Perhaps the most influential of President Buchanan's official advisers, he denied the constitutionality of secession, and urged that Fort Sumter be properly reinforced and defended.

Morris Island

They were used as Human Shields in an attempt to silence the Confederate artillery at Fort Sumter and soon became known in the South as the Immortal Six Hundred.

Plans to commercially develop the 125 acres (506,000 m²) of high ground on the northern tip of Morris Island as a luxury residential area resulted in several groups fighting to have the island declared a national historical park or added to the Fort Sumter park.

Samuel Mercer

He led a squad of four ships that had been sent to relieve the garrison at Fort Sumter, but arrived too late.

Second Battle of Charleston Harbor

Despite trenching difficulties, by mid-August Gillmore had his siege guns within range of Fort Sumter.

Sumpter, Wisconsin

At the start of the Civil War, the name was changed to "Sumter," in honor of Fort Sumter, but an error in spelling resulted in the current name.

The Diary of a Public Man

From its first paragraph to its last, The Diary of a Public Man recounts the twists and turns as two successive presidents, the repudiated James Buchanan and the untested Lincoln, attempted to figure out what to do about Fort Sumter, the besieged federal fortress located on an artificial island at the mouth of Charleston harbor, South Carolina.


Billinghurst Requa Battery

The battery was never officially accepted into service, however it saw action at Fort Sumter and Siege of Petersburg as well as the Battle of Cold Harbor.