The American Civil War

As President of The United States, Lincoln wanted to keep these seceding Southern states to remain a part of America. He felt that the union was not just an arrangement to govern over the states, but it indeed symbolized the future of American freedom where slavery would be abolished for good and protected the rights of every human being. When the Confederates decided to attack Fort Sumter, a Union fort, in April of 1861, the peace broke. This attack was known to have started the American Civil

It all began with the secession of South Carolina. After this an understanding was established between the authorities in Washington and the members of Congress from South Carolina. They both agreed that the forts, Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter, would not be attacked, or seized as an act of war, until proper negotiations for

His ended his speech with a plea for the restoration of the bonds of union. The South just ignored his plea. Violence and outrage turned to belligerence in the North, which in turn had many southerners clamouring for war. At 4.30am on April 12th 1861, Confederate gunners opened fire on Federal - held Fort Sumter, situated in the middle of Charleston Harbour. The only real casualty was a horse. This gentle brawl was the start of a longer, harder and bloodier war than anyone could dream of.

The April 12 paper included information on the confederates asking Major Anderson to surrender Fort Sumter and strategies for the defense of the fort. In the Times article “The Forts in Charleston Harbor” there is a sense that the union forces have positioned themselves well and the confederates have waited too long allowing the opportunity for reinforcements to arrive if needed at Fort Sumter. This feeling can be seen in the final sentence where it reads: “But be the motive what it may, there is little doubt that they have lost the golden opportunity, and that the Stars and Stripes will continue to wave over the old fort, unless puerile negotiations should allow the Confederate force to prepare

After the Fort Sumter battle, both the North and the South began preparing for war by raising armies. This was done quickly and neither side spent much time training the troops. Both sides also did not know what a long and terrible war was ahead.

On April 12-14, 1861, the Battle of Fort Sumter happened. The location of the Battle of Fort Sumter is near Charleston, South Carolina. General P.G.T Beauregard, who was the commander of the Confederate army, ordered for the Union’s surrender of the Fort. However, Major Robert Anderson stood his front and refused to surrender which resulted in the Confederates opening fire on the Fort on April 12. Major Robert Anderson was unable to return the gunfire for the first two hours as the fort lacked ammunition and fuses. Abner DoubleDay, who was captain of the Union army, was the one who fired the first shot to defend the fort. The firing continued all day but lessened as the Union Army had to save their ammunition. On April 13, Major Robert Anderson decided to surrender the fort and it was a victory for the Confederates. There were 580 forces engaged, 80 from the Union and 500 from the Confederates. The important figures in this battle are General P.G.T Beauregard, Major Robert Anderson, Edmund Ruffin, Abner DoubleDay, Louis Wigfall, Private Daniel Hough, and Private Edward Galloway. Surprisingly, there were no casualties in this battle. It has major significance as it was the site of the first

     After the Fort Sumter battle, both the North and the South began preparing for war by raising armies. This was done quickly and neither side spent much time training the troops. Both sides also did not know what a long and terrible war was ahead.

Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina was attacked by Confederate Brig, Gen. P.G.T Beauregard Yesterday after Union Maj. Robert Anderson refused to aids. Gen. Beauregard sent out 3 boats with surrenders on them to convince Maj. Anderson to surrender because of his lack of supplies and ammunition. Anderson refused to surrender and the Confederates started firing. Anderson returned fire but not till 2 hours later because of his low ammunition and supplies. The battle went on for another 32 hours before the Union decided to surrender. Surprisingly no one was killed in the war on either side of the fighting and the Confederates allowed the Union a 100 gun salute, which was shortened to a 50 gun after an accidental explosion killed one

The construction of Fort Sumter was one of the 50 forts started during 1829 as part of a costal garrison, Congress implemented this third system in 1817 to control access to Charleston Harbor. This man-made island was built out of thousands of tons of granite that measured only 2.4 acres and the fort was built to sustain roughly 650 soldiers and 135 artillery pieces. (History.com staff, 2009) The construction of the outer fortification and the island would be completed in 1860,

Northern troops were positioned at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, when the Southern states succeed from the Union. As a result, Lincoln faced the most difficult decision of his life. The troops there needed food and supplies, or they would die. If Lincoln sent armed reinforcements to the Fort, the South would assume it was an act of aggression and fire upon the union soldiers. Lincoln’s actions would either start a war between family and friends or recognize the South’s secession as legitimate and separate America into two different countries. His decision would decide the fate of the men in the fort and the country.

The naval side of the civil war in Florida all started with the Pensacola harbor. There was a navy yard and three forts guarding the harbor, including Fort Barrancas, Fort McRee, and Fort Pickins. On January 8, 1861, Florida Governor Madison S. Perry authorized Colonel Chase to seizing the forts at Pensacola. On the Fort Barrancas, 1st Lieutenant Adam J. Slemmer was an officer from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania during the Seminole Wars and the American Civil War. He heard rumors that the Florida Militia was planning on seizing the Navy Yard, the barracks and the forts in the Pensacola areas. With Slemmer not wanting to enter the union he moved gunpowder and other materials to Fort Pickens, which he thought, would be the safest port to fight from.

The South desired to bring the neutral state of Kentucky to the Confederacy. The Confederacy also wanted to move its western border to the Ohio River, while diverting Union forces from southern strongholds. Since the first artillery ordinance crossed the waters at Fort Sumter, little did the state of Kentucky know it would play a critical role in the outcome of the Civil War. Tennessee seceded from the union after President Abraham Lincoln called upon the Volunteer State to overpower the rebellion; Kentucky laid just to the north and it would appear to be a strategic advantage point in trans-Allegheny West. In the meantime, General Bragg and his top general Major General (MG) Kirby Smith studied over their

On December 20th, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union. During this time, 85 federal soldiers under the command of Major Robert Anderson were stationed at Fort Moultrie, which is also located near the Charleston Harbor. To protect the federal strong hold in the south, Major Anderson moved his troops to Fort Sumter in the dark of night on December 26th. When the people of Charleston heard the news of the invasion on the fort, it did not sit well with them and other Southern states. Fort Sumter was built to protect the harbor in Charleston, now it was a military threat.

Everyone seemed certain of the evacuation of Sumter. Most of Lincoln’s cabinet favored it (Doc. 12), and Seward was so sure of surrender that he told Justice John Campbell, an intermediary to the commissioners from the Confederate government, that “you may say…that before the letter reaches him the telegraph will have informed him that Ft. Sumter will have been evacuated” (Doc. 11). This promise was never kept.

In 1861, a horrific war began. Nobody had any idea that this war would become the deadliest war in American history. It wasn’t a regular war, it was a civil war opposing the Union in the North and the Confederate States in the South.. The Civil War cost many people’s lives on the battlefield and beyond. In addition it cost an extreme amount of money for the nation which possibly could have been avoided if the war had turned to happen a little differently.