First Shots of the American Civil War Previous: Causes | Civil War 101 | Next: War in the East, 1862-1863 Birth of the Confederacy In February 1861, delegates from the seven seceded states met in Montgomery, AL and formed the Confederate States of America. Working through the month, they produced the Confederate States Constitution which was adopted on March 11. This document mirrored the US Constitution in many ways, but provided for the explicit protection of slavery as well as espoused a stronger philosophy of states' rights. To lead the new government, the convention selected Jefferson Davis of Mississippi as president and Alexander Stephens of Georgia as vice president. Davis, a Mexican-American War veteran, had previously served as a US Senator and Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce . Lincoln and the South At his inauguration on March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln stated that the US Constitution was a binding contract and that the Southern states' secession had no legal basis. Continuing, he said that he had no intention of ending slavery where it already existed and did not plan on invading the South.

He was, however willing to use force to retain possession of federal installations in the seceded states. Attempts to Relieve Fort Sumter As of April 1861, the US only retained control of two forts in the South: Fort Pickens at Pensacola, FL and Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC. Shortly after South Carolina seceded, the commander of the Charleston harbor defenses, Major Robert Anderson, moved his men from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, located on a sandbar in the middle of the harbor. After refusing requests from the South Carolina government to vacate the fort, Anderson and the eighty-five men of his garrison settled in for what essentially became a siege. In January 1861, President Buchanan attempted to re-supply the fort, however the supply ship, Star of the West, was driven away by guns manned by cadets from the Citadel. Fort Sumter Attacked During March 1861, a debate raged in the Confederate government regarding how forceful they should be in trying to take possession of Forts Sumter and Pickens. Davis, like Lincoln, did not wish to anger the border states by appearing as the aggressor.

With supplies low, Lincoln informed the governor of South Carolina, Francis W. Pickens, that he intended to have the fort re-provisioned, but promised that no additional men or munitions would be sent. This news was passed to Davis in Montgomery, where the decision was made to compel the fort's surrender before Lincoln's ships arrived. This duty fell to Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard who had been given command of the siege by Davis. Ironically, Beauregard had previously been a protégé of Anderson. On April 11, Beauregard sent an aide to demand the fort's surrender. Anderson refused and further discussions after midnight failed to resolve the situation. At 4:30am on April 12, a single mortar round burst over Fort Sumter signaling the other harbor forts to open fire. Anderson did not reply until 7:00 when Captain Abner Doubleday fired the first shot for the Union. After a 34-hour bombardment, and with his ammunition almost exhausted, Anderson surrendered the fort.

Lincoln's Call for Volunteers & Further Secession In response to the attack on Fort Sumter, Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 90-day volunteers to put the rebellion down and ordered the US Navy to blockade Southern ports. While the Northern states readily sent troops, those states in the upper South hesitated. Unwilling to fight fellow Southerners, the states of Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina opted to secede and joined the Confederacy. In response, the capital was moved from Montgomery to Richmond, VA. On April 19, 1861, the first Union troops arrived in Baltimore, MD on their way to Washington. While marching from one train station to another they were attacked by a pro-Southern mob. In the riot that ensued twelve civilians and four soldiers were killed. To pacify the city, protect Washington, and ensure that Maryland remained in the Union, Lincoln declared martial law in the state and sent troops. The Anaconda Plan Created by Mexican-American War hero and commanding general of the US Army Winfield Scott , the Anaconda Plan was designed to end the conflict as quickly and bloodlessly as possible.

Scott called for the blockade of Southern ports, capture of the vital Mississippi River to split the Confederacy in two, as well as advised against a direct attack on Richmond. Though mocked by the press, most elements of the plan were implemented and ultimately led the Union to victory. The First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) As troops gathered in Washington, Lincoln appointed Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell to organize them into the Army of Northeastern Virginia. Though concerned about his men's inexperience, McDowell was forced to advance south in July due to growing political pressure and the impending expiration of the volunteers' enlistments. Moving with 28,500 men, McDowell planned to attack a 21,900-man Confederate army under Beauregard near Manassas Junction. This was to be supported by Maj. Gen. Robert Patterson who was to march against an 8,900-man Confederate force commanded by Gen. Joseph Johnston in the western part of the state. As McDowell approached Beauregard's position, he looked for a way to outflank his opponent. This led to a skirmish at Blackburn's Ford on July 18.

To the west, Patterson had failed to pin down Johnston's men, allowing them to board trains and move east to reinforce Beauregard. On July 21, McDowell moved forward and attacked Beauregard. His troops succeeded in breaking the Confederate line and forcing them to fall back on their reserves. Rallying around Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson 's Virginia Brigade, the Confederates stopped the retreat and, with the addition of fresh troops, turned the tide of the battle, routing McDowell's army and forcing them to flee back to Washington. Casualties for the battle were 2,896 (460 killed, 1,124 wounded, 1,312 captured) for the Union and 982 (387 killed, 1,582 wounded, 13 missing) for the Confederates. The First Shot of the Civil War, 1861 The First Shot of the Civil War The Surrender of Fort Sumter, 1861 Printer Friendly Version >>> The election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860 provoked the secession of the Southern States from the Union. South Carolina was the first to leave.

By the time of the convening of a constitutional convention to establish the Confederacy in February 1861, six other states had joined her. The majority of the Southern leaders who attended the convention expected a peaceful secession; they did not anticipate that their action would lead to bloody conflict. They were wrong. Fort Sumter, lying in the harbor off the city of Charleston, South Carolina, would prove the point. Firing on Fort Sumter From a contemporary illustration. After her secession from the Union, South Carolina perceived herself as a sovereign state - the presence of Union forces in an armed fortress whose guns commanded her principal harbor was intolerable as it belied her independence. For President Lincoln the voluntary abandonment of this fortress was equally intolerable as it would be a tacit acknowledgment of South Carolina's independent status. Lincoln learned that the garrison at Fort Sumter was in trouble on the day he took office in March 1861. The garrison was running out of food and supplies and had no way of obtaining these on shore. The President ordered a relief expedition to sail immediately and informed the Governor of South Carolina of his decision.

Alerted, General P.G.T Beauregard, commander of the Confederate military forces, realized he had to quickly force the evacuation of the fort before the relief expedition's arrival. He would try threats first, and if these failed he would bombard the fort into submission. "...that shot was a sound of alarm that brought every soldier in the harbor to his feet." On the afternoon of April 11, waving a white flag, two members of General Beauregard's staff were rowed across Charleston's harbor to Fort Sumter carrying a written demand for surrender. One of the emissaries - Stephen D. Lee - wrote of the experience after the war: "This demand was delivered to Major Anderson at 3:45 P.M., by two aides of General Beauregard, James Chesnut, Jr., and myself. At 4:30 P.M. he handed us his reply, refusing to accede to the demand; but added, 'Gentlemen, if you do not batter the fort to pieces about us, we shall be starved out in a few days.' The reply of Major Anderson was put in General Beauregard's hands at 5:15 P.M., and he was also told of this informal remark.

Anderson's reply and remark were communicated to the Confederate authorities at Montgomery. The Secretary of War, L.P. Walker, replied to Beauregard as follows:" 'Do not desire needlessly to bombard Fort Sumter. If Major Anderson will state the time at which, as indicated by him, he will evacuate, and agree that in the meantime he will not use his guns against us, unless ours should be employed against Fort Sumter, you are authorized thus to avoid the effusion of blood. If this, or its equivalent, be refused, reduce the fort as your judgment decides to be most practicable.' " The same aides bore a second communication to Major Anderson, based on the above instructions, which was placed in, his hands at 12:45 A.M., April 12th. His reply indicated that he would evacuate the fort on the 15th, provided he did not in the meantime receive contradictory instructions from his Government, or additional supplies, but he declined to agree not to open his guns upon the Confederate troops, in the event of any hostile demonstration on their part against his flag. Major Anderson made every possible effort to retain the aides till daylight, making one excuse and then another for not replying.

Finally, at 3:15 A.M., he delivered his reply. In accordance with their instructions, the aides read it and, finding it unsatisfactory, gave Major Anderson this notification:" 'FORT SUMTER, S.C., April 12, 1861, 3:20 A.M. - SIR: By authority of Brigadier-General Beauregard, commanding the Provisional Forces of the Confederate States, we have the honor to notify you that he will open the fire of his batteries on Fort Sumter in one hour from this time. We have the honor to be very respectfully, Your obedient servants, JAMES CHESNUT JR., Aide-de-camp. STEPHEN D. LEE, Captain C. S. Army, Aide-de-camp.' "The above note was written in one of the casemates of the fort, and in the presence of Major Anderson and several of his officers. On receiving it, he was much affected. He seemed to realize the full import of the consequences, and the great responsibility of his position.

Escorting us to the boat at the wharf, he cordially pressed our hands in farewell, remarking, 'If we never meet in this world again, God grant that we may meet in the next.' It was then 4 A.M. Captain James at once aroused his command, and arranged to carry out the order. He was a great admirer of Roger A. Pryor, and said to him, 'You are the only man to whom I would give up the honor of firing the first gun of the war'; and he Fort Sumter after the battle The Confederate Flag flies above it offered to allow him to fire it. Pryor, on receiving the offer, was very much agitated. With a husky voice he said, 'I could not fire the first gun of the war.' His manner was almost similar to that of Major Anderson as we left him a few moments before on the wharf at Fort Sumter. Captain James would allow no one else but himself to fire the gun.

The boat with the aides of General Beauregard left Fort Johnson before arrangements were complete for the firing of the gun, and laid on its oars, about one-third the distance between the fort and Sumter, there to witness the firing of 'the first gun of the war' between the States. It was fired from a ten-inch mortar at 4:30 A.M., April 12th, 1861. Captain James was a skillful officer, and the firing of the shell was a success. It burst immediately over the fort, apparently about one hundred feet above. The firing of the mortar woke the echoes from every nook and corner of the harbor, and in this the dead hour of the night, before dawn, that shot was a sound of alarm that brought every soldier in the harbor to his feet, and every man, woman and child in the city of Charleston from their beds. A thrill went through the whole city. It was felt that the Rubicon was passed. No one thought of going home; unused as their ears were to the appalling sounds, or the vivid flashes from the batteries, they stood for hours fascinated with horror." References: Stephen Lee's account appears in: Buel, Clarence, and Robert U.

Johnson, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. I (1888, reprinted. 1982); McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (1988); Niven, John, The Coming of the Civil War 1837-1861 (1990). How To Cite This Article: "The First Shot of the Civil War: The Surrender of Fort Sumter, 1861" EyeWitness to History, (2006). Fort Sumter returned the Confederate fire. The artillery duel continued throughout April 12 and into the following day. Slowly, the fort was being destroyed. Fire broke out and threatened to explode the gunpowder stored in the fort's magazine. At mid-day on April 13 a white flag of surrender was raised and the garrison evacuated the fort on the 14th. The next day, President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to help put down the rebellion. Amazingly, there were no deaths on either side during the battle. The Debunker: When Were the First Shots of the Civil War Fired? - Woot Woot!

The Debunker: When Were the First Shots of the Civil War Fired? The Debunker: When Were the First Shots of the Civil War Fired? by Ken Jennings 4 years ago The month of April is inseparably connected with the American Civil War. The traditional bookends for the war—the firing on Fort Sumter in 1861, and Lee’s surrender at Appomattox in 1865—both took place in early April. But even though the Civil War hasn’t receded all that far into the past—the Associated Press reported last month that two children-of-Civil-War-vets are still alive and well and receiving government veterans’ benefits!—we may not remember very much about it. This month, Ken “Burns” Jennings will reveal that a lot of what you think you know about the Civil War is a bunch of Bull Run. Civil War Myth #1: The First Shots of the War Were Fired at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Since the north never recognized the Confederacy as a foreign government, but only as a “belligerent foreign power,” there was no formal declaration of war in 1861.

As a result, historians tend to date the beginning of hostilities to April 12, 1861, when Brigadier General P. G. T. Beauregard ordered his batteries in Charleston harbor to fire on the besieged Union garrison of Fort Sumter. The fort surrendered before any casualties resulted, but the exchange led to a massive military build-up in the north and more secessions from the south. The war had clearly begun. Sometimes forgotten in this chronology is an interesting fact: the bombardment of April 12 was, in fact, not the first exchange of fire between North and South in the South Carolina secessionist crisis. Three months before, President James Buchanan, in the closing days of his administration, had sent a merchant ship called the Star of the West (pictured here, in an old magazine illustration) to resupply Fort Sumter. Cadets from The Citadel (then called the South Carolina Military Academy) fired across the bow of the ship from nearby Morris Island as she entered the harbor. The ship was hit three times, and its captain abandoned the mission.

Those cadets, as the Civil War Trust puts it, “arguably fired the first shots of the Civil War.” Perhaps because they were firing on an unarmed merchant ship rather than Northern troops, the cadets’ bombardment is largely forgotten today—except at the Citadel, where the best drilled cadet each year still receives a “Star of the West” medal, made from the ship’s salvaged hull. Sadly, I went to college in the stodgy old North, where no one gets “Remember That Time We Seditiously Fired on Unarmed American Vessels, LOL!” medals. Quick Quiz: What Union captain, who fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, is sometimes mistakenly credited with inventing the game of baseball? First Shots of the Civil War Fired at Fort Sumter First Shots of the Civil War Fired at Fort Sumter September 11, 2014 Confederate and Union troops fired at each other over one night and two days. Share Copy and paste the embed code below. The code has been copied to your clipboard. From VOA Learning English, this is The Making of a Nation. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly. And I’m Christopher Cruise.

In late 1860 and early 1861, South Carolina and other southern states withdrew from the Union. They formed a new nation called the Confederate States of America. But Abraham Lincoln, the president of the United States, said the southern states did not have right to secede. And he said he would not accept the South’s demand to remove U.S. soldiers from South Carolina. The soldiers defended a base in Charleston Harbor called Fort Sumter. So, Confederate leaders ordered an attack. Just before sunrise on April 12, 1861, a shell exploded above Fort Sumter. It was the first shot fired in the American Civil War. Major Robert Anderson led the small force of U.S. soldiers at Fort Sumter. Anderson could not use his most powerful cannons to answer the Confederate attack. The cannons were in the open at the top of the fort, where the gunners were not protected. Too many of his men would be lost if his force tried to fire these guns. So Anderson had his men fire smaller cannons from better-protected positions. These, however, did not do much damage to the Confederate guns. A big cloud of smoke rose high in the air over Fort Sumter. U.S.

Navy sailors could see the smoke a few miles outside Charleston Harbor. They were protecting a ship bringing food for the men at Sumter. But neither the sailors nor the food could reach the fort to help Major Anderson. Confederate boats blocked the entrance to the harbor. And powerful Confederate guns could destroy any ship that tried to enter. Confederate shells continued to smash into Sumter throughout the night and into the morning of a second day. The fires burned higher. Smoke filled the rooms where U.S. soldiers attempted to fire their cannons. About noon, three men arrived at the fort in a small boat. One of them was Louis Wigfall, a former United States senator from Texas, now a Confederate officer. He asked to see Major Anderson. “I come from General Beauregard," Wigfall said. Beauregard commanded the Confederate troops in Charleston. "It is time to put a stop to this. The flames are raging all around you. And you have defended your flag bravely. Will you leave, sir?" Anderson was ready to stop fighting. His men had done all that could be expected of them. They had fought well against a much stronger enemy. Anderson said he would surrender if he and his men could leave with honor.

Wigfall agreed. He told Anderson to lower his country’s flag and the firing would stop. Down came the United States flag. And up went the white flag of surrender. The battle of Fort Sumter was history. More than 4,000 shells had been fired during the 33 hours of fighting. But no one on either side had been killed – yet. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly. And I’m Christopher Cruise. This is The Making of a Nation from VOA Learning English. Frank Beardsley and Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this report. ______________________________________________________________ in the open – adj. located outside; not secret neither … nor – conj. indicates two things about which something is not true smash – v. break into many pieces; destroy brave – adj. having no fear honor – n. respect Fort Sumter - American Civil War - HISTORY.com Google Fort Sumter: Construction and Design Fort Sumter was first built in the wake of the War of 1812 (1812-1815), which had highlighted the United States’ lack of strong coastal defenses.

Named for Revolutionary War general and South Carolina native Thomas Sumter, Fort Sumter was one of nearly 50 forts built as part of the so-called Third System, a coastal defense program implemented by Congress in 1817. The three-tiered, five-sided fort’s coastal placement was designed to allow it to control access to the vital Charleston Harbor. While the island itself was only 2.4 acres in size, the fort was built to accommodate a garrison of 650 soldiers and 135 artillery pieces. Did You Know? There were no casualties during the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter at the start of the American Civil War. The only Union deaths came during the evacuation: One soldier was killed and another mortally wounded in an accidental explosion during a planned 100-gun salute. Construction of Fort Sumter first began in 1829 in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, on a manmade island built from thousands of tons of granite. Building ground to a halt in the 1830s amid a dispute over ownership of the stretch of the harbor, and did not resume until 1841.

Like many Third System fortifications, Fort Sumter proved a costly endeavor, and construction slowed again in 1859 due to lack of funding. By 1860 the island and the outer fortifications were complete, but the fort’s interior and armaments remained unfinished. Fort Sumter: The First Battle of Fort Sumter Construction of Fort Sumter was still underway when South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. Despite Charleston’s position as a major port, at the time only two companies of federal troops guarded the harbor. Commanded by Major Robert Anderson (1805-1871), these companies were stationed at Fort Moultrie, a dilapidated fortification facing the coastline. Recognizing that Fort Moultrie was vulnerable to a land assault, Anderson elected to abandon it for the more easily defensible Fort Sumter on December 26, 1860. South Carolina militia forces would seize the city’s other forts shortly thereafter, leaving Fort Sumter as the lone federal outpost in Charleston.

A standoff ensued until January 9, 1861, when a ship called the Star of the West arrived in Charleston with over 200 U.S. troops and supplies intended for Fort Sumter. South Carolina militia batteries fired upon the vessel as it neared Charleston Harbor, forcing it to turn back to sea. Major Anderson refused repeated calls to abandon Fort Sumter, and by March 1861 there were over 3,000 militia troops besieging his garrison. A number of other U.S. military facilities in the Deep South had already been seized, and Fort Sumter was viewed by many as one of the South’s few remaining hurdles to overcome before achieving sovereignty. With the inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) in March 1861, the situation soon escalated. Knowing that Anderson and his men were running out of supplies, Lincoln announced his intention to send three unarmed ships to relieve Fort Sumter. Having already declared that any attempt to resupply the fort would be seen as an act of aggression, South Carolina militia forces soon scrambled to respond. On April 11, militia commander P.G.T.

Beauregard (1818-1893) demanded that Anderson surrender the fort, but Anderson again refused. In response Beauregard opened fire on Fort Sumter shortly after 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861. U.S. Captain Abner Doubleday (1819-1893)—later famous for the myth that he invented baseball—ordered the first shots in defense of the fort a few hours later. Beauregard’s 19 coastal batteries unleashed a punishing barrage on Fort Sumter, eventually firing an estimated 3,000 shots at the citadel in 34 hours. By Saturday, April 13, cannon fire had broken through the fortress’s five-foot-thick brick walls, causing fires inside the post. With his stores of ammunition depleted, Anderson was forced to surrender the fort shortly after 2 p.m. in the afternoon. No Union troops had been killed during the bombardment, but two men died the following day in an explosion that occurred during an artillery salute held before the U.S. evacuation. The bombardment of Fort Sumter would play a major part in triggering the Civil War.

In the days following the assault, Lincoln issued a call for Union volunteers to quash the rebellion, while more Southern states including Virginia , North Carolina and Tennessee cast their lot with the Confederacy. Fort Sumter: Later Civil War Engagements Following Beauregard’s bombardment in 1861, Confederate forces occupied Fort Sumter and used it to marshal a defense of Charleston Harbor. Once it was completed and better armed, Fort Sumter allowed the Confederates to create a valuable hole in the Union blockade of the Atlantic seaboard. The first Union assault on Fort Sumter came in April 1863, when Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont (1803-1865) attempted a naval attack on Charleston. Commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, Du Pont arrived in Charleston with a fleet of nine ironclad warships, seven of which were updated versions of the famed USS Monitor. While Du Pont had hoped to recapture Fort Sumter—by then a symbol of the Confederate rebellion—his attack was poorly coordinated and met with unfavorable weather conditions. In collaboration with Fort Sumter, Confederate batteries commanded by P.G.T.

Beauregard hammered the ironclad fleet with artillery fire, and underwater mines posed a constant threat to the ships’ hulls. Outgunned and unable to properly maneuver in heavy currents, Du Pont’s fleet eventually withdrew from the harbor after taking over 500 hits by Confederate guns. Only one Union soldier was killed during the battle, but one of the ironclads, the Keokuk, sank the next day. Five Confederates were killed during the attack, but the damage to Fort Sumter was soon repaired and its defenses improved. Confederate soldiers even managed to salvage one of the Keokuk’s 11-inch Dahlgren guns and mount it on the fortress. In July 1863 Union troops laid siege to Fort Wagner, a valuable post on Morris Island near the mouth of Charleston Harbor. After being met with heavy fire from Fort Sumter, Union General Quincy Adams Gillmore (1825-1888) turned his guns on the fort and unleashed a devastating seven-day bombardment. On September 8 a force of nearly 400 Union troops attempted to land at Fort Sumter and capture the post by force.

Union Rear Admiral John Dahlgren (1809-1870) mistakenly believed the fort was manned by a skeleton crew, but the landing party was met by over 300 Confederate infantry, who easily repulsed the assault. Following the failed infantry attack, Union forces on Morris Island recommenced their bombing campaign on Fort Sumter. Over the next 15 months, Union artillery effectively leveled Fort Sumter, eventually firing nearly 50,000 projectiles at the fort between September 1863 and February 1865. Despite suffering over 300 casualties from the Union bombardments, the beleaguered Confederate garrison managed to retain control of the fort until February 1865. Only when Union General William T. Sherman was poised to capture Charleston did the Confederates finally evacuate. Union forces would reclaim Fort Sumter on February 22, 1865. Robert A. Anderson and Abner Doubleday, the two commanding officers from the original siege of Fort Sumter, would both return to the fortress on April 14, 1865, for a flag raising ceremony.

Fort Sumter: Post-Civil War Use After the Civil War the derelict Fort Sumter was rebuilt and partially redesigned. It would see little use during the 1870s and 1880s and was eventually reduced to serving as a lighthouse station for Charleston Harbor. With the start of the Spanish-American War (1898), the fortress was rearmed and once again used as a coastal defense installation. It would later see service during both World War I (1914-18) and World War II (1939-45). In 1948 Fort Sumter was decommissioned as a military post and turned over to the National Park Service. It now attracts over 750,000 visitors every year. Tags First Shot of the Civil War First Shot of the Civil War Civil War Harper's Weekly, January 26, 1861 Other Pages from this Newspaper Include: First Shot of the Civil War | More Civil War News The January 26, 1861 edition of Harper's Weekly featured the following illustration, showing the First Shot of the Civil War.

The first shot was fired on January 10, 1861. It was fired by the South Carolinians on Morris Island. They fired on the Union Ship "Star of the West" as it attempted to reinforce Major Anderson at Fort Sumter. The illustration below was an eye-witness drawing of this incredible scene. This newspaper also carried a Description of the Firing on the Star of the West . A note to our readers. We acquired the original leaf above for the purpose of digitally preserving it for your research and enjoyment. If you would like to acquire the original, 140+ year old leaf, it is available for the price of $175. Your purchase of this original leaf allows us to continue to expand the resources on this site, keeping it free, and free of annoying popups. For more information contact paul@sonofthesouth.net The Battle of Fort Sumter Summary & Facts | Civilwar.org Animated Map » The Problem in Charleston Harbor Learn more about Fort Sumter and the Opening Shots of the Civil War in this feature story from our Hallowed Ground Magazine.

Read the Article » Voices of Secession Learn More About the Long Secession Winter and the Events Leading Up to the Beginning of the American Civil War Identifying the Irishman who Fired the Union’s First Shot of the American Civil War? | Irish in the American Civil War Identifying the Irishman who Fired the Union’s First Shot of the American Civil War? Around 4.30am on 12th April 1861, Confederate artillery fire erupted on the U.S. occupied Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. These shots marked the start of the American Civil War. Some two and a half hours later, at about 7am, the guns of Sumter replied to the barrage, firing the first shots in defence of the Union. Captain Abner Doubleday was the officer in charge of the gun that fired this first round in anger for the North- but was the soldier who actually pulled the lanyard an Irishman? The Bombardment of Fort Sumter on 12th April 1861 (Library of Congress) Captain Abner Doubleday is the man generally regarded to have fired the first Union shot of the war from Sumter.

The New Yorker would eventually rise to the rank of Major-General of volunteers during the conflict. He later described the circumstances surrounding this ‘first shot’: As I was the ranking officer, I took the first detachment, and marched them to the casemates, which looked out upon the powerful iron-clad battery of Cummings Point. In aiming the first gun fired against the rebellion I had no feeling of self-reproach, for I fully believed that the contest was inevitable, and was not of our seeking…My first shot bounded off from the sloping roof of the battery opposite without producing any apparent effect. It seemed useless to attempt to silence the guns there; for our metal was not heavy enough to batter the work down, and every ball glanced harmlessly off, except one, which appeared to enter an embrasure and twist the iron shutter, so as to stop the firing of that particular gun. I observed that a group of the enemy had ventured out from their intrenchments to watch the effect of the fire, but I sent them flying back to their shelter by the aid of a forty-two-pounder ball, which appeared to strike in among them. (1) So Abner Doubleday certainly aimed the first gun and gave it the command to fire.

But what of the gun crew? Of the 86 officers and men in the Fort Sumter military garrison, nearly 44% were Irishmen. Indeed the 38 Irish-born soldiers even outnumbered those born in the United States, who amounted to only 23 of the contingent. Some of these Irishmen manned the gun that Doubleday commanded to fire, and one would later claim to be the man who physically discharged the fateful shot. (2) Abner Doubleday as a General of U.S. Volunteers (Library of Congress) The Union men in Fort Sumter had initially been located at Fort Moultrie, but following South Carolina’s secession their commander Major Robert Anderson determined to shift the garrison to the more secure Sumter, which lay in the middle of Charleston Harbor. Anderson made the move on the night of 26th December 1860, but from here effectively became besieged. This sparked the crisis that came to a head with the action of April 12th 1861, when the Confederates opened fire on Sumter to prevent its imminent relief.

Prior to this decisive moment, the early months of 1861 had seen the nation gripped by the crisis; on the 7th January 1861 the New York Times reported that it was able to bring its readers the thoughts of one of the soldiers inside besieged Sumter for the first time. The Rochester Democrat had originally published the letter, which was from Private James Gibbons of Company E, 1st U.S. Artillery. He had penned the letter to his wife on 29th December, only three days after he and his comrades had moved to Sumter. The Times reported it as follows: He [Gibbons] writes under the date of Dec. 29, gives a brief account of the withdrawal of the little army of Major Anderson from Fort Moultrie on the night of the 23d of December [sic.], and says, “We set the fort on fire, and cut down the flag-staff before we left.” He also states that 300 men from Charleston came the next day and occupied Fort Moultrie.

This soldier is supposed to breadth the spirit that prevails in Fort Sumter, for he says “we are ready to fight, and intend to clean ’em out.” Such a letter from an honest soldier in the fort, addressed to his wife, is of more value as indicating the state of affairs there than telegraphic dispatches sent from Charleston from secession sources. This is the first that we have heard of the feeling of the soldiers at Fort Sumter since that position was occupied by Maj. Anderson’s party. (3) James Gibbons was one of the Irish contingent in the garrison. He had been born in Co. Galway around 1833, and had most likely emigrated to the United States as a result of the Famine. By 1861 he was already a ten-year veteran of the army; on 14th November 1851 he had enlisted in Rochester, New York where he was described as a 5 foot 7 3/4 inch, 20-year-old laborer, with grey eyes, brown hair and a fair complexion.

It is possible to track the Galwegian as he served at locations such as San Diego Barracks, California (1852), Fort Clark, Texas (1854) and Fort Columbus in New York (1859-1860) amongst other locations. His career had not gone completely without a hitch- the November 1859 return for Fort Columbus lists that Gibbons, then a member of Company I of the 1st U.S. Artillery, was ‘casually at the post’, awaiting trial for desertion. However by February 1860 the issue had been resolved, as Gibbons was then awaiting transfer to Company E of the unit and his fateful move to Fort Moultrie, which would take place on 18th February 1860. (4) Why the focus on this one individual? The potential significance of James Gibbons emerges in an 1890 article originally published in the Erie Dispatch of Pennsylvania about one of their local veterans- none other than the Galway native.

Describing him as a modest man averse to newspaper notoriety, the laborer was by then employed at the Anchor Line Company and lived on No.348 East Second Street in Erie. Entitled ‘The First Gun of the War’, the piece tells of Gibbons’ part during the fighting at Fort Sumter, claiming him to be the man who fired the first shot at the Confederates. It explained that ‘at the command of Anderson and Doubleday Gibbons pulled the lanyard of the 42-pounder that sent back Sumter’s defiance to the battery behind the barrier of railroad iron at Cumming’s Point’. The paper also gave the Irishman’s own memories of the momentous occasion: The rebels opened on us just before daylight with a shot from Fort Johnson that came singing over our parapet. It was about two seconds before another came along, and then another, and another, until the 360 guns at Fort Johnson, Fort Moultrie, and Cumming’s Point were playing upon us. It was about five o’clock when the Southerners began firing. It was seven o’clock, fully an hour after daylight, before we responded.

We had only two companies there, E and H, of the First Regiment United States Artillery. The men and officers numbered seventy-one, and besides these there were sixteen laborers in the fort. Captain Doubleday had command of Company E, and was ordered by Major Anderson to fire on Cumming’s Point. Captain Doubleday stood two feet behind me as I held the lanyard, and at his command I pulled it. It was a good shot, for it struck the wall at the Point, but the next shot, from the adjoining gun, was a better one. The rebels had laid a lot of railroad iron along the ramparts, and one of their men was walking on the slanting surface. The shot struck the iron, and the effect must have been prodigious, for the man who was walking over the iron shot up into the air and fell inside the walls of the fort. (5) Private James Gibbons, Company E, 1st U.S. Artillery. Did the Galwayman fire the first Union shot of the American Civil War?

(New York World) Gibbons continued his account with a description of the actions of John Carroll, who threw a burning shell into the ditch during the bombardment, before going on to describe the surrender and evacuation of Sumter. Some weight is added to Gibbons’ version of events by the fact that Abner Doubleday clearly regarded the Galwegian highly, as he supplied him with the following reference on his discharge from the service in 1862: Washington, March 31, 1862 Private Gibbons of Company E, First Regiment of the United States Artillery, has been in the United States service for many years. He has crossed the Continent overland and has undergone great hardships and dangers among the Indian tribes in the far west, in Texas, and also more recently in Florida. He was one of the most loyal, efficient, gallant, and zealous defenders of the flag at Fort Sumter. He has always been a good soldier and I cheerfully recommend him to the good offices of those who value courage, patriotism, and good conduct. A. DOUBLEDAY. Brig. Gen. Vol.

(6) James Gibbons seems to have been widely accepted as the man who fired the North’s first shot of the war in the years following 1890. The story was reprinted by the New York Irish World, and in later years was mentioned by papers across the United States*. He died at 216 1/2 East Second Street, Erie on 19th February 1910, and was survived by his daughter Mrs. Mary Murray. His death brought another flurry of references to him and his involvement in firing the first gun for the Union, and was recorded by newspapers in States as disparate as Maryland, Texas, Ohio, Oregon and Illinois**.(7) Abner Doubleday is widely regarded as the man who fired the first shot for the Union in the American Civil War. However in his own account of the event he does not actually state that he physically fired the round, and it is possible that what he means is that he ordered the aiming of the gun and gave the verbal command for it to fire, as would have been usual at the time. James Gibbons claims to have been the man who physically pulled the lanyard that sent the first shell on its way towards the target.

It is of course somewhat immaterial to distinguish between the officer who commanded the gun to be fired and the soldier who physically executed the order- both would have a right to claim that they fired the ‘first shot.’ Nonetheless the Galwayman does have a strong claim to involvement in the event, and one which is certainly worthy of further examination. The first Union death of the Civil War was an Irishman- Tipperary native Private Daniel Hough of the Sumter garrison- it maybe that his countryman James Gibbons may yet be rescued from relative obscurity, and be seen as the first man to fire in defence of the cause of Union. The United States flag that flew over Fort Sumter on 12th April 1861 (National Park Service) * See for example the Elkhart Daily Review of 18th March 1893 (Elkhart, Indiana); Daily Telegram of 20th February 1893 (Adrian, Michigan); Philadelphia Inquirer of 25th January 1904 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). **See for example ‘Saw Fort Sumter Fired On.

James Gibbons, Who Sighted First Union Gun, Dead’ in the Sun of 20th February 1910 (Baltimore, Maryland); ‘James Gibbons Dead’ in the Beaumont Enterprise of 20th February 1910 (Beaumont, Texas); ‘Fired the First Shot. Civil War Veteran, Who Opened Conflict at Fort Sumter, Dies’ in the Plain Dealer of 20th February 1910 (Cleveland, Ohio); ‘Sumter Survivor Dies. Man Who Sighted First Gun Fired by Union Forces Passes’ in the Oregonian of 20th February 1910 (Portland, Oregon); ‘Hero of Fort Sumter Dead’ in the Daily Illinois State Journal of 21st February 1910 (Springfield, Illinois); (1) Doubleday 1876: 145-6; (2) NPS: Fort Sumter’s Garrison by Nationality , Irish World; (3) New York Times; (4) U.S. Army Register of Enlistments 1798-1914, U.S.

Returns for Military Posts 1806-1916; (5) Irish World; (6) Irish World; (7) Civil War Pension Index Card, Baltimore Sun; References and Further Reading Baltimore Sun 20th February 1910: Saw Fort Sumter Fired On. James Gibbons, Who Sighted First Union Gun, Dead Civil War Pension Index Card of John Gibbons (Fold 3) Doubleday, Abner 1876. Reminiscences of Forts Sumter and Moultrie in 1860-’61 Fort Sumter National Park Service: Fort Sumter’s Garrison By Nationality New York Irish World 7th June 1890: The First Gun of the War Fired From Sumter By James Gibbons. An Erie Pennsylvania Veteran Bears The Honor New York Times 7th January 1861: Letter From A Soldier in Fort Sumter U.S. Army Register of Enlistments 1798-1914 (Ancestry.com) U.S.

Returns From Military Posts, 1806-1916 (Ancestry.com) First-last Shot Cadet George Haynsworth Fires the First Shot By: Illustrious McDonald ï¿½Donï¿½ Burbidge, 33ï¿½ December 20, 1860, 1:15P.M. the delegates of South Carolina meet at the St. Andrewï¿½s Hall located on Broad Street to vote on the Ordinance of Secession which was unanimously adopted by the delegates of South Carolina. Later on that evening at 6:30 P.M., the delegates meet again at the St. Andrewï¿½s Hall in Charleston to sign their names to the documents. South Carolina was now an independent State. After the signing by the delegates Govenor Picken then took steps to organize the military forces for any emergency that might arise from the Ordinance of Secession. At 12:00PM on January 1, 1861 the state of South Carolina called on them to make good of their offer to defend the state.

On that faithful day the company of young cadets assembled at their armory on Queen Street to the sound of a drummer calling them into formation under the watchful eye of Lieutenant Charles Edward Chichester who was also a mason and a member of Union Kilwinning Lodge No. 4 in Charleston, S.C.. Lieutenant Chichester was in command of the Cadets at the time due to the absence of Captain P. F. Stevens who was preparing a battery of 24 pounder cannons on Morris Island in case the North tried to supply Fort Sumter with fresh troops and much needed supplies. After the formation of the Cadets they were marched to the Southern Wharf to join up with the German Riflemen under the leadership of Captain Jacob Small. Both units boarded the steamer ï¿½Gen. Clinchï¿½ which took them across the harbor to Morris Island. As the boat drew nearer to Morris Island the Cadets could make out the early signs of the first battery being constructed under the leadership of Major Clement Stevens. When the boat got within docking distant of the island they saw waiting for them on the shore Captain P. F.

Stevens who was standing in the rain and mud ready to greet them when they disembarked from the steamer. With the heavy rains and mud some of the 24 pounder guns got stuck in the mud and everyone was called to assist in getting the guns free to place into their assigned position in the batteries to defend Charleston. Throughout the night the men worked together in 2-Hour shifts to get the guns set up into position. With the guns set up in position the Cadets were made the ï¿½gunnersï¿½ and the other two commands on the island were assigned as their support. With the completion of the batteries behind the sand dunes for protection a schedule was established for guard posts, drill exercises, relaxation, and sentinels to look for any signs of vessels that might try to sneak by to replenish Fort Sumter. The Cadets did not have to wait long, on January 9, 1861 Cadet William Simkins spotted the steamer ï¿½Star of the Westï¿½ from his sentry post sailing towards Morris Island in the early morning light. Major P. F. Stevens was alerted and Cadet Simkins was ordered to take his position on Gun No.

1 to help prepare it for firing at the on coming steamer. The Star of the West steamed up the shipping channel that runs parallel to Morris Island. Her course came under the gun sights of the Citadel Battery Gun No. 1, which was Cadetï¿½s George Edward Haynsworth, John Marshall Whilden, William Stewart Simkins, and Theodore Adolphus Quattlebaum as quoted by Dr. A. G. D. Wiles of the Citadel. Captain P. F. Stevens who was the superintendent of the Citadel gave the command to fire a warning shot from Gun No. 1 at the Star of the West. Cadet George Edward Haynsworth was the Cadet credited for pulling the ï¿½lanyardï¿½ that fired the historic first shot of the Civil War against an American flag, which was directed over the bow of the steamer to act as a warning shot. The Cadets fired approximately 17 shots at The Star of the West with two of the shots hitting the steamer. With no means of protecting itself from the 24-pounder cannons manned by the Cadets the steamer sailed out to sea.

On January 9, Fort Sumter did not receive the much needed supplies or fresh troops. On January 10, 1861 the, ï¿½Charleston Mercury,ï¿½ headlines report the firing of the first shot of the Civil War by the Citadel Cadets stationed on Morris Island. Firing on the Star of the West The supplies and troops were sent in a large merchant steamer, the Star of the West. She crossed the bar early on the morning of January 9, 1861, and steamed up Ship channel, which runs for miles parallel with Morris Island, and within range of gulls of large caliber. Her course lay right under the 24-pounder battery commanded by Major Stevens and manned by the cadets. This battery was supported by the Zouave Cadets, Captain Chichester; the German Riflemen, Captain Small, and the Vigilant Rifles, Captain Tupper. When within range a shot was fired across her bow, and not heeding it, the battery fired directly upon her.

Fort Moultrie also fired a few shots, and the Star of the West rapidly changed her course and, turning round, steamed out of the range of the guns, having received but little material damage by the fire. Major Anderson acted with great forbearance and judgment, and did not open his batteries. He declared his purpose to be patriotic, and so it undoubtedly was. He wrote to the governor that, influenced by the hope that the firing on the Star of the West was not supported by the authority of the State, he had refrained from opening fire upon the batteries, and declared that unless it was promptly disclaimed he would regard it as an act of war, and after waiting a reasonable time he would fire upon all vessels coming within range of his guns. The governor promptly replied, justifying the action of the batteries in firing upon the vessel, and giving his reasons in full.

He pointed out to Major Anderson that his removal to Fort Sumter and the circumstances attending it, and his attitude since were a menace to the State of a purpose of coercion; that the bringing into the harbor of more troops and supplies of war was in open defiance of the State, and an assertion of a purpose to reduce her to abject submission to the government she had discarded; that the vessel had been fairly warned not to continue her course, and that his threat to fire upon the vessels in the harbor was in keeping with the evident purpose of the government of the United States to dispute the right of South Carolina to dissolve connection with the Union. This right was not to be debated or questioned, urged the governor, and the coming of the Star of the West, sent by the order of the President, after being duly informed by commissioners sent to him by the convention of the people of the State to fully inform him of the act of the State in seceding from the Union, and of her claim of rights and privileges in the premises could have no other meaning than that of open and hostile disregard for the asserted independence of South Carolina.

To defend that independence and to resent and resist any and every act of coercion are "too plainly a duty," said Governor Pickens, "to allow it to be discussed." To the governor's letter Major Anderson replied, that he would refer the whole matter to the government at Washington, and defer his purpose to fire upon vessels in the harbor until he could receive his instructions in reply. Thus a truce was secured, and meanwhile active preparations for war were made daily by Major Anderson in Fort Sumter and by Governor Pickens on the islands surrounding it. War seemed inevitable, and the whole State, as one man, was firmly resolved to meet it. After Cadet Haynsworth graduated from the Citadel he entered the Confederate service. He was assigned to the artillery and became a First Lieutenant under General Joe Johnson with orders to stop General Sherman as he passed through the Carolinas. News traveled slowly during the Civil War and because of this he was in the last battle fought east of the Mississippi after General Lee had surrender to General Grant. Lieutenant Haynsworth use to say that his gun was the last one fired in battle thus he fired the first shot and the last shot of the Civil War.

After the war was over Lieutenant Haynsworth became a lawyer, married, and had children. Later on he accepted an appointment to become a magistrate. While a magistrate the locale Sheriff brought before him two feuding groups of young men to be put under a peace bond. When they arrived before him the two groups still had their guns with them. After awhile the two groups started feuding again which resulted in shots being fired between them. In all the commotion of the shooting Magistrate George Edward Haynsworth was mortally wounded. Any and all material herein is protected by Copyright ï¿½ 1992 ï¿½ 2014 The Sinclair Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Nothing from this website may be copied or reproduced, in part or whole, or in any manner, without the express written approval of the owner of this website or the author of the particular work. This includes, but is not limited to, all photos, stories, graphics, and information on this website. Fort Sumter fired upon - Apr 12, 1861 - HISTORY.com Fort Sumter fired upon Publisher A+E Networks The American Civil War begins when Confederates fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina.

The fort had been the source of tension between the Union and Confederacy for several months. After South Carolina seceded on December 20, 1860, the state demanded the fort be turned over but Union officials refused. A supply ship, the “Star of the West,” tried to reach Fort Sumter on January 9, but the shore batteries opened fire and drove it away. For both sides, Sumter was a symbol of sovereignty. The Union could not allow it to fall to the Confederates, although throughout the Deep South other federal installations had been seized. For South Carolinians, secession meant little if the Yankees still held the stronghold. The issue hung in the air when Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office on March 4, stating in his inauguration address: “You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors.” Lincoln did not try to send reinforcements but he did send in food. This way, Lincoln could characterize the operation as a humanitarian mission, bringing, in his words, “food for hungry men.” He sent word to the Confederates in Charleston of his intentions on April 6.

The Confederate Congress at Montgomery, Alabama, had decided on February 15 that Sumter and other forts must be acquired “either by negotiation or force.” Negotiation, it seemed, had failed. The Confederates demanded surrender of the fort, but Major Robert Anderson, commander of Fort Sumter, refused. At 4:30 a.m. on April 12, the Confederate guns opened fire. For thirty-three hours, the shore batteries lobbed 4,000 shells in the direction of the fort. Finally, the garrison inside the battered fort raised the white flag. No one on either side had been killed, although two Union soldiers died when the departing soldiers fired a gun salute, and some cartridges exploded prematurely. It was a nearly bloodless beginning to America’s bloodiest war. Related Videos

Question: Where were the first shots fired at the start of the American Civil War?
Answer: Fort Sumter