Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter was built on a small and partly artificial island to defend Charleston harbour from naval invasion after the war of 1812 when the British captured Washington. On April 12 1863 the first shot of the American Civil War was fired from Confederate Fort Johnson at Union held Fort Sumter. The fort surrendered the next day. Fort Sumter was besieged by Union forces for most of the war, with it being reduced to rubble by bombardment from Morris Island. Originally, the fort had an additional storey. In the First World War, a large gun emplacement with two 12" (305 mm) guns was built inside the fort. In the Second World War, the fort was also armed with two 90 mm anti aircraft guns.

Nowadays, the fort is open to the public.

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Source

• Text: Fedor de Vries
• Photos: Anthony (Sharky) Ward