Secession Begins

United States of

America The Attack on Fort Sumter

Main idea: Eleven southern states left the Union and formed their own government.

“We are not enemies, but friends….We must not be enemies.”

President Abraham Lincoln

Delegates from 7 southern states meet in Montgomery, Alabama February 4, 1861- the 7 states vote to form

their own confederation. A confederacy is a political union of

people. They believed that states should be allowed

to decide their own laws: Ex. Decide if slavery was legal

President Lincoln disagreed

South Carolina withdraws first People voted to break away or secede from the Union on December 20, 1860

Over the next 6 weeks, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas soon followed

Terms of the Confederacy The delegates decided that the

confederation should have more power than the central government

They called themselves the Confederate States of America

They elected Jefferson Davis as their President

Let’s take a trip to Charleston, SC

Why would the southern states want to keep control

of this fort?

Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor The Union had control of this key southern fort

The Confederates knew controlling the fort meant controlling the ships and the harbor

President Lincoln was determined to find a way to hold the country together without giving in to Confederate demands

He wanted:To avoid a war with the southernersThe southern states to return to the Union…

peacefully It was too late…

Attack on Fort Sumter

The first shot of the American Civil War didn't hit anything. It was a 10-inch mortar shell that exploded above Fort Sumter as a signal for Confederate artillery to open fire on the Union-held fort.

View of Fort Sumter from Charleston

Fort during the battle

Our voyage begins hereLiberty Square is the present day gateway to the fort. As you walk through the courtyard you are able to read messages from the past. Then you board a ferry for the hour ride to the site of the first shots that were fired.

Present day entrance to Fort Sumter

Five replicas of historic flags regularly fly over Fort Sumter. These represent a timeline of Civil War flags at the fort from 1861-1865.

The Battery This concrete structure occupies the

middle of Fort Sumter.

A 42 pounder smoothbore cannon at Fort Sumter.

100 pounder Parrott rifles still on their original carriages at Fort Sumter.

Ruins of Fort Sumter's Officer's Quarters and powder magazine

The Flag flies over Fort Sumter

On April 14, 1865, Union Maj. Gen. Robert Anderson came out of retirement

He re-raised the same U.S. flag over Fort Sumter that he had lowered in surrender four years earlier.

This flag is now on exhibit at the Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center.

Aerial view of Fort Sumter National Monument.