12 April in military history: Battle of Fort Sumter, 1861

Quick answer

On 12 April 1861 Confederate batteries under Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, held by Major Robert Anderson's small Union garrison. After some thirty-four hours of bombardment Anderson agreed to evacuate the fort. No one was killed by the shelling, but those shots opened the American Civil War.

Battle of Fort Sumter

12 April 1861 · 165 years ago

The Confederacy won the Battle of Fort Sumter on 12 to 13 April 1861, when its batteries bombarded the small Union garrison in Charleston Harbor into surrender. No one was killed in the bombardment itself, yet those first shots opened the American Civil War, the deadliest conflict in the nation's history.

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Battle of Montenotte, 1796: Napoleon's first victory in command

12 April 1796 · 230 years ago

Near Montenotte in northwest Italy, the French Army of Italy under Napoleon Bonaparte attacked Austrian troops in the opening battle of his Italian campaign. The victory drove a wedge between the Austrians and their Sardinian allies, letting Bonaparte beat each force in turn.

Read the full story of Battle of Montenotte, 1796: Napoleon's first victory in command ›

Also on this day

1782: the British fleet of Admiral Sir George Bridges Rodney defeated the French fleet of the Count de Grasse. Alfred Thayer Mahan places the battle between Dominica and Guadeloupe, near the islets called the Saints. De Grasse was captured with his flagship, the Ville de Paris, and four other ships of the line were taken.¹

1204: according to the chronicler Geoffrey of Villehardouin, the knights of the Fourth Crusade stormed the walls of Constantinople from their ships, and the city was taken "on the Monday after Palm Sunday", which the English translation dates to 12 April 1204. He wrote: "Of killed and wounded there was neither end nor measure."²

Frequently asked questions

When did the bombardment of Fort Sumter take place?

The Confederate batteries opened fire at 4:30 a.m. on 12 April 1861. Anderson surrendered on 13 April, and his garrison marched out on 14 April. The National Archives counts 34 hours from the first shot to the surrender.³

Who fought at Fort Sumter?

Confederate batteries under Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard against the small Union garrison of Major Robert Anderson, which had moved into the fort from Fort Moultrie on 26 December 1860.⁴

Who fired the first shot?

According to Stephen D. Lee, the signal shell came from a mortar at Fort Johnson, where Captain George S. James commanded the battery. Abner Doubleday wrote that he thought all the histories gave the first shot to Edmund Ruffin, but that witnesses on the parapet placed it at Fort Johnson. Doubleday himself aimed the first gun fired from the fort.⁵

Was anyone killed at Fort Sumter?

No one was killed by the bombardment. During the salute to the flag on 14 April a gun went off too early and killed Private Daniel Hough; the American Battlefield Trust says a second soldier was mortally wounded.⁶

Why is Fort Sumter important?

The National Archives calls the bombardment the opening engagement of the Civil War. On 15 April Lincoln called forth 75,000 militia, and both North and South called for volunteers.⁷

Sources

The London Gazette, “Admiralty-Office, May 18, 1782”, issue 12296, 14 to 18 May 1782, pp. 2-3 (Rodney's dispatch, Formidable, at sea, 14 April 1782).

Alfred Thayer Mahan, “The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783”, Boston: Little, Brown, 1890, chapter XIII, pp. 480 and 485-489, via Project Gutenberg.

Geoffrey de Villehardouin, “Memoirs or Chronicle of the Fourth Crusade and the Conquest of Constantinople”, trans. Frank T. Marzials, London: J.M. Dent, 1908, pp. 61-63, Internet Medieval Sourcebook, Fordham University.

National Archives (United States), “Telegram Announcing the Surrender of Fort Sumter (1861)”, Milestone Documents, with the transcript of Anderson's telegram of 18 April 1861.

Stephen D. Lee, “The First Step in the War”, in Robert U. Johnson and Clarence C. Buel (eds.), Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. 1, New York: Century Co., 1887, pp. 74-81, via Internet Archive.

American Battlefield Trust, “Fort Sumter Battle Facts and Summary”.

National Park Service, “Robert Anderson”, Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park.

Abner Doubleday, “Reminiscences of Forts Sumter and Moultrie in 1860-'61”, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1876, chapters II, IV and IX to XI and appendix, via Project Gutenberg.

Abraham Lincoln, “Proclamation 80: Calling Forth the Militia and Convening an Extra Session of Congress”, 15 April 1861, The American Presidency Project (Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley).