In Just Five short years America had experienced its bloodiest war to date. The Civil War killed over 618,000 people. The Battle of Fort Sumter was a battle over politics between the North and the South. The event of the battle of Fort Sumter all started when Abraham Lincoln was elected, but before that he was inaugurated the 16th President of the United States. Today Fort Sumter is a museum, but before that happened there was a battle; a battle that started with politics.
On November 15, 1860, President of the United States ,James Buchanan, called together his Cabinet telling them that the South Carolina Governor ,William Gist, was demanding that the Federal Government give up the forts located in Charleston Harbor. Two of the cabinet …show more content…
On that same day, Lincoln received a message from Major Anderson stating that they only had six weeks of food left. Knowing that war was imminent, Lincoln devised a plan that he thought would make the confederates fire first. This strategy was used to gain much needed support from some of the undecided border states. He sent word to Governor Gist that he would be sending a ship with only food to Fort Sumter. Gist replied by demanding the surrender of the fort. General Beauregard of the Confederate army was ordered to demand the evacuation of the fort. If they remained, there would be a forced removal by the Confederate Army. Anderson replied saying, “Gentlemen, if you do not batter the fort to pieces about us, we shall be starved out in a few days.” Anderson decided that on the 15th of April he would evacuate the fort if he had not received supplies. Beauregard found the terms unacceptable and said that if the fort wasn’t evacuated in two hours, they would begin firing on the fort. Two hours later, forty-three Confederate cannons began their onslaught on Fort Sumter. The Confederates continued to fire on the fort for thirty-four hours. To conserve ammunition Fort Sumter only started to fire two hours after being attacked and fired only one round every 10 minutes.Thirty-four hours after the start of the attack, the fort surrendered. Because of the generous terms of surrender, Anderson was able to give a one hundred gun salute …show more content…
Today Fort Sumter is a popular destination for tourist. The museum contains four of the original cannons from the fort. The museum shows the courage of the many men that lived and died during the Civil War.
Fort Sumter was and is still a symbol of national pride showing the strength of America and also how politics influenced the Civil War. Fort Sumter was made into a museum so that future generations could see how instrumental and symbolic the battle was. After the war the promoted Major General Anderson returned to Fort Sumter to raise the flag that he had lowered five years
On November 15, 1860, President of the United States ,James Buchanan, called together his Cabinet telling them that the South Carolina Governor ,William Gist, was demanding that the Federal Government give up the forts located in Charleston Harbor. Two of the cabinet …show more content…
On that same day, Lincoln received a message from Major Anderson stating that they only had six weeks of food left. Knowing that war was imminent, Lincoln devised a plan that he thought would make the confederates fire first. This strategy was used to gain much needed support from some of the undecided border states. He sent word to Governor Gist that he would be sending a ship with only food to Fort Sumter. Gist replied by demanding the surrender of the fort. General Beauregard of the Confederate army was ordered to demand the evacuation of the fort. If they remained, there would be a forced removal by the Confederate Army. Anderson replied saying, “Gentlemen, if you do not batter the fort to pieces about us, we shall be starved out in a few days.” Anderson decided that on the 15th of April he would evacuate the fort if he had not received supplies. Beauregard found the terms unacceptable and said that if the fort wasn’t evacuated in two hours, they would begin firing on the fort. Two hours later, forty-three Confederate cannons began their onslaught on Fort Sumter. The Confederates continued to fire on the fort for thirty-four hours. To conserve ammunition Fort Sumter only started to fire two hours after being attacked and fired only one round every 10 minutes.Thirty-four hours after the start of the attack, the fort surrendered. Because of the generous terms of surrender, Anderson was able to give a one hundred gun salute …show more content…
Today Fort Sumter is a popular destination for tourist. The museum contains four of the original cannons from the fort. The museum shows the courage of the many men that lived and died during the Civil War.
Fort Sumter was and is still a symbol of national pride showing the strength of America and also how politics influenced the Civil War. Fort Sumter was made into a museum so that future generations could see how instrumental and symbolic the battle was. After the war the promoted Major General Anderson returned to Fort Sumter to raise the flag that he had lowered five years