Fort Sumter
The echoes of war first rang at Fort Sumter in April of 1861. Located on the coast of South Carolina, Fort Sumter was a well-protected fortress. Because it was in Confederate Territory but staffed by Union troops, it had great miliarty and symbolic significance. Lincoln did not want to be the first to start hostilities, and so he arranged to supply the Union troops with food and necessary supplies. Doing so, Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered his military to secure Fort Sumter, with force if necessary. Confederate troops opened fire on April 12, 1861. The Civil War had begun.
C. 2001 C.L. Young
