The World's Largest Public Domain Media Search Engine
Morris Island, South Carolina. Naval Battery. Two 80-pounder Whitworths. Breaching battery against Fort Sumpter

Similar

Morris Island, South Carolina. Naval Battery. Two 80-pounder Whitworths. Breaching battery against Fort Sumpter

description

Summary

Photographer name from annotations on other negatives in this series (LC-B8156).
Title and date from corresponding photographic print in LOT 4196.
Annotation from negative, scratched on emulsion: 16; glass side: 52.
Credit line: Civil war photographs, 1861-1865, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
General information about Civil war photographs is available at loc.gov
Forms part of: Civil war photographs, 1861-1865 (Library of Congress).

Named after revolutionary hero General Thomas Sumter, Fort Sumter was unfinished when the Civil War began. On December 26, 1860, six days after South Carolina seceded from the Union, U.S. Army Major Robert Anderson secretly relocated 127 men of the 1st U.S. Artillery to Fort Sumter thinking that it provides a stronger defense against South Carolina militia attacks. For a few months, South Carolina 's calls for evacuation of Fort Sumter were ignored by Union. On Friday, April 12, 1861, at 4:30 a.m., Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort, firing for 34 straight hours. After two hours, the Union started firing back slowly to conserve ammunition. During the fire, one Confederate soldier and two Union soldiers died. The next day the fort was surrendered. The Fort Sumter Union Flag became a popular patriotic symbol. Efforts to retake the fort began on April 7, 1863. After bombardment, the Union navy's started poorly planned boat assault: 8 Union sailors were killed, 19 wounded, and 105 captured. The Confederates did not suffer any casualties. The bombardment of the fort proceeded with a varying degree of intensity until the end of the war but the fort never surrendered. Sherman's advance forced the Confederates to evacuate Charleston and abandon Fort Sumter. The Union formally took possession of Fort Sumter on February 22, 1865. Fort Sumter was in ruins. After the war, the U.S. Army restored the fort and used it as a military installation until 1948 when the fort became a National Monument.

date_range

Date

01/01/1863
place

Location

united states
create

Source

Library of Congress
copyright

Copyright info

No known restrictions on publication. For information, see "Civil war photographs, 1861-1865," http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/120_cwar.html

Explore more

history
history