Fort Sumter

     Fort Sumter inside Charleston Harbor was one of the four military installations in the seceded states still held by U.S. forces (the others were: two in the remote Florida Keys and Fort Pickens in northern Florida outside the port of Pensacola) when Abraham Lincoln gave his first inaugural address in 1861. This fort held top priority because the Confederacy was demanding the surrender of a small group of soldiers there who were running short on supplies. not long later, Lincoln was informed that Sumter wouldn't last much longer and he'd have to decide if he wanted to allow it to be conquered or to reinforce it. At first, his cabinet opposed efforts to reinforce it, thinking it'd be futile but on April 4, he ordered a group of men to travel there to bring resources to the beleaguered troops under siege there. two days later, he found out that he'd been disobeyed and before the expedition could arrive, Confederate leaders decided that his act to send provisions was an act of hostility and attacked the fort. On April 12, soldiers on the shore opened fire. For forty hours, no one perished, though the walls suffered heavy damage. On April 13, Union forces under Major Robert Anderson surrendered and though the Confederates won, they were charged with firing the first shot, generating feelings of patriotism to the Union in the North.