April 12

1861Fort Sumter

The first shot

At 4.30 in the morning a mortar at Fort Johnson threw a shell that burst over Fort Sumter, and the ring of batteries opened. Anderson did not answer until after seven, and then only from the casemates. Charleston’s rooftops and the Battery were crowded with spectators. The war that would kill three-quarters of a million Americans began in this harbor, in the dark, with a signal shell. Fort Sumter →

Official Records, Series I, Vol. 1

1861Fort Sumter

“He would not consent”

Secretary Walker in Montgomery asked what Anderson had answered to the proposition of the night before. Beauregard’s reply from Charleston is seven words: “He would not consent. I write to-day.” By the time he wrote, the batteries had opened.

Official Records, Series I, Vol. 1

Entries are dated from the War of the Rebellion official records, the naval official records and contemporary Charleston sources. Browse the whole year.