Fort Sumter National Monument

Fort Sumter is a coastal fortification that was begun in 1829, but was still not completed by the time the Civil War. Confederate and South Carolina troops, under the direction of Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, bombarded the Union garrison commanded by Maj. Robert Anderson beginning April 12, 1861, signaling the start of the American Civil War. Fort Sumter was occupied by a Confederate garrison for most of the war. During the siege of Charleston, 1863-65, Fort Sumter was reduced to one-third of its original size. After the war, Fort Sumter was repaired but never rebuilt to its original height.