Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter is a sea fort in Charleston, South Carolina, notable for two battles, the first of which began the American Civil War. It was one of a number of special forts planned after the War of 1812, combining high walls and heavy masonry, and classified as Third System, as a grade of structural integrity. Work started in 1829, but was incomplete by 1861, when the Civil War began. The attack on Fort Sumter is generally taken as the beginning of the American Civil War—the first shots fired.