the attack on fort sumter took place from the body of water at charleston harbor.
from what body of water did the attack on fort sumter take place?
charleston harbor
in a letter delivered january 31, 1861, south carolina governor pickens demanded of president buchanan that he surrender fort sumter because "i regard that possession is not consistent with the dignity or safety of the state of south carolina." over the next few months repeated calls for evacuation of fort sumter from the government of south carolina and then from confederate brigadier general p. g. t. beauregard were ignored. union attempts to resupply and reinforce the garrison were repulsed on january 9, 1861 when the first shots of the war, fired by cadets from the citadel, prevented the steamer "star of the west", hired to transport troops and supplies to fort sumter, from completing the task. after realizing that anderson's command would run out of food by april 15, 1861, president lincoln ordered a fleet of ships, under the command of gustavus v. fox, to attempt entry into charleston harbor and supply fort sumter. the ships assigned were the steam sloops-of-war uss "pawnee" and uss "powhatan", transporting motorized launches and about 300 sailors (secretly removed from the charleston fleet to join in the forced reinforcement of fort pickens, pensacola, fl), armed screw steamer uss "pocahontas", revenue cutter usrc "harriet lane", steamer "baltic" transporting about 200 troops, composed of companies c and d of the 2nd u.s. artillery, and three hired tugboats with added protection against small arms fire to be used to tow troop and supply barges directly to fort sumter. by april 6, 1861, the first ships began to set sail for their rendezvous off the charleston bar. the first to arrive was "harriet lane", the evening of april 11, 1861.
fort sumter
fort sumter and fort moultrie national historical park encompasses three sites in charleston: the original fort sumter, the fort sumter visitor education center, and fort moultrie on sullivan's island. access to fort sumter itself is by private boat or a 30-minute ferry ride from the fort sumter visitor education center or patriots point.





























the visitor education center's museum features exhibits about the disagreements between the north and south that led to the incidents at fort sumter. the museum at fort sumter focuses on the activities at the fort, including its construction and role during the civil war.
fort sumter