Military
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Across Charleston Harbor, Fort Johnson fired the shot that began the Civil War. At 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861, a mortar at Fort Johnson sent a shell high toward Fort Sumter, where it burst almost directly overhead. That shot signaled Confederate batteries around Charleston Harbor to open fire on Fort Sumter. South Carolina troops manned batteries at Fort Johnson as Confederate batteries bombarded Fort Sumter for 34 hours and fired more than 3,000 shells, while Fort Sumter returned fire with little effect. The Union commander, Major Robert Anderson, would not risk his men on Sumter's open parapet to man the largest guns, and on April 13 Confederate shelling endangered Fort Sumter's powder magazine and Anderson surrendered.
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James Island, South Carolina · United States
