ABSTRACT
On April 9, 1861, General Pierre Gustave T. Beauregard of the newly created Confederate States of America demanded the surrender of the Union’s Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The garrison commander, Major Robert Anderson, refused. Anticipating a Southern attack, he already had put his troops on alert to defend the position no matter some glaring handicaps. His force mustered but 80 men; Sumter required 650 to properly defend it. Because of a shortage of ammunition, he prepared only a few cannon to return fire in response to any Southern attack; the stronghold could situate over 146 pieces. Given the paucity of his defense, he did not believe the fort posed a threat to any Southern interests, but he realized he was on the front line of a possible shooting war. Secession already had taken place, South Carolina being the first state to leave the Union on December 20, 1860. As the states arrayed against the Union grew in number, why give the South a cause to turn secession into war? Anderson would defend his position but try not to stumble into a war. His counterpart, Beauregard, also understood that the fort could not defend itself and that he had enough cannon to force its surrender and to start a civil war. At 4:30 am on April 12, 1861, the rebel batteries opened fire on Fort Sumter. This first act of violence declared the South’s desire to wage war against the North, and Anderson’s return of fire the North’s resolve to meet this
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war was overdue and the time had come to settle the issue with a preemptive strike.
