Fort Sumter National Monument

Fort Sumter National Monument, a 195-acre park encompassing a small island in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina was established in 1948. The fort was part of a chain of coastal defenses that had not yet been completed when South Carolina seceded from the Union in 1860. In 1861 South Carolina demanded the surrender of the fort from the Union army. Bombardment by Confederate shore batteries began on April 12 and lasted 34 hours. The fort was surrendered on April 14, and the United States declared war on the Confederacy the following day, marking the beginning of the U.S. Civil War.