Fort Sumter National Monument

Fort Sumter occupies a low artificial island in the entrance of Charleston Harbor, constructed from granite quarried in New England and transported south beginning in 1829. The first shots of the American Civil War were fired at the fort on April 12, 1861, when Confederate artillery opened a 34-hour bombardment that forced the Union garrison to surrender. The fort is accessible only by ferry from Liberty Square in Charleston, and the National Park Service museum on site preserves artifacts and documents from the siege.