Sumter

Sumter, FORT, so called after a Revolutionary general, is situated on a shoal in Charleston Harbour, 3-1/2 miles from the town of Charleston. When, in 1860, South Carolina seceeded from the Union, Major Anderson, the commandant, made a determined stand in this fort, with 80 men and 62 guns. General Beauregard attacked him (April 12-14, 1861) without success, and this was the beginning of the war. The fort was attacked from the sea by monitors in April, 1863, but held its own, but in July a bombardment from Morris Island silenced it in a week. The garrison still held on, and defeated a sea attack in September, In the autumn it was bombarded for 40 days, and again in the following summer, but it was not till April, 1865, that the Federals gained possession of it, and then only by the capitulation of the town.