In 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union and prepared to seize the United States forts in the harbor at Charleston. Major Robert Anderson directed the harbor defenses. He made his headquarters in Fort Moultrie. Realizing that South Carolina forces would soon attack this location, a difficult one to defend, he decided to move his headquarters to Fort Sumter.
In April, Pierre Beauregard, the Confederate General, demanded the the fort be surrendered but Anderson refused. There followed a heavy bombardment which began the Civil War. On April 14, Union troops evacuated the fort. The Confederates permitted them to take with them their weapons and their flag.
Confederate forces continued to hold Fort Sumter until February, 1865.
The site of the fort is not occupied by the Fort Sumter National Monument.
