Battles - Fort Sumter

Battles - Fort Sumter

Battles - Fort Sumter
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 9 to 10
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.5

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		re-supply, ungarrisoned, disposition, cartridge, accessible, bloodless, secession, outcry, re-supplied, favorable, incomplete, evacuation, cede, significant, arsenal, envoy
	content words:		American Civil War, South Carolina, On December, Fort Moultrie, Fort Sumter, Major Robert Anderson, Since Anderson, Castle Pinckney, Fort Johnson, Morris Island

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Battles - Fort Sumter
By Mary L. Bushong

¹     Every war has a starting point. The event may not seem important by itself, but the timing can make it significant. The shots which began the American Civil War occurred in the Charleston, South Carolina harbor on April 12, 1861.

²     When South Carolina first seceded from the Union, there was a question about the Union forts and weapons arsenal within her territory. A commission was sent to Washington, D.C. to work out answers to these and other questions. On December 9, 1860, an agreement had been reached. They would eventually be ceded to the state but for now would remain as they were in both condition and ownership.

³     It seemed pretty straight forward. Fort Moultrie was accessible by land and was garrisoned. Fort Sumter, on an island in the middle of the harbor, was incomplete and ungarrisoned.

⁴     Major Robert Anderson commanded Fort Moultrie. Born and raised in Kentucky and married to a Southern woman, he sympathized with the South, but he served and was loyal to the Union army. His orders were to maintain his current position.

⁵     Fort Moultrie was not in the most favorable position. It was situated on low ground, while hills and buildings in the area were higher. Anderson and his officers saw troops being moved out of the harbor and were afraid they would be attacked. If riflemen were on the hilltops and buildings, they could pick off soldiers inside the fort without ever showing themselves. Anderson decided to take action on his own.

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