Who held the territory Ft Sumter was federally owned but located in South Carolina in Charleston Harbor Major Robert Anderson was in control of the fort with federal union troops March 5 1861 Confederate officials demanded Anderson surrender ID: 224876
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "Fort Sumter" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
Fort SumterSlide2Slide3
Who held the territory?
Ft. Sumter was federally owned, but located in South Carolina in Charleston Harbor
Major Robert Anderson was in control of the fort with federal (union) troops
March 5, 1861 Confederate officials demanded Anderson surrenderSlide4
Lincoln has one month to respond
The fort has one month supply of food, with little way to be resupplied
Lincoln’s advisors disagree about how to respondSlide5
Secretary of State SewardSlide6
Seward’s Advice
If it were possible to peacefully provision Fort Sumter, of course I should answer that it would be both unwise and inhuman not to attempt it. But the facts of the case are known to be that the attempt must be made with the employment of military and marine force, which would provoke combat, and probably initiate a civil war, which the government of the United States would be committed to maintain through all changes to some definite conclusion.Slide7
Lincoln’s Decision
Abandoning the fort would humiliate the president and make his administration incompetent
Retreat was no guarantee of peace
War was inevitable, so the Confederacy must be seen as the aggressors to unify the NorthSlide8
Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy
Davis showed no weakness and demanded the surrender of Ft. Sumter via P.G.T. Beauregard, the commander of the local Confederate forces. Anderson (Sumter’s commander) was Beauregard’s teacher at West Point, and Beauregard was a star pupil. Slide9
4:30 am, April 12th
Confederate batteries open fire
Civilians cheeredSlide10
Mary Chestnut’s diary
Not by one word or look can we detect any change in the demeanor of these Negro servants…profoundly indifferent. People talk of them as if they were chairs and tables. They make no sign. Are they solidly stupid? Or wiser than we are; silent and strong, biding their time? Slide11Slide12
After thirty four hours of shelling, Major Anderson raised a
bedsheet on the flagstaff as a sign of surrenderSlide13
Outcomes
Only one fatality, a Union private killed accidentally after the surrender
General Beauregard allowed the Union soldiers to march out under the Stars and Stripes, a sign of respect.
Union soldiers were met in New York as heroesSlide14
Lincoln calls for 75,000 volunteers to put down the rebellionSlide15Slide16
Questions to consider
What does the relationship between Anderson and Beauregard illustrate about this war? (Think Beat! Beat! Drums)
How does the image of civilians observing the shelling explain expectations before the war truly begins?
What does this first battle show about both sides willingness to engage violently?
What does Mary Chestnut’s diary reveal?