Geography

Chapter 2 of Across Five Aprils ends with the Creighton family receiving word that the Confederates had fired on Fort Sumter.

As the states seceded from the Union, they took possession of federal property within their boundaries, but they lacked the military strength to seize certain offshore forts. Notable among these was Fort Sumter, located in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, and Fort Pickens in the harbor of Pensacola, Florida.

Upon its secession from the Union, South Carolina sent commissioners to Washington to ask for the surrender of Fort Sumter, garrisoned by a small force under the command of Major Robert Anderson. President Buchanan, although fearful of provoking a clash, nevertheless refused to yield the fort and, in January of 1861, he decided to reinforce it.

Under orders from President Buchanan, an unarmed merchant ship, the Star of the West,  attempted to enter Charleston harbor, and encountered fire from South Carolina forces. The first shot between the North and the South had been fired, yet neither side was prepared to admit that war had begun.

President Buchanan turned his attention once more to resolving the controversies through negotiation and compromise.

The U.S. Senate and House were directed by the President to find a peaceful resolution that might hold the Union together. One such proposal, known as the Crittenden Compromise, called for a series of constitutional amendments. One would have guaranteed the permanence of slavery in the Southern states while prohibiting it in the North, essentially reestablishing the Missouri Compromise.

The Southern members of the committee indicated that they would accept this territorial division if the Republicans would. However, after sounding out President-elect Abraham Lincoln, the Republicans opted to vote against the proposal. One of Lincoln’s concerns was that the restoration of the Missouri Compromise line would encourage the South to extend their territories southward, into Latin America.

Abraham Lincoln entered Washington for his inauguration, sneaking into the city in the dead of night, disguised on a train, to avoid assassination as he passed through the slave state of Maryland en route from Illinois.

In his inaugural address, Lincoln promised to “hold, occupy, and possess” the federal property in seceded states.

Battle of Fort Sumter

He soon found an opportunity to put this policy to the test at Fort Sumter. Major Anderson, short on supplies, was on the verge of having to evacuate the fort.

Dispatching a naval relief expedition to the fort, President Lincoln carefully informed South Carolina officials that the ships were carrying supplies, but that they would not land troops or munitions unless resistance was offered.

Having been informed of this by South Carolina officials, the Confederate government ordered Brig. General Pierre G.T. Beauregard, in charge of Confederate forces at Charleston, to demand surrender of the fort and, if the demand were refused, to attack and seize the fort.

On April 10, 1861, Brig. General Pierre G.T. Beauregard, in command of the provisional Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina, demanded the surrender of the Union garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The garrison commander, Major Robert Anderson, refused. On April 12th, Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort, which was unable to reply effectively. At 2:30 p.m., April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, evacuating the garrison on the following day. This bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening engagement of the American Civil War. While there were no recorded casualties during the bombardment itself, one Union artillerist was killed, and three wounded, when a cannon exploded prematurely when firing a salute during the evacuation. One of the wounded later died of injuries sustained.

The American Civil War, which was to claim the lives of more than 600,000 Americans over the next four years. There were nearly 2,000 deaths for every 100,000 of population during the Civil War. In World War I, the comparable figure was 109; in World War II, 241.

It was not only battle itself that produced the high death toll. It was disease, to which the miserable conditions in which both armies had to live made soldiers highly vulnerable, and for which only the most primitive medical expertise or facilities were available. Even minor injuries could lead to death by infection or other complications.