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Harboring History

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Seeking out the mysterious truths beyond the brickwork at Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter was named after a Revolutionary War general.<br>Photograph by Roland Pozo

Visitors and rangers enter Fort Sumter through the sally port.<br>Photograph by Carlin Timmons

Ruins of Fort Sumter’s officers’ quarters and powder magazine<br>Photograph by Carlin Timmons

Fort Sumter also houses Battery Isaac Huger, constructed in 1898 for the Spanish American War.<br>Photograph by Carlin Timmons

The five lower flags are replicas of the historic flags flown at the site during the Civil War.

The Fort Sumter parade ground prior to the April 1861 bombardment. Maj. Anderson had mounted a 10-inch Columbiad as a mortar. (This illustration was published in <em>Harper's Weekly</em> on February 16, 1861.)

Fort Sumter's brick walls were once 50 feet high; now only the lower tier of its original three tiers remains.<br>Photograph by Bill Martin

Fort Sumter before the April 12-13, 1861 battle, from the direction of Fort Johnson.

Visitors can see the 100-pounder Parrott rifles still in their original carriages.<br>Photograph by Carlin Timmons

A 42-pounder smoothbore cannon<br>Photograph by Carlin Timmons

This diagram indicating the locations and types of cannons at Fort Sumter during the April 1861 opening battle of the Civil War.

A print of an engraving from 1863 depicting the April 1861 bombardment of Fort Sumter.

Union Officers at Fort Sumter during the April 1861 battle (from <em>Harper's Weekly</em>).

These illustrations depict the structural damage to Fort Sumter as Federal batteries fired on the garrison during the First Great Bombardment in August 1863.

The garrison flag was flown over Fort Sumter from January to April 1861, then re-raised over the fort on April 14, 1865, exactly four years after U.S. Major Robert Anderson surrendered to the Confederacy. This delicate artifact is on display at the Fort Sumter Visitor Center.

The Fort Sumter Visitor Center at Liberty Square is the primary departure point for visitors to Fort Sumter.<br>Photograph by Bill Martin

Fort Sumter Tour ferries, operated by SpiritLine Cruises, depart daily from Liberty Square and Patriots Point.