Pictures: Fort Sumter: Defiance and Destruction (1862-1865)

The attack in April 1861 was only the first chapter in Fort Sumter’s trial by fire. Along with the rest of the Confederate-held Charleston defenses, the fort became a major target of Union forces attempting to seal off the Atlantic coastline. After a series of minor attacks in 1862, the full force of Federal naval and ground forces were thrown against the harbor fortifications in the spring of 1863. Over the next 20 months, the Confederates put up a stubborn defense that inflicted heavy casualties on Union attackers while only giving up the most exposed positions. In the end, Charleston only fell when the last phase of Sherman’s famous “March to the Sea” cut off the city from the rest of the dying Confederacy.

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