Here’s what happened in April 1861, leading up to the firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, which spurred the launch of the American Civil War.

Larson wrote his new book, "The Demon of Unrest," about the events leading up to the bombardment of Fort Sumter by Confederate forces – the first shots fired in the Civil War. Larson calls it ...

"No Name Beach," a sandbar that has grown large enough to connect Fort Sumter and James Island at mid tide and low tide could ...

You probably remember Fort Sumter as the place where the first shot of the Civil War was fired back in 1861. Today, you can see for yourself where all the action happened by taking a ferry to the ...

and on April 12 they attacked Fort Sumter, a federal stronghold in Charleston, South Carolina. Federal troops returned the fire. The Civil War had begun. Immediately following the attack ...

Authorized in 1827 by Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, Fort Sumter was still not finished when the nation slid into civil war over sectional issues. Nevertheless, it became the “flashpoint for the ...