begins April 2011
‘FORT SUMTER, S.C., April 12, 1861, 3:20 A.M. – SIR: By authority of Brigadier-General Beauregard, commanding the Provisional Forces of the Confederate States, we have the honor to notify you that he will open the fire of his batteries on Fort Sumter in one hour from this time. We have the honor to be very respectfully, Your obedient servants, JAMES CHESNUT JR., Aide-de-camp. STEPHEN D. LEE, Captain C. S. Army, Aide-de-camp.’
The Shots that Started The Civil War
At 4:30 AM a shell fired from a mortar at Fort Johnson burst over the parade ground of Fort Sumter signaling six other batteries to open fire on the fort.
“I count four ——– St. Michael chimes. I begin to hope. At half-past four, the heavy booming of a cannon. I sprang out of bed. And on my knees——-prostrate——-I prayed as I never prayed before.”
From the diary of Mary Boykin Chesnut whose husband was still in a boat in the harbor.
April of 2011 is the perfect time for groups interested in Civil War history to visit Charleston. Let us bring the first days of the war to life for you as you are escorted through the city and to the major sites related to the war. Some of the sites that you will see are:
» Fort Sumter which was bombarded for 36 hours beginning on April 12, 1861.
» The Edmondston-Alston House where residents watched the bombardment from the upstairs piazza.
» St Michael’s church and the Confederate Museum
» Special Civil War Exhibits at the Charleston Museum and the Gibbes Museum of Art
Give us a call or send us an email as soon as possible so that we can set up a package tailor made for your group. If you cannot come in April, let us set up a Civil War itinerary for another time during the Sesquicentennial.
