Editing Fort Sumter (section)

====First Battle of Fort Sumter====
{{main|Battle of Fort Sumter}}
[[File:MAjor Robert Anderson and his officers Ft Sumpter South Carolina.jpg|thumb|Major Anderson and His Officers prior to Bombardment of Ft Sumpter 1861]]

[[File:Edmund Ruffin. Fired the 1st shot in the Late War. Killed himself at close of War., ca. 1861 - NARA - 530493.tif|left|150px|thumb|Edmund Ruffin in the uniform of the "Palmetto Guards" 1861]]
On Thursday, April 11, 1861, Beauregard sent three aides, Colonel [[James Chesnut, Jr.]], Captain [[Stephen D. Lee]], and Lieutenant A. R. Chisolm to demand the surrender of the fort. Anderson declined, and the aides returned to report to Beauregard. After Beauregard had consulted the Confederate Secretary of War, [[LeRoy Pope Walker|Leroy Walker]], he sent the aides back to the fort and authorized Chesnut to decide whether the fort should be taken by force. The aides waited for hours while Anderson considered his alternatives and played for time. At about 3:00&nbsp;a.m., when Anderson finally announced his conditions, Colonel Chesnut, after conferring with the other aides, decided that they were "manifestly futile and not within the scope of the instructions verbally given to us." The aides then left the fort and proceeded to the nearby [[Fort Johnson (South Carolina)|Fort Johnson]]. There, Chesnut ordered the fort to open fire on Fort Sumter.<ref name=Elliot/>{{rp|59–60}}

On Friday, April 12, 1861, at 4:30&nbsp;a.m., Confederate [[Artillery battery|batteries]] opened fire on the fort, firing for 34 straight hours. [[Edmund Ruffin]], noted Virginian agronomist and secessionist, claimed that he fired the first shot on Fort Sumter.  His story has been widely believed, but Lieutenant Henry S. Farley, commanding a battery of two [[Siege artillery in the American Civil War#Mortars|10-inch siege mortars]] on [[James Island, South Carolina|James Island]], actually fired the first shot at 4:30&nbsp;a.m.<ref>{{Harv |Detzer|2001|pp=269–271}}.</ref> No attempt was made to return the fire for more than two hours. The fort's supply of ammunition was not suited for the task; also, there were no fuses for their explosive shells, which means that they could not explode. Only solid iron balls could be used against the Confederate batteries. At about 7:00&nbsp;a.m., Captain [[Abner Doubleday]], the fort's second in command, was given the honor of firing the Union's first shot, in defense of the fort.  He missed, in part because Major Anderson did not use the guns mounted on the highest tier—the barbette tier, where the guns could engage the Confederate batteries better, but where the gunners would be more exposed to Confederate fire. The firing continued all day. The Union fired slowly to conserve ammunition. At night, the fire from the fort stopped, but the Confederates still lobbed an occasional shell into Sumter. On Saturday, April 13, the fort was surrendered and evacuated. During the attack, the Union colors fell. Lt. [[Norman J. Hall]] risked life and limb to put them back up, burning off his eyebrows permanently. A Confederate soldier bled to death having been wounded by a misfiring cannon. One Union soldier died and another was mortally wounded during the 47th shot of a 100-shot salute, allowed by the Confederacy.  Afterward, the salute was shortened to 50 shots.  Accounts, such as in the famous diary of [[Mary Chesnut]], describe Charleston residents along what is now known as [[The Battery (Charleston)|The Battery]], sitting on balconies and drinking salutes to the start of the hostilities.

<gallery class="center" widths="150px" heights="167px">
File:The Photographic History of The Civil War Volume 09 Page 046.jpg|[Top] A photographic view of the Hot shot Furnace at right shoulder angle and a 10-in. columbard cannon pointing to Charleston;<ref>See Ft Sumter Map "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War Vol 1 p. 54</ref>[Bottom] Exterior view of Gorge and Sally Port Ft Sumter April 1861 after its surrender
File:The Photographic History of The Civil War Volume 09 Page 045.jpg|Views of Ft Sumter; [Bottom] View of right angle
File:The Evacuation of Fort Sumter, April 1861 MET DP266511.jpg|Right angle gorge of Ft Sumter-Sally port at right
File:Fort Sumter the day after Anderson left, April 1861 (recto).jpg|View of the Gorge and Sally Port
File:The Evacuation of Fort Sumter, April 1861 MET DP266618.jpg|View of western part of Gorge
File:The Photographic History of The Civil War Volume 09 Page 048.jpg|[Top] View of gorge and Sally port; [Bottom] Left gorge Angle
File:Fort Sumter interior after bombardment (recto).jpg|View of Left gorge angle Sally Port would be at far left
File:Fort Sumter interior with flag staff after the bombardment (recto).jpg|View of Left flank
File:Fort Sumter, April 15, 1861.jpg|Panormanic View of Left shoulder Angle at left with a 2nd Hot Shot furnace and Left face at right; Ft Sumter 1861; flying the [[Confederate Flag]]
File:Salient with North-west Casemates, Fort Sumter MET DP266616.jpg|At Left North west casemates [left angle]; at right can be seen the start of the right angle
</gallery>

The [[Fort Sumter Flag]] became a popular patriotic symbol after Major Anderson returned North with it. The ''Star of the West'' took all the garrison members to New York City. There they were welcomed and honored with a parade on Broadway.