fort sumter (charleston, s.c.)

"On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter. Master storyteller Erik Larson offers a gripping account of the chaotic months between Lincoln's election and the Confederacy's shelling of Sumter-a period marked by tragic errors and miscommunications, enflamed egos and craven ambitions, personal tragedies and betrayals. Lincoln himself wrote that the trials of these five months were "so great that, could I have anticipated them, I would not have believed it possible to survive them." At the heart of this suspense-filled narrative are Major Robert Anderson, Sumter's commander and a former slave owner sympathetic to the South but loyal to the Union; Edmund Ruffin, a vain and bloodthirsty radical who stirs secessionist ardor at every opportunity; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, wife of a prominent planter, conflicted over both marriage and slavery and seeing parallels between them. In the middle of it all is the overwhelmed Lincoln, battling with his duplicitous secretary of state, William Seward, as he tries desperately to avert a war that he fears is inevitable-one that will eventually kill 750,000 Americans. Drawing on diaries, secret communiques, slave ledgers, and plantation records, Larson gives us a political horror story that captures the forces that led America to the brink-a dark reminder that we often don't see a cataclysm coming until it's too late"--.

Provides a history of the Civil War Battle of Fort Sumter from the perspectives of both the Union forces and the Confederate forces.

When the Civil War began, Fort Sumter was an unfinished building in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.

The Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in 1861 marked the beginning of the American Civil War. Federal troops eventually surrendered after 36 hours of open fire. The controversial election of Abraham Lincoln, the contentious issue of slavery, and the South's demand for states' rights all factored into this momentous event.

Presents a short study of Fort Sumter which sits in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, and describes the role it played in the accounts of the Civil War.

Through the eyes of three different boys, three linked novellas explore the tumultuous times beginning with the secession of South Carolina and leading up to the first major battle of the Civil War.

First part focuses on the inspirational role of Stonewall Jackson. Second part describes the modest attack on Fort Sumter that began the Civil War.

Chronicles the events leading up to the firing of the first shot of the Civil War on April 12, 1861.

Siblings Grant and Christina journey with their grandparents, Mimi and Papa, to Charleston, South Carolina, to search for their long lost Aunt Lulu and learn about the Civil War at Fort Sumter, but uncover a mystery involving a rare winter blizzard.

Provides a brief introduction to the history of Fort Sumter, discussing why it was built and the role it has played in American history.