Part 1 The Fort on the Shoal
Fort Sumter on the eve of the Civil War as painted by Seth Eastman. For Eastman’s companion view of Sumter at the close of the war, see pages [50]-51.
Kentucky-born Maj. Robert Anderson had never seen Fort Sumter before November 1860, when he was sent to command the Federal forts in Charleston Harbor as the secession crisis mounted. His honorable defense of Fort Sumter in April 1861 made him a national celebrity and linked his name more closely to the place than anyone else’s, including those who planned and spent so many years building it. The painting shows Anderson inside Fort Moultrie, where he was headquartered upon his arrival in Charleston. Fort Sumter lies in the distance.