From a gun in the first-tier casemates, Capt. Abner Doubleday fired the first shot from Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. This section also sustained the deepest penetration of Confederate shot and shell in the initial attack.
Officers’ Quarters
A three-story brick building extended the entire length of the gorge (or back wall). In it were quarters for officers, administrative offices, storerooms, powder magazines, and guardhouse. Most of the wooden portions of the building burned during the initial Confederate bombardment in 1861. The small-arms magazine here exploded on December 11, 1863, killing 11 and wounding 41 Confederates. The explosion also tilted the arch over the magazine’s entrance. (The effects of that explosion are still visible today.)
Enlisted Men’s Barracks
Paralleling the left flank casemates, are the ruins of a three-story enlisted men’s barracks which originally rose slightly above the fort walls. Another enlisted men’s barracks, identical to this one, was on the right flank directly opposite this wall.
Garrison Monument
The U.S. Government erected this monument in 1932 “in memory of the garrison defending Fort Sumter during the bombardment of April 12-14, 1861.” The tablet contains a roster of the original garrison that served under Major Anderson.