Fort Sumpter Entry Sign coming off the pier.

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Fort Sumter

Built after the War of 1812 in Charleston Harbor, the US Army used Fort Sumter for costal defense until the end of World War II. Destroyed during the Civil War and captured by the Confederates, Fort Sumpter has undergone many changes. The fort originally had an additional two stories atop its foundation. However, now the fort's center is dominated by Battery Huger, a huge, black, concrete artillery emplacement, built in 1898-1899. Fort Sumter was finally designated a National Monument in 1948.

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Battery Huger

The massive artillery battery completed in 1899, in the center of the parade ground, was built in response the Spanish-American War. Changes to the battery kept pace with modern technology and Fort Sumter continued as part of the US coastal defense system until the close of World War II.

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Left Face Casemate Ruins

Union batteries from Morris Island, about one mile south of Fort Sumpter, shelled the fort for 22 months between 1863 and 1865 and Beverly damaged this wall and other areas of the fort. This was accomplished by bullet-shapped shelled fired from rifled cannon. Artillery shells from this siege are still embedded in brick of this wall.

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Sumter Esplanade

The south side of Fort Sumter is a view of the right and left gorge wall. This wall is the original Sally Port entrance to the fort during the Civil War. Because this wall was lightly armed it was vulnerable to attack by batteries on Morris Island, directly opposite of this location in Charleston Harbor. At the base of the gorge wall some flat stone pavers are still present from the esplanade that joined the sally port to the 171 foot long granite pier (that no longer exists).

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Casemate and Cannon

One of the 27 gun casemates that occupied the first tier of Fort Sumter. This casemate and 42 pound smooth bore cannon required a well trained and disciplined five man crew to operate and get off an accurate shot in less than one minutes. This cannon is one of Fort Sumter's original guns, but the casemate and carriage are reconstructed.

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Parrott Cannon

After the Civil War, Fort Sumter was rearmed with these 100 pound rifled Parrots cannons along the first tier of the right face. This area sustained the least damage during the Union bombardment. The guns came from Morris Island, which could be the same guns that fired upon Fort Sumter during the Civil War. When modernizing the coastal defenses in the 1890s, these casemates were filled with sand to strengthen the old for. During the 1959 excavation, the casemates were opened and these Parrott guns were discovered.

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