The American civil war began when Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. The first shots were fired at the Federal ship "The Star of the West" entering Charleston Harbour On January 9, 1861. Read more
On January 9, 1861, weeks after South Carolina had seceded (but before other states had done so to form the Confederacy) the steamship Star of the West was fired upon by cadets from The Citadel stationed at the Morris Island battery as the ship entered Charleston Harbour. This prevented the Star of the West from resupplying Major Robert Anderson's garrison at Fort Sumter. The Star of the West was given a warning shot across the bow and turned about to leave the harbour mouth. She was hit three times by what were effectively the first shots of the American Civil War. Read more