Editor’s note: One hundred fifty years ago Sunday, reports of the attack on Fort Sumter appeared in area newspapers. These stories from the Civil War are presented as they might have appeared in a student newspaper. All photos and article data courtesy of Wilson Library.
APRIL 17, 1861 — Civil war has begun!
At the first light of dawn April 12, Confederate forces under General Pierre G.T. Beauregard opened fire upon the Union stronghold Fort Sumter, and the advantage was soundly on the side of the South.
Reports from South Carolina tell us their men fought bravely during this momentous occasion, which resulted in a victory for the Confederacy.
No lives were lost in the bombardment of Fort Sumter, though grave danger was prominent, and young soldiers on both sides faced the prospect of death.
The conflict occurred one day after President Abraham Lincoln informed South Carolina Gov. Francis W. Pickens that he would be sending supplies to Fort Sumter, a military post held by the Union government in the midst of Confederate land.
President Lincoln entered a gentlemen’s agreement that “so long as South Carolina abstained from attacking and seizing the forts, he would not send reinforcements to them,” according to correspondence between the state and the U.S. government in Washington.
By reinforcing Major Robert Anderson, the garrison commander at that post, and his men, Lincoln breached the trust between himself and the Government of the South.
Therefore, Governor Pickens and the Confederate government issued an ultimatum to the Union government to evacuate the fort, a command which they did not obey. Thus, the Confederate troops were forced to fire on Fort Sumter.
