Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park – South Carolina

NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie

Charleston Harbor, SC

Charleston, victorious over the Royal Navy in 1776 and scene of the largest patriot defeat in 1780, played a key role in the American Revolution. Charleston’s appetite for revolution continued in the 1800s as the city blazed a path to secession to safeguard slavery. The Confederacy fired on the US garrison of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, opening the Civil War, which redefined American freedom.