Secession and the Attack on Fort Sumter
Seven states leave the Union and open fire, starting the Civil War
Quick facts
- First state to secede
- South Carolina, December 20, 1860
- Confederacy formed
- February 1861
- War began
- Fort Sumter, April 12-13, 1861
- Trigger
- Lincoln's 1860 election
What happened
Abraham Lincoln's election in November 1860, on a platform opposing the spread of slavery, convinced much of the South that its future in the Union was over. South Carolina became the first state to secede on December 20, 1860, and six more Deep South states followed, forming the Confederate States of America in February 1861. The crisis broke into war at Fort Sumter, a federal fort in Charleston Harbor. Confederate forces demanded its surrender, and the first engagement of the Civil War took place there on April 12 and 13, 1861. Major Robert Anderson defended the fort for 34 hours until the quarters were entirely burned, then accepted terms of evacuation and marched out. No one was killed in the bombardment, but the war it began would kill more Americans than any other in the nation's history.
Why it matters
Fort Sumter turned the long argument over slavery and union into open war. The choice of secession by eleven states eventually, and the decision of Lincoln's government to fight to preserve the Union, set the terms of a four-year conflict that would end slavery and remake the country. This event is the doorway into that war.
How we know
Secession ordinances survive as state records, and the Fort Sumter engagement is documented in official military correspondence, including Major Anderson's own telegram announcing the surrender, held in the National Archives.
Sources
- National Park Service. South Carolina Secession · Reputable sourcenps.gov · The domain "nps.gov" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- National Archives. Telegram Announcing the Surrender of Fort Sumter (1861) · Primary source (author-declared)archives.gov · Cited as a "primary" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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Related timelines
- The American Civil War → · This is the outbreak of the Civil War; see the American Civil War timeline for the campaigns, battles, and the war's course from 1861 to 1865.