Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, nineteenth century

Battle of Fort Sumter

Battle of Fort Sumter was a battle fought in 1861 at Fort Sumter, in what is now South Carolina, United States. It was part of the American Civil War, which ran from 1861 to 1865. The recorded result: Confederate victory; Confederacy captures Fort Sumter; Beginning of the American Civil War. Recorded strength: 85 against 500–6,000 (estimated).

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Bombardment of Fort Sumter in 1861, Engraved in 1863 expressly for Abbotts Civil War; print: b&w; 14 x 20 cm. (5 1/2 x 8 in.), The NYPL, #id=813059.
Bombardment of Fort Sumter in 1861, Engraved in 1863 expressly for Abbotts Civil War; print: b&w; 14 x 20 cm. (5 1/2 x 8 in.), The NYPL, #id=813059.. George Edward Perine, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought1861
WhereFort Sumter, South Carolina, United States32.752N, 79.875W
OutcomeConfederate victory; Confederacy captures Fort Sumter; Beginning of the American Civil War
BelligerentsUnited StatesagainstConfederate States
Casualties and losses0and0
Battlefield todayFort Wagner battlefieldNPS site SC005, 21,059 acres studied, 3,087 core
Part ofAmerican Civil War1861 to 1865

Where it sits in the American Civil War

Battle of Fort Sumter, 1861Battle of Cheat Mountain, 1861Battle of Canada Alamosa, 1861Battle of Pensacola, 1861Battle of Gloucester Point, 1861Battle of Sewell's Point, 1861Battle of Aquia Creek, 1861Battle of Fairfax Court House, 1861Battle of Arlington Mills, 1861Battle of Philippi, 1861Battle of Pig Point, 1861Battle of Big Bethel, 1861Battle of Boonville, 1861Battle of Cole Camp, 1861Battle of Mathias Point, 1861Battle of Hoke's Run, 1861Battle of Rich Mountain, 1861Battle of Corrick's Ford, 1861Battle of Scary Creek, 1861Battle of Blackburn's Ford, 1861First Battle of Mesilla, 1861Siege of Tubac, 1861Battle of Cookes Canyon, 1861Battle of the Florida Mountains, 1861Battle of Athens, 1861Battle of Charleston, 1861Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries, 1861Battle of Dry Wood Creek, 1861Battle of Carnifex Ferry, 1861Battle of Lewinsville, 1861Battle of Pinos Altos, 1861Battle of Greenbrier River, 1861Battle of Cockle Creek, 1861Battle of Santa Rosa Island, 1861Battle of the Head of Passes, 1861Battle of Monday's Hollow, 1861Battle of Bolivar Heights, 1861Battle of Ball's Bluff, 1861Battle of Camp Wildcat, 1861Battle of Port Royal, 1861Battle of Guyandotte, 1861Battle of Round Mountain, 1861Bog Wallow Ambush, 1861Battle of Chusto-Talasah, 1861Battle of Camp Allegheny, 1861Battle of Rowlett's Station, 1861Skirmish at Blackwater Creek, 1861Battle of Dranesville, 1861Battle of Chustenahlah, 1861Battle of Mount Zion Church, 1861Battle of Sacramento, 1861Battle of Fredericksburg, 1862Shenandoah Valley Campaign, 1862Siege of Corinth, 1862Battle of Pea Ridge, 1862Battle of Glorieta Pass, 1862Battle of Valverde, 1862Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, 1862Battle of Richmond, 1862Battle of Fort Pulaski, 1862First Battle of Sabine Pass, 1862Battle of Lone Jack, 1862Battle of Saint John's Bluff, 1862Battle of Corpus Christi, 1862Battle of Cockpit Point, 1862Battle of Hancock, 1862Battle of Roan's Tan Yard, 1862Battle of Middle Creek, 1862Battle of Mill Springs, 1862Battle of Fort Henry, 1862Battle of Roanoke Island, 1862Battle of Elizabeth City, 1862Battle of Fort Donelson, 1862Battle of Island Number Ten, 1862Battle of Hampton Roads, 1862Battle of New Bern, 1862First Battle of Kernstown, 1862Siege of Fort Macon, 1862Battle of the Brick Church, 1862Battle of Stanwix Station, 1862New Mexico Campaign, 1862Siege of Yorktown, 1862Battle of Albuquerque, 1862Battle of Peralta, 1862Battle of Picacho Pass, 1862Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, 1862Battle of South Mills, 1862Siege of Bridgeport, 1862Capture of New Orleans, 1862Skirmish at Paint Rock Bridge, 1862Battle of Clark's House, 1862Battle of Williamsburg, 1862Battle of Lebanon, 1862Battle of Eltham's Landing, 1862Battle of McDowell, 1862Second Battle of Dragoon Springs, 1862Battle of Plum Point Bend, 1862Battle of Drewry's Bluff, 1862Battle of Princeton Court House, 1862Battle of Pigeon Roost, 1862Battle of Whitney's Lane, 1862Capture of Tucson, 1862Battle of Front Royal, 1862Battle of Lewisburg, 1862First Battle of Winchester, 1862Battle of Hanover Court House, 1862First Battle of Pocotaligo, 1862Battle of Seven Pines, 1862Battle of Tranter's Creek, 1862First Battle of Memphis, 1862Battle of Good's Farm, 1862First Battle of Chattanooga, 1862Battle of Cross Keys, 1862Battle of Port Republic, 1862Battle of James Island, 1862Battle of Saint Charles, 1862Battle of the Cumberland Gap, 1862Battle of Simmon's Bluff, 1862Seven Days Battles, 1862Battle of Oak Grove, 1862Battle of Beaver Dam Creek, 1862Battle of Gaines's Mill, 1862Battle of Garnett's & Golding's Farm, 1862Battle of Savage's Station, 1862Battle of Glendale, 1862Battle of White Oak Swamp, 1862Battle of Tampa, 1862Peninsula Campaign, 1862Battle of Malvern Hill, 1862Second Battle of Mesilla, 1862Battle of Booneville, 1862Battle of Cotton Plant, 1862First Battle of Murfreesboro, 1862Battle of Apache Pass, 1862Battle of Baton Rouge, 1862Battle of Kirksville, 1862Battle of Cedar Mountain, 1862First Battle of Donaldsonville, 1862First Battle of Independence, 1862Battle of Compton's Ferry, 1862Battle of Yellow Creek, 1862First Battle of Rappahannock Station, 1862Manassas Station Operations, 1862Battle of Thoroughfare Gap, 1862Battle of Chantilly, 1862Battle of Britton's Lane, 1862Battle of Mile Hill, 1862Battle of Riggins Hill, 1862Battle of Fayetteville, 1862Battle of Harpers Ferry, 1862Defense of Cincinnati, 1862Battle of Munfordville, 1862Battle of Crampton's Gap, 1862Battle of Shepherdstown, 1862Battle of Iuka, 1862Battle of Augusta, 1862Second Battle of Corinth, 1862Joint Expedition Against Franklin, 1862Battle of Galveston Harbor, 1862Battle of Hatchie Bridge, 1862Battle of Perryville, 1862Battle of Old Fort Wayne, 1862Battle of Pocotaligo, 1862Battle of Georgia Landing, 1862Battle of Unison, 1862Battle of Clark's Mill, 1862Battle of Coffeeville, 1862Battle of Prairie Grove, 1862Battle of Hartsville, 1862Battle of White Hall, 1862Battle of Goldsboro Bridge, 1862Battle of Lexington, Tennessee, 1862Battle of Jackson, Tennessee, 1862Van Buren raid, 1862Capture of Van Buren, 1862Battle of Stones River, 1862Battle of Parker's Cross Roads, 1862Battle of Arkansas Post, 1863Battle of Galveston, 1863Second Battle of Winchester, 1863Battle of Williamsport, 1863Battle of Fort McAllister, 1863Fight at Monterey Pass, 1863Stoneman's 1863 Raid, 1863Battle of Chalk Bluff, 1863Battle of the Cumberland Gap, 1863Battle of Franklin's Crossing, 1863Battle of Fort Esperanza, 1863Battle of Ponchatoula, 1863Raid at Combahee Ferry, 1863Second Battle of Springfield, 1863Battle of Hartville, 1863Action off Galveston Light, 1863Battle of Deserted House, 1863Battle of Dover, 1863Fight at Aldie, 1863Battle of Thompson's Station, 1863Battle of Fort Anderson, 1863Battle of Kelly's Ford, 1863Battle of Vaught's Hill, 1863Battle of Brentwood, 1863Battle of Washington, 1863Battle of Somerset, 1863First Battle of Charleston Harbor, 1863Battle of Franklin, 1863Siege of Suffolk, 1863Battle of Suffolk (Hill's Point), 1863Battle of Fort Bisland, 1863Battle of Irish Bend, 1863Battle of Vermillion Bayou, 1863Battle of Fayetteville, 1863Battle of Grand Gulf, 1863Battle of Snyder's Bluff, 1863Battle of Chancellorsville, 1863Battle of Day's Gap, 1863Battle of Port Gibson, 1863Second Battle of Fredericksburg, 1863Battle of Salem Church, 1863Battle of Raymond, 1863Battle of Jackson, 1863Battle of Champion Hill, 1863Battle of Big Black River Bridge, 1863Siege of Vicksburg, 1863Battle of Fort Gibson, 1863Battle of Pogue's Run, 1863Siege of Port Hudson, 1863Battle of Plains Store, 1863Battle of Middleburg, 1863Bluffton expedition, 1863Battle of Milliken's Bend, 1863Battle of Young's Point, 1863Battle of Brandy Station, 1863Battle of Lake Providence, 1863Battle of Richmond, 1863Battle of Aldie, 1863Battle of Wassaw Sound, 1863Battle of Fort Fizzle, 1863Battle of LaFourche Crossing, 1863Battle of Upperville, 1863Battle of Hoover's Gap, 1863Battle of Liberty Gap, 1863Battle of Fairfax Court House, 1863Battle of Portland Harbor, 1863Second Battle of Donaldsonville, 1863Battle of Goodrich's Landing, 1863Battle of Hanover, 1863Skirmish of Sporting Hill, 1863Skirmish of Littlestown, 1863Battle of Gettysburg, 1863Battle of Carlisle, 1863Battle of Hunterstown, 1863Battle of Fairfield, 1863Battle of Helena, 1863Battle of Tebbs Bend, 1863Battle of Lebanon, 1863Battle of Boonsboro, 1863Battle of Corydon, 1863First Battle of Fort Wagner, 1863Battle of Funkstown, 1863Battle of Kock's Plantation, 1863Battle of Grimball's Landing, 1863Battle of Honey Springs, 1863Second Battle of Charleston Harbor, 1863Battle of Buffington Island, 1863Battle of Manassas Gap, 1863Battle of Salineville, 1863Lawrence Massacre, 1863Second Battle of Chattanooga, 1863Skirmish near Brooklyn, Kansas, 1863Battle of Brownsville, Arkansas, 1863Battle of White Sulphur Springs, 1863Battle of Bayou Meto, 1863Skirmish at Ashley's Mills, 1863Second Battle of Fort Sumter, 1863Second Battle of Sabine Pass, 1863Battle of Bayou Fourche, 1863Battle of Davis's Cross Roads, 1863Battle of Culpeper Court House, 1863Battle of Chickamauga, 1863Battle of Blountville, 1863Battle of Stirling's Plantation, 1863Battle of Fort Blair, 1863Battle of Blue Springs, 1863First Battle of Auburn, 1863Battle of Bulltown, 1863Battle of Bristoe Station, 1863Second Battle of Auburn, 1863Battle of Fort Brooke, 1863Battle of Buckland Mills, 1863Battle of Cherokee Station, 1863Battle of Pine Bluff, 1863Battle of Brown's Ferry, 1863Battle of Wauhatchie, 1863Battle of Brownsville, 1863Battle of Bayou Bourbeux, 1863Battle of Droop Mountain, 1863Battle of Rogersville, 1863Second Battle of Rappahannock Station, 1863Battle of Campbell's Station, 1863Battle of Mustang Island, 1863Siege of Knoxville, 1863Battle of Lookout Mountain, 1863Battle of Missionary Ridge, 1863Battle of Mine Run, 1863Battle of Ringgold Gap, 1863Battle of Fort Sanders, 1863Battle of Walker's Ford, 1863Battle of Legareville, 1863Battle of Mossy Creek, 1863Battle of Nashville, 1864Battle of Fisher's Hill, 1864Price’s Missouri Expedition, 1864Battle of Tupelo, 1864Battle of New Hope Church, 1864Battle of Chaffin's Farm, 1864First Battle of Deep Bottom, 1864First Battle of Fort Fisher, 1864Battle of Berryville, 1864Battle of Port Walthall Junction, 1864Battle of Cynthiana, 1864Battle of Prairie D'Ane, 1864Battle of Elkin's Ferry, 1864Battle of Old River Lake, 1864Battle of Plymouth, 1864Battle of Salyersville, 1864Capture of Plymouth, 1864Battle of Mount Sterling, 1864Siege of Fort Gaines, 1864Battle of Loudoun Heights, 1864Battle of Dandridge, 1864Battle of Athens, 1864Battle of Fair Garden, 1864Battle of New Bern, 1864Battle of Morton's Ford, 1864Battle of Olustee, 1864First Battle of Dalton, 1864Battle of Okolona, 1864Battle of Rio Hill, 1864Battle of Cedar Creek, 1864Battle of Walkerton, 1864Battle of Fort De Russy, 1864Battle of Laredo, 1864Battle of Paducah, 1864Battle of Mount Elba, 1864Skirmish at Terre Noire Creek, 1864Battle of Mansfield, 1864Battle of Pleasant Hill, 1864Battle of Fort Pillow, 1864Battle of Blair's Landing, 1864Battle of Poison Spring, 1864Battle of Monett's Ferry, 1864Battle of Marks' Mills, 1864Battle of Jenkins' Ferry, 1864Battle of the Wilderness, 1864Battle of Albemarle Sound, 1864Battle of Calcasieu Pass, 1864Battle of Todd's Tavern, 1864Battle of Cloyd's Mountain, 1864Battle of Swift Creek, 1864Battle of Chester Station, 1864Battle of Cove Mountain, 1864Ambush of the steamboat J. R. Williams, 1864Battle of Yellow Tavern, 1864Battle of Proctor's Creek, 1864Battle of Meadow Bridge, 1864Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, 1864Battle of Resaca, 1864Battle of New Market, 1864Battle of Mansura, 1864Battle of Adairsville, 1864Battle of Yellow Bayou, 1864Battle of Cassville, 1864Harris Farm Engagement, 1864Battle of Ware Bottom Church, 1864Battle of Wilson's Wharf, 1864Battle of North Anna, 1864Battle of Dallas, 1864Battle of Pickett's Mill, 1864Battle of Totopotomoy Creek, 1864Battle of Haw's Shop, 1864Battle of Old Church, 1864Battle of Cold Harbor, 1864Battle of Piedmont, 1864Siege of Petersburg, 1864First Battle of Petersburg, 1864Battle of Marietta, 1864Battle of Brice's Cross Roads, 1864Battle of Noonday Creek, 1864Battle of Trevilian Station, 1864Second Battle of Petersburg, 1864Battle of Gilgal Church, 1864Battle of Lynchburg, 1864Battle of Cherbourg, 1864Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road, 1864Battle of Kolb's Farm, 1864Battle of Saint Mary's Church, 1864Battle of Staunton River Bridge, 1864Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, 1864Battle of Sappony Church, 1864First Battle of Ream's Station, 1864Battle of Camden Point, 1864Heaton's Crossroads, 1864Battle of Cool Spring, 1864Battle of Peachtree Creek, 1864Battle of Rutherford's Farm, 1864Battle of Atlanta, 1864Second Battle of Kernstown, 1864Battle of Massard Prairie, 1864Battle of Ezra Church, 1864Battle of the Crater, 1864Battle of Brown's Mill, 1864Battle of Fort Smith, 1864Battle of Folck's Mill, 1864Skirmish at Lamb's Plantation, 1864Battle of Mobile Bay, 1864Battle of Utoy Creek, 1864Battle of Moorefield, 1864Siege of Fort Morgan, 1864Second Battle of Dalton, 1864Second Battle of Deep Bottom, 1864Battle of Guard Hill, 1864Battle of Gainesville, 1864Battle of Strasburg, 1864Battle of Globe Tavern, 1864Battle of Lovejoy's Station, 1864Second Battle of Memphis, 1864Battle of Summit Point, 1864Action at Ashley's Station, 1864Second Battle of Ream's Station, 1864Battle of Smithfield Crossing, 1864Battle of Jonesborough, 1864Battle of Opequon, 1864Battle of Fort Davidson, 1864Centralia Massacre, 1864Battle of Marianna, 1864Battle of Vernon, 1864Battle of Peebles' Farm, 1864Battle of Vaughan Road, 1864First Battle of Saltville, 1864Battle of Allatoona, 1864Battle of Darbytown and New Market Roads, 1864Battle of Tom's Brook, 1864Battle of Darbytown Road, 1864Battle of Cedar Creek, 1864Second Battle of Lexington, 1864St. Albans Raid, 1864Battle of Little Blue River, 1864Second Battle of Independence, 1864Battle of Byram's Ford, 1864Battle of Westport, 1864Battle of Marais des Cygnes, 1864Battle of Mine Creek, 1864Battle of Marmiton River, 1864Battle of Decatur, 1864Battle of Boydton Plank Road, 1864Battle of Fair Oaks & Darbytown Road, 1864Second Battle of Newtonia, 1864Battle of Ladiga, 1864Battle of Johnsonville, 1864Battle of Bull's Gap, 1864Battle of Kabletown, 1864Battle of Griswoldville, 1864Battle of Columbia, 1864Battle of Buck Head Creek, 1864Battle of Spring Hill, 1864Battle of Franklin, 1864Battle of Honey Hill, 1864Battle of Waynesboro, Georgia, 1864Third Battle of Murfreesboro, 1864Battle of Tulifinny, 1864Siege of Savannah, 1864Second Battle of Fort McAllister, 1864Battle of Marion, 1864Battle of Altamaha Bridge, 1864Second Battle of Saltville, 1864Battle of Anthony's Hill, 1864Battle of Bentonville, 1865Battle of Palmito Ranch, 1865Battle of Fort Blakeley, 1865Wilson's Raid, 1865Battle of Wilmington, 1865Second Battle of Fort Fisher, 1865Battle of Trent's Reach, 1865Battle of Morrisville, 1865Battle of Rivers' Bridge, 1865Battle of Hatcher's Run, 1865Battle of James Island, 1865Battle of Aiken, 1865Battle of Congaree Creek, 1865Battle of Fort Myers, 1865Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia, 1865Battle of Natural Bridge, 1865Battle of Wyse Fork, 1865Battle of Monroe's Crossroads, 1865Battle of Averasborough, 1865Battle of Fort Stedman, 1865Battle of Spanish Fort, 1865Battle of Lewis's Farm, 1865Battle of Dinwiddie Court House, 1865Battle of White Oak Road, 1865Battle of Five Forks, 1865Battle of Ebenezer Church, 1865Third Battle of Petersburg, 1865Battle of Selma, 1865Battle of Sutherland's Station, 1865Skirmish at Hickory Station, 1865Battle of Namozine Church, 1865Battle of Amelia Springs, 1865Battle of Sailor's Creek, 1865Battle of High Bridge, 1865Battle of Rice's Station, 1865Battle of Cumberland Church, 1865Battle of Appomattox Station, 1865Battle of Appomattox Court House, 1865Battle of Dingle's Mill, 1865Battle of West Point, 1865Battle of Columbus, 1865Battle of Munford, 1865Battle of Anderson, 186518611865Battle of Fort Sumter, 1861
527 placed engagements of the American Civil War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1861 (year precision)
to 14 April 1861
PlaceFort Sumter, South Carolina, United States
32.752N, 79.875W
KindBattle, nineteenth century
Strength85500–6,000 (estimated)
Casualties and losses00
Commanders
  • Robert Anderson (Union officer)
Battle of Fort SumterBattle of Fort SumterSecond Battle of Fort SumterSecond Battle of Charleston HarborFirst Battle of Charleston HarborBattle of Sullivan's IslandSecond Battle of Fort WagnerSecond Battle of Fort WagnerCharleston50 km32.752N, 79.875W
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. The dashed outline is the battlefield study area mapped by the NPS American Battlefield Protection Program. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Fort Sumter
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 5 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Fort Sumter today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-10-14. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 4 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -4 to 20 m, 25 m of relief, flat country and today it is 73% water, 20% wetland, 4% tree cover.

water: 73%wetland: 20%tree cover: 4%water 73%wetland 20%tree cover 4%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 9 mnorth to south, 10.0 km-1 to 13 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 9 times between 1776 and 1863.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1861

The National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program maps this as the Fort Wagner battlefield (site SC005): a study area of 21,059 acres, with a core area of 3,087 acres where the fighting was concentrated; 7,382 acres retain enough integrity to be potentially eligible for the National Register.

Battle of Fort Sumter is one of 3,507 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 1,148 in present-day United States (58 in South Carolina).

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q543165, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Fort Sumter, revision 1383086115, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Battlefield boundary and area from the National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program (public domain). Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.