The first shots of the American Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter, located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The Confederate artillery opened fire on the Union-held Fort Sumter early in the morning on April 12, 1861, marking the beginning of the war. The initial signal shot was fired at 4:30 a.m. by Lt. Henry S. Farley from Fort Johnson, followed by a general bombardment from multiple Confederate batteries around the harbor. The Union garrison at Fort Sumter eventually surrendered after about 34 hours of bombardment.
