Message #230185

[Ashley Washington]

Fort Sumter, 1864

Image Courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

As this Confederate officer’s drawing starkly records, Fort Sumter appeared to be little more than a ruin by 1864. Despite this devastation, there were still operational gun positions on the lowermost tier and reinforced bombproof shelters that protected men and munitions.

The Southern soldiers who garrisoned this desolate outpost suffered from the elements, depravation, and enemy fire, but the Confederates refused to give Fort Sumter up until after the fall of Charleston in February 1865.

(Related: "Civil War at 150: Expect Subdued Salutes, Rising Voices.")

Updated April 12, 2011