The beginning of the Civil War was marked by the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861.

This event occurred after several Southern states had seceded from the Union following the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. The Confederacy, seeking to assert its independence, fired upon the Union-held fort located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The assault prompted President Lincoln to call for troops to suppress the rebellion, effectively igniting the conflict. The attack on Fort Sumter symbolizes the irreparable divide between North and South, leading to four years of war.