> Which was the first battle of the American Civil War?And the answer: Battle of Fort Sumter. Photo credit: public domain.The attack on Fort Sumter on the morning of April12th 1861, marked the official beginning of the American Civil War, which lastedfor four years and caused the deaths of over 620,000 Americans.Back in 1812, the United States was drawn into the war between Britain andFrance. When the war ended in 1815, the United States had learned of their needto modernize and fortify their defenses on the vulnerable eastern coastline. Assuch, Americans began to build many strategically placed costal sea forts,called the Third System Forts. One of these forts was called Fort Sumter, builtto guard Charleston Harbor in South Carolina. Although construction began in1829, it was not completed by the time South Carolina seceded from the union in1860, due to a lack of funds. With the creation of the Confederate States of America in February of 1861, theUnion garrison at Fort Sumter suddenly found itself inside hostile territory.The 85 soldiers didn't possess enough manpower to operate all of theirartillery, and began to experience pressure from surrounding Confederatesoldiers to abandon the fort. When President Lincoln took office in March of1861, vowing to keep the fort supplied, Confederate hostility only grew. InApril 1861, hostilities finally came to a head. The situation for the fort had become critical, as the soldiers realized theywould run out of food by the 15th of April. An earlier attempt to resupply thefort in January had failed, having been driven off by gunfire from the localcadets of the Military College of South Carolina. So, on April 12, 1861,Confederate soldiers acted to begin firing on Fort Sumter, effectively markingthe start of the Civil War. By the following morning, the Union soldierssurrendered, and no casualties were taken. Learn more about this important battle below.