Editing Fort Sumter (section)

===The building of Fort Sumter===

Named after [[Continental Army]] officer [[Thomas Sumter]], Fort Sumter was ordered in response to the [[War of 1812]], which had exposed the inadequacy of existing American coastal fortifications to defend against naval attacks. It was built near [[Charleston, South Carolina]], as part of the [[Seacoast defense in the United States|third system of U.S. fortifications]] to protect American harbors from a naval invasion. Constructed on an artificial island in the middle of the channel that provides Charleston with natural shelter, Fort Sumter was intended to dominate the harbor, reinforcing the protection provided by the shore [[Artillery battery|artillery batteries]] at [[Fort Moultrie]], [[Fort Wagner]], and [[Fort Gregg (Charleston)|Fort Gregg]].

The artificial island was originally a [[sand bar]]. In 1827, a group of engineers carried out [[depth sounding]] and concluded that it was a suitable location for a fort. Construction began in 1829.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nps.gov/fosu/parkmgmt/upload/FOSU_GMP_1998.pdf | title=Fort Sumter National Monument – Draft General Management Plan Environmental Assessment | year=1998 | publisher=National Park Service | page=10 | access-date=July 30, 2015 }}</ref> Seventy thousand tons of granite were transported from [[New England]] to build up the artificial island. By 1834, a timber foundation that was several feet beneath the water had been laid. However, the decision was made to build a (stronger) brick fort.

The brick fort is five-sided, {{convert|170|to|190|ft|m|0}} long, with walls {{convert|spell=in|5|feet|m}} thick, standing {{convert|50|feet|m|1}} over the low tide mark. Although never completed, it was designed to house 650 men and 135 guns in three tiers of gun emplacements.

Construction dragged out because of [[Title (property)|title]] problems, then problems with funding such a large and technically challenging project. Unpleasant weather and disease made the situation worse. The exterior was eventually finished, but the interior and armaments were never completed.<ref>{{cite web
|date=December 11, 2019
|orig-date=November 9, 2009
|publisher=[[A&E Television Networks]] ([[History Channel]])
|title=Fort Sumter
|url=https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/fort-sumter
|access-date=December 20, 2020}}</ref><ref name=Dezter>{{Cite book
|title=Allegiance: Fort Sumter, Charleston, and the Beginning of the Civil War
|last=Dezter
|first=David
|publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]]
|year=2001
|isbn=978-0-15-600741-2}}</ref>{{rp|104–105}}
[[File:Fort Sumter - 1861.jpg|thumb|right|175px|Fort Sumter was photographed in 1861 when it was still intact.]]