Question

Some historians date the start of the Civil War to April 1861 when _______.

• A. John Brown led a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry
• B. South Carolina seceded from the United States
• C. Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, South Carolina
• D. President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation
• E. Union troops laid siege to Richmond, Virginia

Answer 1

The correct option is C Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, South Carolina

The official start of the war was the attack on Fort Sumter. Confederate troops then occupied Fort Sumter for nearly four years, resisting several bombardments by Union forces before abandoning the garrison prior to William T. Sherman’s capture of Charleston in February 1865. After the Civil War, Fort Sumter was restored by the U.S. military and manned during the Spanish-American War.