A Visitor’s Guide to Fort Sumter
- Friends of Charleston National Parks
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
First time visitors to Fort Sumter are mystified by two things. The first is the height of the walls that do not reflect the once three-story structure where the opening battle of the Civil War occurred. The second is an imposing black concrete battery that spans the center of the parade ground. More thoughtful visitors may look at the 1860 rendering of the fort and become thoroughly confused by the location of the sallyport. These and other changes reflect both the destruction wrought by the Civil War and modifications necessitated by advances in military technology after the war. We hope that by outlining the changes made both in the years after the Civil War and during the years that the fort was an active military base, a visit to the fort will be more informative. For orientation, the irregular pentagonal structure consists of a rear or gorge wall, an east facing or right flank wall, a northeast facing wall that is directed toward Fort Moultrie known as the right face, a northwest facing or left face wall and the west facing wall known as the left flank. The center of the pentagon was open as originally designed and known as the parade ground. Remnants of the officer quarters and the ground floor of the southwest powder magazine can be viewed on the exposed portion of the gorge wall. The footprint of the western soldier’s barracks which had kitchens on the ground floor of either ends and the landings of the barracks stair towers can be seen. Stair towers once stood in each of the angle of the pentagon and the curving walls of the lower levels can still be seen in three of the angles.
Remarkably, three of the five original cisterns, one in the middle of each wall, can be recognized by the large granite plates that form the lids of the cylindrical water tanks. The carefully fitted blue stone flooring in the left and right gun rooms or casemates can also be traced to prewar construction.
Within a decade of the end of the Civil War, US Army engineers developed plans to rearm the largely destroyed fort and reduce its walls to a near uniform height. The intensive bombardment of the fort during the war had left some parts of the fort at full height and nearly destroyed others. The original concept of Fort Sumter coordinating artillery fire with Fort Moultrie was redeveloped by repairing the gun rooms, known as casemates, directed towards Fort Moultrie, reinforcing the tops of the casemate vaults, enclosing the parade ground facing openings with curved brick retaining walls, installing Civil War Parrott guns and burying the casemates in earth. Access from the parade ground was provided by a network of tunnels. It was during this same period that the badly damaged sallyport (main entrance or main gate) in the gorge and a Confederate sallyport on the left shoulder angle were abandoned and a new sallyport created in the left flank by remodeling the center casemate on that wall. The concrete coping along the cut down walls of the left flank was cast on-site and used to cap the reduced wall. The coping remains to this day and is some of the earliest Portland Cement concrete in the United States.
The engineers also reinforced the vaults on the left flank and closed the rear opening with retaining walls to create living spaces on either side of the new sallyport. Fireplaces were incorporated in several of the rear walls to provide heating for the enclosed casemates. Once the casemates were reinforced and enclosed, earth was piled on top of the left flank and two gun platforms were constructed to mount the two 15-inch smoothbore Rodman cannons which can be seen today on the parade ground. Any portion of the left face casemates remaining were torn down and the old casemates filled with earth.
The next major change occurred in 1895 when one of the left flank casemates was encased in concrete to establish a bombproof mining casemate. Equipment needed for firing mines laid in the harbor, including a generator and switchboards was installed. However, within a year it was determined that the waterproofing of the casemate was inadequate and the entire operation was relocated to Fort Moultrie. The encased casemate is used today for storage of National Park Service equipment.
Advancements in steel production made cast iron cannons obsolete and led to the development of the Model 1895 12-inch coastal defense gun. The era of the brick-and-mortar forts like Fort Sumter had come to an end after almost 70 years. Secretary of War William C. Endicott ordered new steel reinforced concrete batteries for mounting the large coast defense guns, replacing obsolete brick or stone fortifications. In 1898 work began at Fort Sumter on one of these new batteries designed to mount two 12-inch rifled cannons. The massive structure, named Battery Isaac Huger in honor of Revolutionary War general Isaac Huger, was constructed on a gridwork of steel laid upon sand approximately 4 four feet above the Civil War level of the parade. It was completed in 1899. Part of the effort to protect the new Endicott battery was to raise the right flank wall from 14 to 20 feet. Even this increase was not adequate to prevent storm driven waves from over topping the wall and undermining the fill. This necessitated construction of a concrete apron that can be seen today spanning the width of the right flank. Also, a new quartermaster’s wharf was built extending from the northeast corner to deep water. The fill over the right face casemates was leveled forming a roadway for trucks to move the 1000 lb. artillery shells from the dock to the magazines accessed from the west. This wharf served to supply the battery until 1921 when a new wharf was constructed extending from the left face to deep water. The footings of the piers for these wharves can be seen at low tide.
Initially, the entire area behind Battery Huger was filled with earth and crew quarters constructed on top. Better ventilation was needed for the center of Battery Huger, so the middle area was excavated and the retaining walls adjacent to the battery were cut down. The sloping cuts can still be seen today.
During the 1920s, the area outside the new sallyport was improved. Two Civil War 13-inch mortars were mounted on the concrete decking and a Civil War era rifled and banded 42-pounder cannon was mounted on a granite block for decorative purposes. Iron stains in the concrete and the granite mount can still be seen today. The 42-pounder rifled and banded cannon has been mounted on a reproduction gun carriage and placed in the casemate to the left as entering the fort. It provides an interesting contrast to the original smoothbore 42-pounder cannon in the casemate to the right of the entrance. The incorporation of rifled grooves in the barrel and the increase in weight of the elongated projectile, necessitated reinforcing the breech of the cannon with wrought iron bands, hence the terminology rifled and banded.
During World War II, the fort was garrisoned with new accommodations constructed on piers behind the gorge and left flank. The left flank casemate floors were paved with concrete to provide a social area for the garrison. Religious services were also held in the casemates during the war.
Beginning in 1858, Fort Sumter light stations played a role in harbor navigation. Numerous modifications were made both during and after the Civil War. Very little remains of these structures.
Three monuments at Fort Sumter predate its incorporation into the National Park Service and can be seen today. These include the 1931 Anderson Flag Memorial in front of Battery Huger, the 1931 Confederate Defenders Memorial to the left of the sallyport entrance, and the 1932 Garrison Tablet on the fort’s parade. Only the Confederate Monument remains in its original location.
In preparation for the Civil War Centennial and to improve the visitor experience, a number of changes were made in 1959-60. The Park Service sought to excavate as much of the Civil War era fort as possible and repurpose Battery Huger. The Anderson Flag Memorial, originally located on top of the left face, was moved to its present location to allow the left face to be uncovered. The Garrison Tablet, dedicated in 1932 and installed outside of the western portion of the gorge, was relocated to its present location in 1960.
Another structural change associated with Battery Huger was the addition of a new retaining wall roughly 5 feet tall and spanning the width of the battery.
Stairs have been cut to access the upper levels. This wall was constructed in 1960 when the Park Service realized Battery Huger’s foundation had been built above the Civil War level on loose sand. Sand began to shift from beneath the battery when the parade was being excavated for the Civil War Centennial. The retaining wall was added to prevent undermining the structure.
The environment within the fort has remained largely unchanged since the 1960s. The fill area outside the fort, including rip-rap surrounding the site and the wharf accessing the fort, have undergone significant improvements during the Park Service’s stewardship.
If you would like to learn more about the changes made to Fort Sumter over its lifetime please see the references below.
Joseph K. Oppermann Architect, P.A.. 2015. Fort Sumter Historic Structure Report. Historic Structure Report. Winston Salem, NC
The Friends of the Charleston National Parks endeavors to present informative and accurate materials for our readers. The subjects we cover are open to various interpretations and we invite readers to share their concerns about the material presented here. Please email us at Info@FCNP.org if you believe we have not correctly or accurately interpreted the historical record.
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