Fort Sumter National Monument

Fort Sumter, visible across the harbor from Waterfront Park and the Battery, is the famous site of the first shots of the Civil War. Sumter was taken by the Confederate Army in April 1861, and became a Southern stronghold for most of the Civil War, even towards the end of the conflict. Fort Sumter is only accessible by water: daily ferries run informative shuttle trips back and forth, leaving from the Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center at Liberty Square and Patriots Point, year round. Nearby Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan's Island, is also worth a visit for its historial value and involvement in the Civil War. The Visitor Education Center, with extensive historical information on both forts, is located at Liberty Square, on Concord Street in downtown Charleston.