The very first shots of the American Civil War were fired on Friday, April 12, 1861 when the guns of several fortifications along the perimeter of the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina opened fire. Their target: Fort Sumter. The Federal installation (above) is still there, preserved for all to visit and see.
Just a few days later, President Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 militia to be provided by the Northern states of the Union to put down the rebellion. Subsequently, four more states secede from the United States to join the Confederate States of America, led by Virginia on April 17th.
On Sunday morning, April 6, 1862, the Confederate Army of Mississippi, led by General Albert Sidney Johnston, stormed across the landscape near a small, rural meetinghouse called Shiloh Church in Tennessee. Fighting raged for two days and resulted in nearly 24,000 casualties combined. One was General Johnston, the highest ranking office to be killed in combat during the entire war.
In the southern capital of Richmond, Virginia, more than 5,000 citizens, mostly destitute women, began to riot on Thursday, April 2, 1863 because of the lack of bread. Shortages, inflation and supply chain challenges led the mob to smash store windows and break into shops. President Jefferson Davis pleaded for order and threw money from his pockets before the militia could restore order.
A Federal garrison manning Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River was attacked on Tuesday, April 12, 1864 by Confederate cavalry led by Nathan Bedford Forrest. Outnumbered 3 to 1, the Union troops quickly surrendered. But in the ensuing chaos, reports surfaced that many soldiers in blue – including hundreds of Negro troops – were killed anyways. It didn't seem the hell of war could get any worse. Until it did.
On Sunday, April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. The fighting was effectively over. Five days later, President Lincoln and his wife attended Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. when he was assassinated by actor John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln died at 7:22 a.m. on April 15th.
In 1964, author Irene Hunt wrote a young adult novel that won a Newbery Honor called Across Five Aprils. Don't miss the significance of the title, as the American Civil War began and ended during the month of April. A month to remember.