Although Fort Sumter was where the Civil War began, it ended in Appomattox, Virginia. However, the city of Richmond, Virginia, was to serve as the capital of the Confederacy. The Confederates had a demise, similar to most southern cities. As you can see, the cannon balls are stacked ever so neatly. They mean business.
In addition, you can see the cannon balls sitting on the ground after being hurdled through the air. You can imagine the catastrophic destruction that was caused by these balls of hot metal being lunged through the air. We’ll revisit Richmond again at the end of the article to show you what was left of this land.
A 200 Pound Gun
This gun is something you won’t see again, but at the time, you could find it guarding Fort Wagner in Charleston Harbor. You may think that because of the size, only one would be necessary. However, there were 13 more in the surrounding area, exactly like it. Fort Wagner was full of tired and hungry black soldiers who went to war on the evening of July 18, 1863. The Union Navy did its best to reduce the defenses but had very little success.
The constant shelling from the Union ships had forced the Confederate soldiers to evacuate. While the 54th Regiment suffered a heavy loss at Fort Wagner, it was still considered a success. This opened the doors wide open for numerous black soldiers in the Union Army for the remainder of the war.
The First Bombardment Was Intense
Fort Sumter is located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. It is most famous for being the location where the first shots were fired on April 12, 1861. After 34 hours of intense battling, the Union surrendered the fort on April 13th. The photo below gives you a perfect image to show the aftermath of this battle.
After President Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated, he got the news that Fort Sumter was low on supplies. Shortly after, he announced that he was sending over three unarmed ships to relieve Fort Sumter. This was not something the South was a fan of since the fort was in their harbor. Fortunately, no one was killed during the bombardment, but Fort Sumter ultimately surrendered.
A Fist Fight Stopped a Gun Fight
The picture below shows the positions that were held around Fredericksburg, Virginia. This area was the gateway to Richmond. This was an extremely bloody engagement between Union forces and the Confederate Army. The outcome was a crushing Union defeat, which strengthened the Confederate cause. However, something peculiar happened at the Battle of the Wilderness. During the battle, there was a Union soldier who had taken cover in a gully.
Only to find that there was already a Confederate soldier in it. Strangely, the two began to argue about who should surrender. It escalated to the point where the two began to fistfight. Reports stated that the battle in its entirety stopped until the two of them stopped fighting. The Confederate soldier had won the fight by belting the Union soldier. It was then that the Union soldier had agreed that he should surrender.
This Has To Be A Joke
This photo shows all that is remaining of the Confederate ironclad ram Albemarle. Named after Albemarle Sound, where she was built in 1863 and where she would terrorize Union ships for months. Although many bullets hit the ship, it managed to sink two ships at the cost of one man who opened a hatch to watch the battle. It was the last thing he saw. The Albemarle was a strong ship, but it wasn’t strong enough to sink the Union ship Miami.
However, it was the ending for the Captain of the ship, Captain Fusser. Because there were cannon balls bouncing off the Albemarle's iron hull, he had ordered his crew to light a ten-second fuse. This was, unfortunately, the last order he would give. One of the shells bounced off the Albemarle and landed at Captain Fusser’s feet seconds before it exploded. He didn’t have a chance at finding cover.