Fort Sumter South Carolina - April 12-14, 1861

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The Battle of Fort Sumter Scientist Page The weather during the battle at Fort Sumter was pretty much the same as it is today. Today at Fort Sumter, the average temperature in April is about 65 degrees Fahrenheit. In 1861, the average temperature in April was probably around 63 degrees Fahrenheit. Since they never fought battles in the rain, the weather was mostly cloudy with some sun during the battle at Fort Sumter. There wasn't much movement at Fort Sumter. The Union was stuck on Fort Sumter and couldn't go anywhere. The Confederates were firing from Sullivan's Island and Cummings Point. They surrounded the fort and no Union ships could pass through the firing cannons. A Union ship with food and ammunition was called to go to Fort Sumter but it had to turn around because the Confederates wouldn't let it get to the fort. This lack of food and ammunition supply is what led the Union to surrender on April 13,1861. In this topographic map, the red indicates the Confederate cannons firing on Fort Sumter. The blue indicates the Union ship that had food and ammunition supplies. Heavy artillery projectiles were used throughout the Civil War by the Union and the Confederates. If a projectile was over 20 pounds, it was classified as heavy, or foot, artillery. At Fort Sumter, Captain Doubleday fired the first heavy artillery projectile, a 32 pounder. Most projectiles had grooves so that it had some guidance and the grooves kept it steady while it was being fired. Heavy artillery was usually used by the seacoast, used as protection (defense), or to attack. there are different types of heavy artillery projectiles but I'm only going to talk about a few. The 'hot shots' were fired by the Confederates. A 'hot shot' is a heated solid cannonball that sets fires to its targets. These red-hot balls were made to set fires to wooden ships and buildings. The process of heating the cannonballs took a very long time because of their mass. They were heated in huge furnaces that could hold up to 60 cannons. 'Hot shots' were used to burn the officers' buildings at Fort Sumter. Musket balls made of lead or iron that is put into one shell, is called a case shot. It is made to blow up over the target and all of the musket balls would fall on top of the target. The most accurate projectile of the Civil War were the solid shot cannonballs (a.k.a. Bolts). These were very accurate because of the grooves that it had. Most solid shot cannonballs looked like ammunition for a rifle, just much larger.

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