pagesofhistory 150 Years Later
Civil War battlefields are holding ceremonies and events to mark the sesquicentennial of the attack on the Union-held Fort Sumter, S.C., by Confederate forces, which started the war.
O
n April 12, 1861, Confederate forces under the command of Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard fired at the
Union-held Fort Sumter in South Carolina’s Charleston Harbor, marking the beginning of the U.S. Civil War. Maj. Robert Anderson surrendered the fort, which was poorly supplied, 34 hours later. Two days after the initial attack, Presi-
dent Lincoln issued a proclamation call- ing for 75,000 volunteer servicemembers to quell the Southern insurrection. Over the next four years of battle, more than 620,000 men would die in the war, the president would be assassinated, and slavery would be abolished. A number of states are offering events, including special exhibits, lectures, and plays, to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Working with various communities, the National Park Service is organizing a full schedule of events over the next four years at its Civil War- related parks. In April, Fort Sumter will mark the his-
toric day with a ceremonial blank mortar round fired over the fort, as well as a lec- ture series and reenactors. Antietam Na- tional Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Md., will offer hikes through the battlefield as well as a speaker series. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia will hold an event about the burning of the federal arsenal. In July, a ceremony featuring a roster of historians at Manassas National Battlefield Park in Virginia will mark the
first big battle of the war. In Washington, D.C., in September, volunteers will gather with candles to represent the forts that were constructed to protect the Washington Monument.
F
Remembering an American Hero rank Buckles, the last living American World War I veteran, died at
his Charles Town,
W.Va., home Feb. 27 at the age of 110. At the age of 16, Buckles
first tried to enlist in the Ma- rine Corps but was turned away because of his small frame and his age. Then the Navy cited Buckles’ flat- footedness as the reason why it wouldn’t let him enlist. On Aug. 14, 1917, Buckles finally was accepted into the Army after falsely telling his recruiter he didn’t have a birth certificate to verify that he was 18 because his family kept birth records in a Bible. For his service in World War I, Buckles
received the World War I Victory and the Army of Occupation of Germany medals and qualified for four Overseas Service Bars. For audio, video, and pictorial informa- tion about Buckles’ military career, visit the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project website,
www.loc.gov/vet, click on Search the Veterans Collection, and search for Frank Buckles.
MO
*online: Visit
www.nps.gov/civilwar for a state-by-state list of events. PHOTO: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
History Lesson On April 9, 1865, Con- federate Gen. Robert E. Lee ended the Civil War by surrendering at Ap- pomattox, Va., to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. “The war is over,” Grant said. “The Rebels are our countrymen again.”
This 1865 photo shows the extensive damage Confeder- ate troops caused in their 1861 siege of Union-held Fort Sumter, S.C.
APRIL 2011 MILITARY OFFICER 73
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