Where the Civil War Began | Fort Sumter

[@bennoe5715]

This park ranger is awesome. Conveys history in such an engaging way.

[@bo0tsy1]

He's badass. Very Informed.

[@eliasdeleone7059]

I'd like to add, the host is excellent as well. The little fact about the British ship running aground the sandbar during the revolution was so sick!

[@quentinquentin6752]

Sick? Why sick?

[@earlt.7573]

@@quentinquentin6752 "Sick" is slang for cool, awesome, neat

[@bigstyx]

When you go on the tour, they spend the whole time talking about the evils of white people. Nothing about the history that you’re hearing from this guy. I’ve been on it I know for a fact. These employees need to be fired.

[@JMCAragorn]

I don't feel so old now 😅

[@shable1436]

​@@JMCAragorn it's American teenage slang from about 2000s

[@woodsy9682]

Charleston is full of history. l love going there

[@NickP16]

What an awesome, and knowledgeable park ranger! Great video guys

[@Jess-bs2jw]

This ranger is outstanding. Thank you

[@billisley8863]

No city in America like Charleston. Amazing video!

[@ocrow8079]

Been wanting to check out Fort Sumter since the Sesquicentennial. Big thanks to Chris and the team at American Battlefield Trust for getting me out there sooner than later!

[@bigsarge2085]

Been to Ft. Sumter, definitely worth the trip.

[@JosephShaffer-o1o]

I’m from Charleston myself and I love the history at the Fort . Born there to in SC . 😊

[@fokkerd3red618]

Excellent presentation by the Park Ranger host. He really knows the history about this Fort and other facts involving the Civil War. Thank you so much for sharing.

[@southernman5839]

I went there in the late 90’s . Charleston is beautiful and I visited the fort Sumter.

[@RRM13]

I'm an ACW buff from Brazil and visited FS in 2015. Enjoyed the experience 💪👊.

[@billkea7224]

Are you descended from the southerners that immigrated to Brazil after the war?

[@RRM13]

@billkea7224 No. I am just a "regular Brazilian" who attended an American school down here.

[@GeorgeHarbinson]

A great presentation. Outstanding gentlemen!

[@jbeusmc]

One of my great, great, great grandfathers was a South Carolinian and was in one of the batteries that fired on Fort Sumter. Really fascinating stuff.

[@peterschief9778]

Excellent work BT. Thanx from an Ausie civil war buff.

[@sweeeetteeeeth]

i love that dude on the boat in the background, learning, listening in on what the two of you are saying

[@shable1436]

He is slick

[@Benno101able]

Great video great historical insights !! well done

[@Cully4x4]

Extremely well done! A real delight to hear from this Park Ranger with just a wealth of information! Congratulations to all involved in this episode.

[@ATT-02]

What a knowledgeable man and a great story teller! Thanks for bringing us along for the awesome education. 🤗👏👏

[@usmc-veteran73-77]

I see that Swampy area. Memories of the swamps of Parris Island back in 5 Oct 73 - 28 Dec 73, when I was in boot camp. Platoon 395, India Co, 3rd RTB.

[@usmc-veteran73-77]

@GatorTTailAllain I hear ya Devil Dog, 3rd Battalion ! ! ! Long live the Legend of Chesty Puller. Semper Fi

[@K_Type]

Semper Fi , I was there 2001 in platoon 2001

[@usmc-veteran73-77]

@K_Type that's cool Plt 2001 in 2001. Where did you do boot camp?

[@shable1436]

Sand fleas and escorts is something SC has abundance of😂

[@usmc-veteran73-77]

@shable1436 my close friend went to boot camp at Parris Island June to August 1973. He said the sand fleas ate them up bad after PT and laying in the sand.

[@brucelytle1144]

I lived in Charleston from '71-76, while in the Navy. Got married on Sullivan's Island, lived on James Island and my son was born there. Very interesting history there. I have very fond memories of living there.

[@Ole_CornPop]

You'd hate having to live on James island now, traffic is absolutely atrocious.

[@ericoberlies7537]

Fort Point, at the entrance of San Francisco Bay, is one of Sumter’s sister forts. It was designed according to the same plans as Sumter, it’s mission to protect gold. It’s worth a visit. It sits directly below the SF end of the Golden Gate Bridge.

[@terryeustice5399]

Chris was a great video. Love all the history and your guide. Learned a lot. I did not know. Thank you for sharing! 💯👍

[@cassieTibbs20215]

This was Amazing!!! I’m a huge fan of civil war history, but I learned so much.!!!! Both did great. Great questions and great explanations!!!

[@greenwave819]

This guy knows his stuff!!

[@WilliamSimpson-qn5tq]

This is great. The park ranger is awesome!! Guy needs a raise and a promotion. Great job! Love this video. So informative and engaging

[@traviswebb3532]

Amazing video. I went there in September 2013, it was so much fun and I learned a lot there. Just being able to walk in the areas where the soldiers were is just so interesting.

[@UpandUp97]

I don't comment on videos to often but wanted to here just because of Gary, my friend and I had the honor of visiting Fort Sumter but also getting the chance to speak with Gary while we were there. He is super nice (putting up with our barrage of questions) and very knowledgeable. If you ever get the chance to visit Fort Sumter and you see Him walking around 100% go up and have a chat.

[@bbs1221]

Gosh I’m such a history nerd … I loved every bit of this video. Shoutout to the park ranger, he was very knowledgeable and I enjoyed listening to anything he had to say. Double thumbs up 👍🏻👍🏻

[@fredjasper7378]

Just another great video as always! Love your work guys!

[@mjciavola]

I loved visiting there. My only complaint was the short time that they allowed us to stay before having to get back on the boat!

[@echohunter4199]

Great Park Ranger! Well done sir!

[@chipps1066]

What a great enlightening video with a most knowledgeable park ranger!

[@jleechadwick]

I moved from the Charleston area in 1991, and I miss it a lot. Thanks for the videos. I remember visiting Ft. Sumter with the rest of the family, as well as Ft. Moultrie (my favorite fort). Charleston has so much history.

[@frankyfraaank]

Canadian here who loves your civil war tours!!

[@ImmortalWombat]

Just a week ago I found this channel looking for modern footage of fort Sumter and fort Monroe. Great to see this manifest lol.

[@Joel-in-Las-Vegas]

Well produced video, great sound, editing & history. Well done.

[@indycarcomplainer2304]

Great stuff! I learned a lot from this video. NPS park ranger interpreters are the best!

[@Alex-kv9un]

If this guy says those cannon's were not in range I believe him. What an excellent Ranger.

[@bigstyx]

Why does it say that they had cannons that could shoot 4 1/2 miles but they couldn’t shoot from battery park which is 2 1/2 miles or castle Pickney, which is 2 miles. Fort Moultrie was a US Army fort that was abandoned to the confederates they used federal guns to shoot at the fort. In fact, all the guns that were used fire upon Fort Sumner were made by the federal government. I live in the area by the way.

[@shable1436]

​@@bigstyxmaybe they had different type cannons there

[@TheCrunchbite]

@@bigstyxuntil Lincoln sent a warship into another country’s waters to illegally man a fort

[@MrSir-ps1lb]

Gary is a great ranger, my reenacting unit has worked with him a ton. Great guy!

[@NDB469]

Very cool place to visit. Went a few years ago and thought it was an interesting experience.

[@bottomlesspit7]

Yes!!!!!!!! Fort Sumter!!!!!!

[@jankovarik9714]

We got a LOT of history about the initial bombardment of Ft. Sumter while on tour during the Donor Thank You weekend. GREAT STUFF!

[@wildcolonialman]

Fabulous fabulous fabulous.

[@MorganOtt-ne1qj]

Visited Ft. Sumter in 2001. It was updated after the war with a Huger big gun, and some other things. The battle scars remain from the 1860's, and our tour guide was just as good as the gentleman that appeared here.

[@HistoryBoy-ui5nb]

My 4xgreat-grandfather brother on my mother side was in the 17th SCV, Company H. From August 1863 to April 1864, he and his regiment were stationed in and around Charleston. According to the book “A Rising Star of Promise” which is a diary of Lieutenant David J. Logan of 17th SCV, Company F, Lieutenant David J. Logan mentioned that some regiments were stationed at Fort Sumter during this time period, but not mentioned which ones. Does the National Park Service at Fort Sumter have a detailed list of all the Confederate units that served at Fort Sumter during the war? I was wondering if the 17th SCV, Company H at one point was stationed there. In an interesting note, the commander of Fort Sumter from August 1863 to April 1864, was Colonial Stephen Elliott Jr. The 17th SCV would join Colonial Stephen Elliott Jr in the Battle of the Crater, July 30, 1864 at Petersburg, Virginia. My 4xgreat-grandfather brother on my mother side died in that battle and Colonial Stephen Elliott Jr. would die from his wounds from the battle about a year after the war.

[@ae1586]

There were numerous SC regiments that served at the coast, many were rotated through. I have ancestors from the 1st SC (Orrs rifles) and the 14th Sc that fought at poctaglio and at secessionville (1st battle of James island) under Nathan shanks Evans / during that battle 2000 confederates defeated a union force of 6600 and repelled multiple bayonet charges June 16th 1862

[@simonkevnorris]

That was an interesting and informative video. Thanks.

[@steelpaine9932]

Great presentation! I'm a huge history buff, visited Charleston last year, but not Fort Sumter. Been to Gettysburg twice, and plan to go again and all other CW battlefields.

[@drpeterc12]

The park ranger is a model of presentation and use of language describing a series of difficult conflicts. Great video.

[@Baggy12]

I live in Charleston, fort sumter is a great place to go!

[@cw7422]

My dad was in the Navy. I was born in Charleston. Didn’t come back until I was a senior in high school. Left 2 years later when I joined the Navy. I’ve never been to Ft Sumpter.

[@EgoFiveFiveSix]

i learned a lot...and i've been there a few times. great interview.

[@CAPNGRIZZ]

So fascinating! Thanks for posting this video.

[@dawn2sing]

I’m not sure if you would do a documentary on Fort Monroe in Hampton VA? It is where Jefferson Davis was imprisoned after the Civil War

[@toddlucas1550]

My grandfather 4 was William Maxey. He was station at Fort Sumpter nearly the entire time during the war.

[@markleach116]

Another excellent video!!!! Thank you!!

[@montemiller3447]

Outstanding tour!!

[@nicholasflorida1994]

This Park Ranger is an absolute treasure, everything that it means to be a national park ranger. He should be extremely proud of himself and all that he does and knows.

[@jaymudd2817]

1861,Fort Sumpter. 1945, FDR died. 1961, Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. 1981, First Space Shuttle launch. A lot of history packed in the calendar date of 12 April.

[@TractorsNStuff]

Penn Jillette is awesome! I didn't know he moonlighted as a park ranger at Fort Sumpter! 🤣

[@nickroberts-xf7oq]

Penn is actually a FOOL ! 📖

[@whitehousehistories]

Thank you 🙏 for sharing this video.

[@allangillis9159]

This is great! thank you!

[@nathanfisher1826]

Thank you 😊

[@JoeM-TS2-OCSO-Ret]

Good laughs watching the reactions of the good ol boy truck driver looking dude eve’s dropping on the conversation 😂 I’m thinking he led the convoy into Charleston & parked the Rubber Duck in the trucker’s only parking lot.

[@eaurough]

Excellent Park Ranger. Listening to him was a treat.

[@ShmooyShmoo]

I worked on a dredge, we did the ports channels there. I found countless bullets and small lead balls (possibly musket or cannon shot ammo). Think they are worth anything?

[@terrycollins0314]

Depends on the condition and what market you choose to exhibit them

[@ShmooyShmoo]

@@terrycollins0314 yea… I don’t have them anymore. I left them on the ship and got let go by the company.

[@jon9021]

We were lucky to visit in October 2023.

[@dann547]

The tour guide was amazing and a fountain of knowledge.

[@charlesmaurer6214]

I would consider reactivating that cluster of forts as training forts. While each service has an academy, I think it would be wise to have 2 to 4 for each service spred over the country. Besides a primary one should focus on officers from enlisted, and another for officers from civilian education. As part of reactivation a rebuilding could be done to restore the fort and much of the batteries could serve as dorms. Could also expand the bar to the coast.

[@outdoorlife5396]

You have to wonder if someone has seen ghost walking the fort. LOL I know in NC, Ft Macon at Atlantic Beach, Is in a lot better shape than Ft Sumter. But it fell early in the war because the bricks would not hold up to the bombardment. Ft Pulaski is also in good condition along with Ft Monroe, Ft McHenry are all made about the same time, brick forts. The dirt forts like Ft Fisher NC, have been damaged due to coastal storms over the years. But some of it is still there.

[@davidkimmel4216]

Excellent video

[@Captkman]

I thought the civil war started in Harpers Ferry or maybe even Kansas, but I could be wrong.

[@NickP16]

It started at Fort Sumter. In April 1861 When the confederates fired up the fort, they are near Charleston SC

[@Captkman]

​@@NickP16 Really? Not with John Brown's raid of Harpers Ferry?

[@NickP16]

@@Captkman yeah, that’s definitely one of the many events across the country that helped lead to the Civil War. They were building up to it at that time. John Brown’s raid was in 1859. Another thing that pushed the south over the edge was when Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860. Which led to a lot of southern states succeeding from the union. But those did not cause the Civil War. The thing that finally ignited the country into Civil War was when the Confederates fired upon Fort Sumter.

[@crippledcrow2384]

You are somewhat right about Harpers Ferry (John Brown) and the killings and murders by federal (Kansas Jayhawkers) militia. That had a great push toward the war.

[@jasonwilliamson8416]

Lincoln WANTED the southern forces to fire on the fort because he had no Constitutional authority to stop secession until they did. To this day our States STILL have the right to leave the Union if they desire to.

[@tommyjacks876]

I live in Fort Sumner NM part of the trail of tears an the Billy the kid

[@robertanderson7923]

Good stuff Maps are impressive

[@LowellDeVallJR]

Was the Battle in Phillipi West Virgina prior to Sumpter?

[@RealityOrganized]

Good question. Ft. Sumter was 12 April 1861. Philippi was 3 June 1861.

[@James-mh4wv]

No, there was no west Virginia when Sumpter happened

[@michaelnguyen6730]

A definite concrete battleship is Fort Drum in Manila Bay, Philippines.

[@danielvain]

Interesting aspect of fate with General Anderson in connection with the assassination of President Lincoln. This has a similar tone of fate with General Grant and President Lincoln's final hours, that being that General Grant had been invited to attend the play along with the president, but the general chose not to accept the invite. It has since been speculated that, even though President Lincoln did not perceive a bodyguard unit for himself as necessary, General Grant was known to (nearly) always travel with a military entourage. Had General Grant attended the play, it is likely that the general's military personnel who accompanied him would have thwarted John Wilkes Booth, (one way or another.)

[@The_Lorax__]

For Sumter is one of the best places to go for history nerds. Ive been once and my favorite part is seeing some of the dud shells still in the brick

[@sinnedsinister]

No offense however, your talking and Identifying all these areas around the harbor, yet no video of the areas being referenced is shown while the interview conversation is taking place. It is rather frustrating as a viewer not familiar with the Charleston Harbor area to not see the scenery described and mentioned as your sailing by it.

[@texasaggie8449]

FYI , prior to Ft Sumpter the was the surrender of Gen Twigg in Texas to Texas Confederate forces. The last battle was also fought in Texas at the battle of Palmito Ranch.

[@dylancloud97]

Having been there. Man is it something

[@burrellbikes4969]

So here’s my question: irrespective of the role Charleston played in starting the Civil War; it would seem that the city had far more fortifications than most other major harbors (New York, Norfolk, etc.). Yes, those other harbors has fortifications, but not as much as Charleston. What was the story behind that?

[@mikeburch2998]

I'm glad to see that Penn Gillette got a job after the magic thing. 🙂

[@bigstyx]

He just said you could fire a canon 4 1/2 miles but then he says you can’t do it from battery park or Fort Pickney. What is it?

[@rwdyeriii]

It was smoothbore artillery that he was saying couldn't hit the fort. The rifled artillery was able to fire shots over 6 miles and able to hit the fort but most rifled artillery wasn't available until 1864.

[@nickroberts-xf7oq]

I finally got to see Fort Sumter a few years ago. 😮 The Feds really did reduce it to rubble over the 4 year war ! 🇺🇸 It was like.... "You guys WANT it ?!? OK, but you're not keeping it !" 😅

[@mikestacyemett5914]

Hey! I work with those guys at Fort Sumter.

[@manazo16]

What!? Notice how this tour guide refers to the Union as “the enemy” within the first 2.5 minutes.

[@Baseballnfj]

I worked here as a Park Guide in 2003-04. I have no idea who this guy is but he did a fair job. When i was there the head ranger was the awful Dawn ******* Dennis Birr if youre out there you were fantastic. Sumter is a great site.... an absolute shell of its former self. The best site there (from a historical nerd perspective) is Battery/castle Hinckney. Relics just lying on the ground and shore. Almost all of where Battery Wagner was is gone.... and i can see nothing discernable in that area of Morris Island to indicate anything... The best Civil War site is on the former town of Seccessionville. It's called Battery Lamar and sits at the edge of a residential area and salt marsh... a well preserved earthen fortification with significant comabt occurring are a rarity in SC. Its right outside Charleston and worth the visit. If im correct and remembering... one of the assaulting union regiments suffered one of the highest casualty rates lf the war

[@Baseballnfj]

Also... there's significant revolutionary war battlefields within 40 miles

[@IamtheJeffer]

I thought it started at Harper's Ferry...

[@georgebyett2959]

Did not the civil war start with the raid on the arsenal at harpers ferry

[@davidmurphy8190]

No, the raid on Harper’s Ferry was not one of the first battles of the Civil War. It was the signal of troubles to come.

[@jason60chev]

Wars first shot was fired by Citadel Cadets from.. MORRIS ISLAND IN JAN 1861, at the steamer Star of the West

[@James-mh4wv]

Edmund Ruffin, fired the first shot

[@wholman8159]

reading "Demon of Unrest" and this was so interesting

[@shable1436]

Only be there once, and it's crazy how many cannons are still there over watching the waters, that and the bridges😂,

[@natus1]

That’s all what’s left of the fort what happened to the fort walls it’s like it been blown up leaving some of its walls remains

[@Olivia-e5m]

Im going there today

[@mellongfield9873]

It didn't help that one of the forts first damage was to the cisterns that held the entire water supply of the forts. It's hard to defend without drinking water.

[@davidmurphy8190]

Collecting drinking water was an important element of fortification design especially for coastal defense forts. If you can look up the coastal fortifications of the British Empire, you would see that quite clearly.

[@jesterboykins2899]

Hard to imagine why the south fell for Lincoln’s ploy. Lincoln’s ploy being the fact that not only did they not leave peacefully in the time the south gave them, they were actually reinforced. They let him goad them into a fight. They never should’ve fired.

[@jesterboykins2899]

Also hard to imagine how Lincoln could justify raising 75k volunteers for an invading army over a bloodless battle.

[@paulmuller4335]

The first battle of the Civil War was in January 1861, when Confederates crossed Pensacola Bay and attacked Federal forces occupying Ft. Pickens on Santa Rosa Island. The Confederates were pushed back and retreated to Pensacola.

[@hunterdunaway1354]

They repelled “a group of civilians”. Meanwhile in Charleston Harbor, the Star of the West was committing an act of war.

[@dakotavaughan3768]

Has this guy ever been to the citadel yet? The cadets are the o es who fired the first shots of the civil war when they fired upon the star of the west.

[@fitmesslife]

Had a short gig as a Charleston carriage tour guide and was trained to say what everyone believed; that the shots were fired from the battery. Never questioned it. Lol.... Lots of holes in history.