- What it was: An engagement between federal and Confederate forces in April 1861 that started the American Civil War.
- What happened: Confederate forces bombarded Union-held Fort Sumter in South Carolina for 34 hours, forcing its surrender.
- Significance: The attack on Fort Sumter marked the beginning of the Civil War and the start of four years of bloody conflict between the Union (Northern states) and the Confederacy (Southern states) as both fought for different visions of the nation's future, mainly centering around issues of federal power, state's rights, the expansion of slavery and its preservation in Southern states.