* The attack came after months of tension between the Union (the northern states) and the Confederacy (the southern states) over the issue of slavery.
* South Carolina had seceded from the Union in December 1860, and several other southern states had followed suit.
* Fort Sumter was a federal fort located in Charleston Harbor, and the Confederates demanded that it be surrendered.
* The Union refused, and the Confederates opened fire on the fort.
* The bombardment of Fort Sumter lasted for 34 hours, and the Union ultimately surrendered.
* The attack on Fort Sumter was a major turning point in the conflict between the Union and the Confederacy, and it marked the beginning of the American Civil War.