Thunder in the Harbor: Fort Sumter, Charleston, and the American Civil War

At 4:30 a.m. on Friday, April 12, 1861, Confederate batteries opened fire. Thirty-four hours later, with their supplies running low but their honor satisfied, Federal forces lowered their tattered flag. The only casualtyan accidental deathcame after the surrender. It was otherwise a bloodless first battle to the bloodiest four years in American history. But those fateful first shots of the Civil Warcertainly the wars most famousmarked only the first of many chapters for Sumter. Over the next four years, the fort and the harbor it protected weathered the storms of war: bombardments and blockades; the launch and loss of the Confederate submarine Hunley; the assault on Battery Wagner, on adjacent Morris Island, by the famed 54th Massachusetts Infantry; and Shermans march to the sea. Thunder in the Harbor recounts Fort Sumters storied history in the engaging prose that has become the hallmark of the Emerging Civil War Series. Author Chris Mackowski brings the story to life as only an insider can: his familys home sits on the Battery overlooking Charleston Harbor, where Fort Sumter still hunkers on the horizon. Supplemented with more than a hundred historical photos and illustrations, captivating contemporary photography, and detailed maps, Thunder in the Harbor gives readers a behind-the-scenes look inside one of Americas most iconic places. See more