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Fort Sumter

(Encyclopedia)Fort Sumter, fortification, built 1829–60, on a shoal at the entrance to the harbor of Charleston, S.C., and named for Gen. Thomas Sumter; scene of the opening engagement of the Civil War. Upon pass...

Sumter, Fort

(Encyclopedia)Sumter, Fort: see Fort Sumter.

Sumter, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Sumter, Thomas, 1734–1832, American Revolutionary officer, b. near Charlottesville, Va. He served with Edward Braddock (1755) and John Forbes (1758) in their expeditions against Fort Duquesne in the...

Sumter

(Encyclopedia)Sumter, city (1990 pop. 41,943), seat of Sumter co., central S.C.; founded 1785, inc. 1845. It is the commercial, processing, and shipping center of a timber and agricultural region. Chief crops are t...

Fort Moultrie

(Encyclopedia)Fort Moultrie mo͞olˈtrē [key], on Sullivans Island at the entrance to the harbor of Charleston, S.C.; originally called Fort Sullivan. Constructed by Col. William Moultrie, the fort was renamed for...

Anderson, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Anderson, Robert, 1805–71, American army officer, defender of Fort Sumter, b. near Louisville, Ky., grad. West Point, 1825. He fought in the Black Hawk, Seminole, and Mexican wars and was promoted t...

Rodgers, John, 1812–82, American naval officer

(Encyclopedia)Rodgers, John, 1812–82, American naval officer, b. Harford co., Md.; son of John Rodgers. He became (1828) a midshipman and saw varied service. He conducted (1852–56) exploring expeditions in the ...

Nicholson, James William Augustus

(Encyclopedia)Nicholson, James William Augustus, 1821–87, American naval officer, b. Dedham, Mass.; grandson of Samuel Nicholson. He was appointed a midshipman in 1838, served under Commodore Perry in East Asia (...

Castle Pinckney

(Encyclopedia)Castle Pinckney, fortification on Shutes Folly, an island in the harbor of Charleston, S.C.; built in 1797, when war with France seemed imminent; named for the American diplomat Charles Cotesworth Pin...

Fox, Gustavus Vasa

(Encyclopedia)Fox, Gustavus Vasa, 1821–83, American naval officer, b. Saugus, Mass. Appointed a midshipman in 1838, he resigned from the navy in 1856 but in Apr., 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War, commande...