<Tr> <Th> Added to NRHP </Th> <Td> October 15, 1966 </Td> </Tr> <P> Fort Sumter is a sea fort in Charleston, South Carolina, notable for two battles of the American Civil War . It was one of a number of special forts planned after the War of 1812, combining high walls and heavy masonry, and classified as Third System, as a grade of structural integrity . Work started in 1829, but was incomplete by 1860, when South Carolina seceded from the Union . </P> <P> The First Battle of Fort Sumter began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate artillery fired on the Union garrison . These were the first shots of the war and continued all day, watched by many civilians in a celebratory spirit . The fort had been cut off from its supply line and surrendered the next day . The Second Battle of Fort Sumter (September 8, 1863) was a failed attempt by the Union to retake the fort, dogged by a rivalry between army and navy commanders . Although the fort was reduced to rubble, it remained in Confederate hands until it was evacuated as General Sherman marched through South Carolina in February 1865 . </P> <P> Fort Sumter is open for public tours as part of the Fort Sumter National Monument operated by the National Park Service . </P>

When did the attack on fort sumter happen