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Article Historic Events in the Civil War: Fort Sumter

Cover image of Our Country and Flag
Our country and flag, a national song and chorus [detail of cover], by Richard Culver. Civil War Sheet Music Collection, Library of Congress, Performing Arts Reading Room.

At 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861, the Confederate Army began shelling the garrison of Union soldiers who had steadfastly refused to abandon Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Just over an hour later, Union guns responded. Little did the residents of nearby Charleston know that the gunfire that had awakened them was but a harbinger of the conflagration that would ravage the nation for the next four years.

When events like this are studied, one often overlooked historical resource is contemporary sheet music. The vivid cover of "Our Country and Flag," for example, depicts the northern perspective. At the heart of the illustration, Fort Sumter burns. In response, defenders wave the Stars and Stripes as they eagerly respond to protect the Nation's Capitol, seen in the distance.

More examples of music's historical narrative are available in the Civil War Sheet Music Collection online.

About this Item

Title

  • Historic Events in the Civil War: Fort Sumter

Headings

  • -  Popular Songs of the Day
  • -  Songs and Music
  • -  War and Conflict
  • -  Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
  • -  Articles

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  • article

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The contents of the Library of Congress Civil War Sheet Music Collection are in the public domain and are free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Music Division.

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Chicago citation style:

Historic Events in the Civil War: Fort Sumter. Web.. https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200187279/.

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Historic Events in the Civil War: Fort Sumter. [Web.] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200187279/.

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Historic Events in the Civil War: Fort Sumter. Web.. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200187279/>.