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Charleston South Carolina became an important part of the US Civil War because the Federal Fort Sumter lay in the harbor and refused to surrender to the newly formed Confederate States of America. In the early hours of April 12, 1861, Southern forces bombarded the fort forcing it to surrender. President Lincoln believed that now, the Southern rebellion had reached a point where he had to respond. He called for 75.000 volunteers to help end the rebellion. This prompted four additional slave states to join the Confederacy. The states were Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee.The first measure of Charleston's importance was the seizure of the fort which soon led to open conflict between the Union and the Confederacy. During the war, the port of Charleston was a prime target of Union blockading warships. As long as the port remained in Southern hands, the port was useful for blockade runners as a means to thwart to attempts of the Union to fully blockade the port. Many supplies were captured by the Union fleet, however, the ultimate goal was to capture the port and Charleston. Despite several massive efforts to take over the city and its port, it was not until 1865, with the war reaching its end that Charleston fell to the Union.

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7y ago

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