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00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.

This Week in the Civil War - 547

Fort Sumter at Charlestown, South Carolina was symbolically important to the Union war effort.  It was, of course, the site of the war’s beginning and was the first Federal installation under siege to capitulate to the Confederates. 

If Sumter could be retaken by force of arms, the Union would score a major psychological victory which would help erase the bitterness of the war’s outbreak.  As such, Lincoln desired Sumter to be retaken and was not pleased to learn that Flag Officer Samuel Du Pont’s Union fleet had be badly damaged in its assault against Sumter on April 7.

The president on Monday, April 13, 1863 ordered Du Pont to hold his position inside the Charlestown Harbor bar and expressed regrets over the failure of the admiral’s warships to effectively assault Sumter.