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Fort Sumter Student Materials

The two documents provide differing accounts of the start of the Civil War: Document A, published in Ohio on April 13, 1861, describes the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter as treason that would be met with vengeance. It implies support for the Union by describing the rebels' actions. Document B, from Richmond, Virginia on the same date, portrays the Confederates as defending their homes against Lincoln's military forces sent to subjugate them. It characterizes the South as fighting to protect their way of life from Northern aggression. The locations of publication influenced the partisan stances, with the Northern paper supporting the Union and the Southern backing the Confederacy.

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2023Ja Nya Dismukes
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409 views5 pages

Fort Sumter Student Materials

The two documents provide differing accounts of the start of the Civil War: Document A, published in Ohio on April 13, 1861, describes the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter as treason that would be met with vengeance. It implies support for the Union by describing the rebels' actions. Document B, from Richmond, Virginia on the same date, portrays the Confederates as defending their homes against Lincoln's military forces sent to subjugate them. It characterizes the South as fighting to protect their way of life from Northern aggression. The locations of publication influenced the partisan stances, with the Northern paper supporting the Union and the Southern backing the Confederacy.

Uploaded by

2023Ja Nya Dismukes
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Document A: Fremont Journal (Modified)

EXTRA
Saturday Morning, April 13, 1861
THE WAR COMMENCED!

We are indebted to Mr. Brown, the gentlemanly telegraph operator at this place,
for the following dispatches which were received last night, up to 12 o’clock.

By these dispatches it will be seen that the treason which has so long been rife
at Charleston, has at last culminated in WAR! The rebels will now be treated in
a different manner than they anticipated. They have brought down vengeance
on their heads. The country waits with breathless anxiety to know the results of
this attack. We believe the Government is sufficient for the emergency. —
Without further remarks we give the dispatches:

Charleston, April 12.— The ball has opened. War is inaugurated. The batteries
of Sullivan’s Island, Morris Island, and other points were opened on Fort Sumter
at 4 o’clock this morning. Fort Sumter has returned the fire, and a brisk
cannonading has been kept up. No information has been received from the
seaboard yet. The military are under arms, and the whole of our population are
on the streets and every available space facing the harbor is filled with anxious
spectators. . . .

The troops are pouring into the city by the thousands. . . .

Not a casualty has yet happened to any of the forces of the nineteen batteries in
position. Only seven have opened fire on Ft. Sumter; the remainder are held in
reserve for the expected fleet.

Source: Fremont Journal, Fremont, Ohio, April 13, 1861.

Vocabulary

dispatches: news reports


treason: working to overthrow one’s own government
rife: something undesirable that happens a lot
culminated: to reach a decisive point
vengeance: punishment in retaliation
inaugurated: to begin
cannonading: heavy cannon or artillery fire
Document B: The Daily Dispatch (Modified)

The War Begun


It will be seen that, under the military compulsion of the immense fleet and army
which the Black Republican President has sent to subjugate Charleston, the
Carolina forces have been forced, in self-defense, to attempt the reduction of that
fort which so long has menaced their homes and firesides, and which Lincoln
had formally notified them he was about to supply, —“peaceably if he can,
forcibly if he must,”—a notification which, backed up by an immense naval and
military force, was of course a declaration of war. . . .

The people of Charleston have been actually supplying Major ANDERSON and
his officers with provisions, exhibiting a spirit of generosity unprecedented in the
history of war. In the midst of the negotiations a fleet larger than England keeps
up in the Channel, an army of three thousand soldiers . . . has been suddenly
sent by the Government to attack Morris’ Island, and force provisions, and
probably men, into Fort Sumter. . . .

The “irrepressible conflict” which has been forced upon the peaceful home and
the unoffending citizens of the South, will be met by a people who will drench
their native soil with the blood of their invaders, or perish, to the last man, in
vindication of all that man holds dear.

Source: The Daily Dispatch, Richmond, Virginia, April 13, 1861.

Vocabulary

compulsion: being forced to do something


subjugate: to conquer or bring under control
menaced: threatened
provisions: needed supplies
irrepressible: impossible to restrain or control
vindication: proof that something is correct or justifiable
Guiding Questions

Document A
Answer questions 1-3 before reading the document.

1) (Sourcing) When was this article published?

2) (Sourcing) Where was the article published?

3) (Contextualization) How might where the article was published influence its
content?

Answer questions 4-7 after reading the document

4) (Close reading) How does the article describe the decision to attack and the
troops firing on Fort Sumter?

5) (Close reading) According to the article, how should the troops firing on Fort
Sumter be treated?

6) (Close reading) Does the newspaper seem to support the Union or the
Confederacy? Cite specific words or passages from the article to support your
answer.

7) (Contextualization) Review your answer to Question 3. How accurate was your


prediction? Explain.
Document B
Answer questions 1-3 before reading the document.

1) (Sourcing) When was this article published?

2) (Sourcing) Where was the article published?

3) (Contextualization) How might where the article was published influence its
content?

Answer questions 4-7 after reading the document

4) (Close reading) How does the article describe Abraham Lincoln?

Why might the newspaper have described him this way?

5) (Close reading) According to this article, why did the troops in Charleston fire on
Fort Sumter?

6) (Corroboration) How does this article’s description of the troops firing on Fort
Sumter compare to the description in Document A? Cite specific examples from
the article.

7) (Close reading) According to this article, what is the Confederacy fighting for?

8) (Corroboration) How does the tone of Document B compare to the tone of


Document A?

8) (Contextualization) How might the locations where these newspapers were


published have influenced the content of the articles?
Extension Activity

1) (Sourcing) Newspaper:

2) (Sourcing) Location:

3) (Sourcing) Date:

4) (Sourcing) Article title:

5) (Close reading) How does this article describe the attack on Fort Sumter?

6) (Contextualization) How might where the article was published have


influenced its description of the attack?

7) (Corroboration) How is this account similar or different from Document A?

8) (Corroboration) How is this account similar or different from Document B?

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