One of South Carolina’s most prominent icons sits in the Charleston harbor, where it’s been for more than 150 years. Today it’s a national monument visited by tens of thousands each year. For a small fee you can take a ferry ride over and spend the entire day wandering through the remains of the fort upon which the first shots of the Civil War were fired. It’s definitely worth the effort to follow through with your urge to learn more about this relic. But there are some things you won’t see. Here are 15 rare images that show Fort Sumter, South Carolina’s most famous monument, like never before.

1. Raising the Confederate Flag in 1861.
Wikipedia/Alma A. Pelot - Bob Zeller (public domain)
2. At the end of the war... making preparations for raising the old flag. Taken April 14, 1865.
Library of Congress/Gift; Col. Godwin Ordway/Call Number LOT 4166-D, no. 1 [P&P]
3. View of the flag-raising, April 14, 1865, with the arrival of Major General Robert Anderson and guests.
Wikipedia/public domain
4. A photograph from 1865 shows neatly stacked cannonballs inside the fort.
Library of Congress/Gift; Col. Godwin Ordway; 1948./Call Number/LOT 4166-C, no. 1 [P&P]
5. Rubble everywhere after a bombardment. The photo has striking details and was taken September 8, 1863.
Library of Congress/George S Cook/Gift; Col. Godwin Ordway/Call Number LOT 4210, no. 13 [P&P]
6. The caption under the photos reads: Fort Sumter, showing the effects of the bombardment by the artilllery of the Army & Navy of the United States while occuped by the Rebels from 1861 to February 1865.
Library of Congress/Call Number LOT 4166-C, no. 10 [P&P]
7. A map created 1862-1865 of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
Library of Congress
8. A photo of the interior showing gabions for reinforcement of the walls. April 1865.
Libirary of Congress/Gift; Col. Godwin Ordway; 1948/Call NumberLOT 4166-C, no. 1 [P&P]
9. April 14, 1861. A photo of the exterior of Ft. Sumter on the side facing Ft. Johnson. This photo was taken after its evacuation by Maj. Robert Anderson.
Library of Congress/pubic domain/Call Number LOT 4166-C, no. 10 [P&P]
10. Another photograph showing some damage to yet another side of Ft. Sumter. This photo shows the side facing Morris Island and Cummings Point. Taken on April 14, 1861 after the evacuation by Maj. Robert Anderson.
Library of Congress/Call Number LOT 4166-C, no. 10 [P&P]
11. From 1863, showing the debris of the outer wall of Ft. Sumter as a result of bombardment from August 17 to September 23, 1863. Notice the man sitting in the rubble near the center of the image.
Library of Congress/Barnard, George N/Call Number/LOT 4166-C, no. 2 [P&P]
12. The day after Fort Sumter's first bombardment. Photo taken April 1861.
Library of Congress/Call Number LOT 4210, no. 22 [P&P]
13. Two Confederate soldiers pose on a chimney stack amidst the ruins after a bombardment in 1863.
Library of Congress/George S. Cook/Call Number LOT 4210, no. 7 [P&P]
14. The inside of Ft. Sumter soon after the surrender of the U.S. garrison. 1861.
Library of Congress/Gift; Col. Godwin Ordway/no restrictions
15. Palmetto trees are cut and stacked for reinforcements on the outside wall of the fort. 1865.
Library of Congress/Call Number LC-B811- 3056 [P&P]

Few photos of Fort Sumter during the Civil War exist. Were you shocked at the clarity in some of these images? (Most captions were cited from the Library of Congress notes associated with each photo.)

For more rare images of South Carolina, take a look at these 23 photos depicting our cotton milling history.

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