A thrilling account—from construction to ruin—of the South Carolina fort where the Civil War's opening shots were fired, forging its place in history. In 1829, construction began on a fort atop a rock formation in the mouth of Charleston Harbor. Decades later, Fort Sumter was near completion on December 26, 1860, when Maj. Robert Anderson occupied it in response to the growing hostilities between the North and South. As a symbol of sedition for the North and holy ground for the South, possession of Fort Sumter was deemed essential to both sides when the Civil War began. By 1864, the fort, heavily bombarded by Union artillery, was a shapeless mass of ruins, mostly burned rubble and sand with a garrison of Confederate soldiers holding its ground. Join author M. Patrick Hendrix as he follows the tumultuous lives of the men who fought to control what later became one of the most revered monuments to the war. Includes photos