Ask anyone where the American Civil War started, and they’ll tell you Fort Sumter, South Carolina. This isn’t untrue, but it’s not the complete answer, and if we’re being pedantic, it’s not really where the very beginning of the Civil War started.
The first shots of the Civil War were fired from Fort Johnson, by the Confederates, upon the Union-controlled Fort Sumter. To me, it would seem that the location of the first shots—that is, the cannon fire originating from Fort Johson—mark the beginning of the Civil War. But, again, that’s probably being pedantic.
Still, it’s strange that Fort Johnson never really gets mentioned:
Fort Sumter is on a small island in the Charleston harbor. It’s maintained by the National Park Service, who offers ferry rides for visitors that want to tour the fort. There’s a museum inside the fort, a gift shop, and, back on the mainland where you pick up the ferry, some exhibits and another gift shop.
On the other hand, Fort Johnson no longer exists, and its location isn’t noteworthy or profitable. It gets shoved to the side for Fort Sumter to hog the spotlight. Honestly, I’m not complaining. I love the NPS and I’m glad they maintain Fort Sumter for all to enjoy and learn. I just think it’s interesting that nobody gives much thought to Fort Johnson, and I’d reckon the vast majority of Fort Sumter tourists don’t even know about it.
Fort Johnson is located on James Island, just southeast of downtown Charleston, across the harbor. It helps to see Charleston, Fort Sumter, and Fort Johnson on a map for context:
Visiting Fort Johnson
On my second visit to Fort Sumter, I looked into the recurring claim about it being the site of the start of the Civil War, and learned about Fort Johnson. I thought, how strange that I’ve toured Charleston extensively and never even heard of this other fort!
You can arrive at Fort Johnson by following the aptly-named Fort Johnson Road to its eventual end. The GPS coordinates of Fort Johnson are 32°45’05.6″N 79°53’52.6″W.
There’s only one building remaining of Fort Johnson:
The plaque on the building simply states that it “was a unit of the fort.”
Here’s the building from a few more angles:
Near the building, there’s an informative monument that describes the significance of Fort Johnson’s role as the site of the first shot of the war of secession.
While standing at Fort Johnson, you can see Fort Sumter in the distance:
There’s a walkable path here, with a nice view of the harbor, along a rocky beach. I saw some people fishing nearby.
There are a few buildings near Fort Johnson, which are owned by the South Carolina Marine Resources Division, used for conducting marine research, and the College of Charleston, which has a marine laboratory here. There’s no parking explicitly for checking out Fort Johnson, but I don’t think it’s much of a problem if you park somewhere out of the way and don’t linger for long.
The visit is underwhelming compared to Fort Sumter, but it’s worthwhile to stop by if you’re already on James Island, or if you’re a history buff and you simply want to be able to say that you stood at the site where the first shots of the Civil War were fired—the true starting point of the Civil War!