The cannonade of Fort Sumter in South Carolina on April 12, 1861 brought to a head the American conflict that had been simmering and boiling over for nearly 100 years. The practice of slavery had become a commercial necessity to the southern colonies of the new American nation. South Carolina where Fort Sumter is located, had withdrew from the union of the United States just six months before the firing on Fort Sumter. The inevitable conflict had...