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Two Hero Of Fort Sumter Union Major Robert Anderson Carte de Viste Photographs!

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:280.00 USD Estimated At:400.00 - 500.00 USD
Two Hero Of Fort Sumter Union Major Robert Anderson Carte de Viste Photographs!
Civil War CDVs
“Hero Of Fort Sumter” Union Major Robert Anderson Carte de Viste Photographs After the Surrender of Sumter
c. 1863 & 1865 Civil War Period, Lot of TWO (2), Major Robert Anderson Carte de Viste Photographs, (1) by Gurney & Son, New York, plus (1) Seated view of Anderson probably taken shortly after the Confederate Surrender of Sumter, both Very Fine.
Wonderful Pair of historic Carte de Visite Photograph images of Major Robert Anderson (1805-1871) was a United States Army officer during the American Civil War. To many, he was a hero who defied the Confederacy and upheld Union honor in the first battle of the American Civil War at Fort Sumter on April 12-13, 1861. The Confederates bombarded the fort and forced its surrender to start the war. After Sumter fell, Anderson was promoted to Brigadier General and given command of Union forces in Kentucky, but was removed late in 1861 and reassigned to Rhode Island, before retiring from military service in 1863. Includes: c. 1865 seated view of Major Anderson in his military uniform by Gurney & Son of New York. In addition, a c. 1863 seated view of a younger Anderson in his military uniform, probably taken shortly after the first surrender of Sumter, having good contrast, no backmark. Both CDVs are in nice condition for display. (2 items)
When South Carolina seceded In December 1860, Major Anderson, a former slave-owner from Kentucky, remained loyal to the Union. He was the commanding officer of United States Army forces in Charleston, South Carolina, the last remaining important Union post in the Confederacy.

He moved his small garrison from Fort Moultrie, which was indefensible, to the more modern, more defensible, Fort Sumter in the middle of Charleston Harbor. South Carolina leaders cried betrayal, while the North celebrated with enormous excitement at this show of defiance against secessionism. In February 1861 the Confederate States of America was formed and took charge. Jefferson Davis, the Confederate President, ordered the fort be captured. The artillery attack was commanded by Brig. Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard, who had been Anderson's student at West Point.

The attack began April 12, 1861, and continued until Anderson, badly outnumbered and outgunned, surrendered the fort on April 14. The battle began the American Civil War. No one was killed in the battle on either side, but one Union soldier was killed and one mortally wounded during a 50-gun salute.

Robert Anderson's actions in defense of Fort Sumter made him an immediate national hero. He was promoted to brigadier general, effective May 15. Anderson took the fort's 33-Star Flag with him to New York City, where he participated in a Union Square patriotic rally that was the largest public gathering in North America up to that time.

In 1862, recognition of his heroism, Anderson was elected an honorary member of the New York Society of the Cincinnati.

Fort Sumter is a sea fort in Charleston, South Carolina, notable for two battles of the American Civil War.

It was one of a number of special forts planned after the War of 1812, combining high walls and heavy masonry, and classified as Third System, as a grade of structural integrity. Work started in 1829, but was incomplete by 1860, when South Carolina seceded from the Union.

The First Battle of Fort Sumter began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate artillery fired on the Union garrison. These were the first shots of the war and continued all day, watched by many civilians in a celebratory spirit. The fort had been cut off from its supply line and surrendered the next day. The Second Battle of Fort Sumter (September 8, 1863) was a failed attempt by the Union to retake the fort, dogged by a rivalry between army and navy commanders. Although the fort was reduced to rubble, it remained in Confederate hands until it was evacuated as General Sherman marched through South Carolina in February 1865. Fort Sumter is open for public tours as part of the Fort Sumter National Monument operated by the National Park Service.