Fort Sumter is an important historical site located in Charleston, South Carolina. It was the site of the first shots fired in the American Civil War. Fort Sumter has a fascinating history and is full of intriguing facts that lend themselves well to riddles. Riddles allow us to approach history from a fun and thought-provoking perspective. In this article, we have compiled 69 riddles about Fort Sumter along with their answers to test your knowledge about this iconic landmark. So get ready to put on your thinking caps and see how many you can get right!
Riddles
History
1. I am a fort in Charleston Harbor, a famous site where the Civil War began. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
2. I was built after the War of 1812 to defend Charleston Harbor. Workers took eight years to finish building me using 1 million bricks. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
3. Union troops were stationed at me when South Carolina seceded from the United States in 1860. I was forced to surrender to Confederate troops in 1861. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
4. Confederate troops bombarded me with cannon fire for 34 hours in 1861, forcing my surrender and starting the Civil War. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
5. I was one of a series of forts built along the Southern U.S. coast after the War of 1812. I’m the fort where the opening shots of the Civil War were fired. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
Location
6. I am located in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina. Confederate forces fired over 4,000 rounds at me in 1861, forcing my surrender. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
7. You can only reach me by boat. I am on a manmade island in Charleston Harbor. Union soldiers were stationed at me when the Civil War began in 1861. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
8. I am a fort situated on a manmade island in South Carolina. My walls are made from millions of bricks. I was the focus of the first battle of the Civil War. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
9. I am located 2.4 miles from the southern tip of the Charleston Peninsula. My architecture provided strategic harbor defense. Confederate bombardment of me started the Civil War. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
10. You can find me on a sea fort in Charleston Harbor. I was the primary target of the Battle of Fort Sumter, the Civil War’s first military engagement. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
Design and Construction
11. It took over 45 years to complete my construction. I was built on an artificial island made of thousands of tons of rock. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
12. My walls are made from millions of bricks and rise 50 feet over the low tide line. I was unfinished when the Civil War began in 1861. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
13. I was designed as a five-sided fort with thick brick walls. Construction began on me after the War of 1812 but was still unfinished when the Civil War began. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
14. Artillery and mortar batteries were planned to be built on my upper two levels. But I was not yet complete when Confederate forces fired on me in 1861. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
15. It took over 8 years and 1 million bricks to construct my original structure. I was still incomplete with only my first level finished when the Civil War started. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
The Civil War
16. Union troops were stationed at me when the Civil War began. After 34 hours of Confederate bombardment, I surrendered, marking the war’s start. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
17. Confederate forces fired cannons at me for 34 hours in April 1861 before my surrender. This attack marked the beginning of the Civil War. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
18. I was a Union-held fort in Confederate territory in 1861. After the first shots of the Civil War were fired at me, I surrendered to rebel forces. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
19. In April 1861, Confederate bombardment of me triggered the start of the Civil War. After 34 hours, Union forces surrendered me to the rebels. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
20. I am the sea fort where the Civil War’s first shots rang out in April 1861. After enduring Confederate cannon fire, Union forces surrendered me. What am I? Answer: Fort Sumter
The Commanders
21. I was the Confederate general who ordered rebel forces to fire on Fort Sumter, starting the Civil War. Who am I? Answer: General P.G.T. Beauregard
22. I was the Confederate commander who demanded the Union surrender of Fort Sumter in 1861. My forces bombarded the fort for 34 hours. Who am I? Answer: General P.G.T. Beauregard
23. Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered me to take Fort Sumter from Union control by force in 1861. I commanded the rebel troops who bombarded the fort. Who am I? Answer: General P.G.T. Beauregard
24. I was in charge of the Union troops garrisoned at Fort Sumter when the Civil War began. I surrendered the fort after 34 hours of Confederate bombardment. Who am I? Answer: Major Robert Anderson
25. As a Union major, I commanded Fort Sumter when the Civil War started. After Confederate cannon fire, I surrendered the fort to General Beauregard. Who am I? Answer: Major Robert Anderson
The Bombardment
26. In April 1861, I launched over 3,000 shells at Fort Sumter during 34 hours of bombardment. What am I? Answer: Confederate artillery
27. For nearly two days in April 1861, I relentlessly fired cannonballs and mortars at Fort Sumter. What am I? Answer: Confederate bombardment
28. Union defenders inside Fort Sumter reported that I shook the fort’s walls like an earthquake during the 1861 bombardment. What am I? Answer: Confederate artillery
29. In April 1861, 43 of my guns encircled Fort Sumter, firing on the Union garrison inside for over a day. What am I? Answer: Confederate artillery
30. Fort Sumter’s Union defenders used 650 of me to return fire during the 1861 Confederate bombardment. What am I? Answer: Cannonballs
Aftermath
31. No one was killed on either side during my 34-hour bombardment of Fort Sumter in 1861. What was I? Answer: The Battle of Fort Sumter
32. After I ended with Fort Sumter’s surrender in 1861, four more Southern states joined the Confederacy. What was I? Answer: The Battle of Fort Sumter
33. Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion after I, the attack on Fort Sumter, started the Civil War. What was I? Answer: The Battle of Fort Sumter
34. I am the April 1861 battle that started the Civil War. Though no one died in my bombardment, I sparked four years of bloody combat. What was I? Answer: The Battle of Fort Sumter
35. After Union forces surrendered me in April 1861, President Lincoln declared a blockade of Confederate ports. What was I? Answer: The Battle of Fort Sumter
The Flag
36. During the 1861 bombardment of Fort Sumter, this object was flying over the fort and was knocked down by Confederate artillery fire three times. What is it? Answer: The U.S. Flag
37. I symbolized Union control over Fort Sumter. Confederate forces tried several times to knock me down by firing at my flagpole. What am I? Answer: The U.S. Flag
38. Three times Confederate artillery fire knocked me down from atop the flagpole at Fort Sumter during the 1861 bombardment. What am I? Answer: The U.S. Flag
39. Union troops raised me above Fort Sumter again each time Confederate cannonballs cut me down during the 34-hour bombardment. What am I? Answer: The U.S. Flag
40. I was the inspiration for the patriotic Civil War song “Brave Boys Are They.” Confederate shells struck my Fort Sumter flagpole three times in April 1861. What am I? Answer: The U.S. Flag
The Union Garrison
41. I consisted of just 60 soldiers inside Fort Sumter when it was bombarded in 1861. What was I? Answer: The Union garrison
42. Confederate artillery fired over 3,000 times at me, the group of 85 Union soldiers inside Fort Sumter in April 1861. What was I? Answer: The Union garrison
43. Union Major Anderson was in command of me, the small force of troops that defended Fort Sumter against Confederate bombardment. What was I? Answer: The Union garrison
44. I returned fire with cannons and mortars during the 1861 attack on Fort Sumter though I numbered just 85 soldiers. What was I? Answer: The Union garrison
45. Despite my small numbers, I, the Union garrison at Fort Sumter, kept the U.S. flag flying under Confederate bombardment in 1861. What was I? Answer: The Union garrison
Miscellaneous
46. Completed in 1829, this work of early American engineering was used to help build up the islands that Fort Sumter sits on. What is it? Answer: The world’s first modern cofferdam
47. These natural structures had to be leveled before construction on Fort Sumter’s islands could begin. What are they? Answer: Sandbars and shoals
48. This disease killed many workers during Fort Sumter’s construction and delayed building progress. What is it? Answer: Malaria
49. These wooden structures allowed workers to lay Fort Sumter’s foundation stones during low tide. What are they? Answer: Timber-and-sandbag cofferdams
50. It took this many tons of stone to build up the artificial islands that Fort Sumter sits on. What is the amount? Answer: 70,000 tons
51. This type of rock was used to build the foundation of Fort Sumter’s manmade islands. What is it? Answer: New England granite
52. This 18th century fort originally stood where Fort Sumter stands today before construction began on the new fort. What is it? Answer: Fort Moultrie
53. This architect helped design Fort Sumter and was present for its surrender to the Confederacy in 1861. Who is he? Answer: Major Robert E. Lee
54. This activity helped fund Fort Sumter’s construction. The fort guarded the harbor’s shipping channels used for it. What is it? Answer: Charleston’s slave trade
55. On this day in 1865, Fort Sumter was returned to Union control with an elaborate flag-raising ceremony. What day was it? Answer: April 14, 1865
Word Play
56. Sometimes I start civil wars, and I sound like a fort where cannonballs flew. Change one letter, and I’m where you can see giraffes and zebras, too. What am I? Answer: ZOO (change Z to F to get FORT SUMTER)
57. Take the first letter from the Confederate general’s name who ordered Fort Sumter’s bombardment. Add it to a hole in the ground where water collects. Then you’ll get the fort’s name. What is it? Answer: FORT SUMTER (B + OG = BOG, change B to F)
58. Riddle me the Civil War fort, change one letter and I change my tone, I’m a cold and frosty covering leaving trees and fields alone. What am I? Answer: FORT SUMTER (Change S to N for FORT NUNTER)
59. Take a five-letter word for a military camp, change its first letter to the one before E, keep the last three letters as they are, and you’ll spell the fort that the war began in. What is it? Answer: FORT SUMTER (Change CAMP to FORT)
60. Two rhyming words can make the name of the fort where the first shots were heard, the first one’s a wall that surrounds, the second one’s a bird. What is it? Answer: FORT SUMTER (WALL + TERN = WALLTERN, change W to F and TERN to SUMTER)
61. Remove the last three letters from a word for a metal disk used as money, and the ones remaining spell the name of the fort where the war came undone. What is it? Answer: FORT SUMTER (COIN without IN = CO + SUMTER)
62. Take the acronym for the states who left, change its middle letter to the next one in the alphabet, add on a homonym for an undersea ship, and name the fort that was hit. What is it? Answer: FORT SUMTER (CSA, change S to T for CTA, add SUB for SUBMARINE to get CTASUB, change CTA to FORT)
63. A four-letter word for where a ship can dock, take all but the first and on the remainder tack, a three-letter word that is kin to a crow. Combine the two and the Civil War’s first battle you’ll know. What is it? Answer: FORT SUMTER (PORT without P is ORT, add RAVEN to get ORTRAVENT, change O to F and VEN to SUMTER)
64. Remove the last two letters from the acronym for the Union side, take the letters that remain, a four-letter word add on to them. Rearrange all the letters and the fort’s name you will spell again. What is it? Answer: FORT SUMTER (USA without A = US, add PORT = USPORT, rearrange the letters to spell FORT SUMTER)
65. A popular dance of the nineteenth century, take off the last part and what remains will be one of the letters in the name of the fort where civil war began. What is it? Answer: FORT SUMTER (POLKA without KA = POL, P is in FORT SUMTER)
True or False
66. True or false: Fort Sumter was named for a Revolutionary War general. Answer: False. It was named for Thomas Sumter, a general in the War of 1812.
67. True or false: Fort Sumter was designed by famed architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Answer: False. The fort was designed by Major Robert E. Lee.
68. True or false: The bombardment of Fort Sumter lasted less than 24 hours before its surrender. Answer: False. Confederate forces bombarded the fort for 34 hours.
69. True or false: Over 100 soldiers were stationed at Fort Sumter when it was bombarded in 1861. Answer: False. There were only 85 Union soldiers at the fort.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Fort Sumter’s vital role at the start of the Civil War makes it a fascinating historical site full of intriguing facts and stories. These 69 riddles provide a fun and engaging way to learn more about Fort Sumter’s construction, location, design, role in the Civil War, commanders, bombardment, aftermath, symbolic flag, brave Union garrison, and more. Testing your knowledge with these riddles can give you a deeper appreciation for how Fort Sumter’s fateful bombardment in 1861 marked the beginning of America’s bloodiest war. Learning more about historic sites like Fort Sumter through interactive riddles allows us to connect with history in a meaningful way.
