Fort Sumter is widely recognized as the place where the US Civil War started with the bombardment on the Federal forces in the fort by Confederate forces. The Federal forces surrendered after 34 hours and then spent nearly four years trying to recapture the fort, set on an island at the mouth of Charleston Harbor.
The five flags below the current US flag in this image represent the five flags that flew over the fort during the Civil War.
On the left is the United States flag with thirty-three stars. This was the flag of the Federal Garrison. Next comes the ‘Stars and Bars' or ‘First national', the first official flag of the Confederacy.
The flag in the middle represents the state of South Carolina. A blue flag with a silver crescent had flown over the fort on Sullivan's island during the revolutionary war when the garrison had defeated an approach by British warships in 1776. Since the fort was essentially made of palmetto logs, the palmetto tree was used to commemorate that victory.
Next comes the ‘Second national', the second official flag of the Confederacy that replaced the ‘First national' in 1863.
On the right is the flag of the United States flown after the fort was finally recaptured by Union forces. It has thirty-five stars since the states of Kansas and West Virginia had joined the Union during the course of the war.
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Production Data
Lens: Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM AF Lens
Processing: Lightroom 3.6
Processing: Photoshop CS5
Processing: Nik Software Color Efex Pro 4 (nik software)
