The Civil War began at 4:30 am on April 12, 1861 at Ft. Sumter, Charleston, SC. Confederate gunners fired on Ft. Sumter in Charleston, SC on April 12, 1861. Ft. Sumter fell 34 hours later.

When the Civil War began, the remote Pacific Northwest lacked Eastern telegraph and railroad connections, cutting it off from news. Newspapers took six weeks to arrive by ship. The news of South Carol ...