Archer W.: What did Fort Sumter look like in the Civil War?
Petula Dvorak: Fort Sumter was, at its time, a marvel of engineering. It was built on an artificial island at the end of a sandbar, at the mouth of the Charleston Harbor. It was magnificent. Its walls were 50 feet high and 5 feet thick. There was room for 650 soldiers. There were 135 guns designed to make sure that no boats could get past it and threaten the city. So this really valuable fort was the place where the first shots of the Civil War were fired and a lot of battles were fought there.
Archer W.: Thank you, Petula. That was Petula Dvorak from The Washington Post.
