On This Date April 12,1861, and 1864 and 1865
April 12, 1861 – the Battle of Fort Sumter: Confederate forces begin firing on the Union fort in
the Charleston (SC) harbor. This begins the fighting of the American Civil War.
April 12, 1864 – the Battle of Fort Pillow: Confederate forces kill most of the African American
soldiers who surrendered at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
April 12, 1865 – Mobile, Alabama, falls to the Union army.