On April 12, 1861, the long-simmering tensions between the American North and South exploded as Southern troops in the seceding state of South Carolina fired on the Federal forces at Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor. The battle of Fort Sumter marked the outbreak of Civil War in the United States. The attack provoked outrage in the North, consolidated support for the newly inaugurated President Lincoln, and fueled the onset of the war that would consume and reshape the country.

Origins of Civil War -- The capital of secession -- Anderson's bold move -- Securing Sumter and the birth of the Confederacy -- Lincoln, Fox and war -- The fall of Fort Sumter.