8. Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is renowned as the spark that ignited the Civil War, but its shadow stretches far beyond military history. Located in Charleston Harbor, the fort’s construction and maintenance depended on the labor of enslaved African Americans. When war broke out, not only did soldiers face brutal conditions, but countless enslaved people suffered in the surrounding region, caught between warring factions. The echoes of their struggles linger even as the fort stands as a national monument.
