CHARLESTON, S.C. – Live artillery demonstrations are planned for January to commemorate the firing on of a Union merchant ship in Charleston’s Harbor after South Carolina seceded from the Union during civil conflict.
The firing on the Star of the West happened Jan. 9, 1861, after former President James Buchanan sent the steamer to reinforce Fort Sumter. At the time, Fort Sumter was occupied by Union troops but surrounded by Southern defenses, according to the National Park Service.
President Buchanan is said to have sent the ship, which carried two hundred men, provisions, small arms, and ammunition, instead of a warship, to avoid arousing anger in the area. Although ammunition and small arms were on board, those weapons could not fire on shore.
News of the incoming steamer spread, and once spotted on the harbor, a South Carolina battery containing Citadel cadets fired from Morris Island.
With assistance from guns at Fort Moultrie the ship was successfully deterred and the Star of the West retreated from its mission. No injuries were reported, and although the Civil War did not erupt until April, when Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter, to this day, Citadel cadets still claim to have fired the “first shots” of the Civil War.
The planned demonstrations commemorating this event will take place on Jan. 10, 2026, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Historic artillery will be fired from Morris Island. All firings will be conducted under controlled conditions and in coordination with appropriate authorities.
Members of the public can observe the event from the water in private boats or from the nearby shoreline.
