"A house divided against itself cannot stand." - Abraham Lincoln, 1858 ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ In 1861, the local militias of South Carolina, a state which recently seceded from the United States, attempted to seize the armory of Fort Sumter. The garrison refused, and the situation escalated to shots being fired. The Battle of Fort Sumter sparked the bloodiest conflict in American history, resulting in civil division between north and south for decades.