La batalla de Fort Sumter o el ataque al Fort Sumter fue un bombardeo realizado entre el 12 y el 13 de abril de 1861 por el ejército de los Estados Confederados de América con la intención de expulsar a las tropas federales que ocupaban la fortificación de Fort Sumter, ubicada en la entrada a la bahía de Charleston, en Carolina del Sur. La importancia de esta batalla, que no causó bajas, radica en que fue el detonante que desencadenó la guerra de Secesión (1861-1865), el conflicto más sangriento ocurrido en territorio estadounidense.

The siege of Lexington, also known as the first battle of Lexington or the battle of the Hemp Bales, was a minor conflict of the American Civil War. The siege took place from September 13 to 20, 1861, between the Union army and the pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard in Lexington, county seat of Lafayette County, Missouri. The victory won by the Missouri Guard bolstered the considerable Southern sentiment in the area, and briefly consolidated Missouri State Guard control of the Missouri River Valley in the western part of the state.

The Battle of Cheat Mountain, also known as the Battle of Cheat Summit Fort, took place from September 12 to 15, 1861, in Pocahontas County and Randolph County, Virginia as part of the Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of the Civil War in which Robert E. Lee led troops into combat. During the battle, Lee attempted to surround the Union garrison atop Cheat Mountain, but the attack was never launched, due to false information from prisoners and poor communications among the various Confederate commands.