A form of apparatus often used for testing specimens of steel consists of a small electric furnace in which to heat the specimen, and a special thermo-couple pyrometer (see  Pyrometers ) for indicating the range of temperatures through which the steel passes.
Where the American Civil War Began. Decades of growing strife between North and South erupted in civil war on April 12, 1861, when Confederate artillery opened fire on this Federal fort in Charleston Harbor. Fort Sumter surrendered 34 hours later. Union forces would try for nearly four years to take it back.
The first shots fired in the Civil War took place at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, April 12-14, 1861. The first shots fired in the Civil War took place at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, April 12-14, 1861. When the seven southern states seceded from the Union, the state of South Carolina demanded that the U.S. Army abandon their position at Fort Sumter.