♥♥♥The US Capitol, Washington, DC as it appeared in 1861. Today (12 April) is the day in 1861 when Confederate artillery opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, ushing 4 years of civil war in America. By 1865, approx. 625,000 Amercians had perished as a result of the war. This was the deadliest war in American history.