Missed my stop...

Actually, Four soldiers belonging to the 6th Massachusetts Regiment, and 12 citizens were killed on Pratt Street in Baltimore, Maryland on April 19th, 1861 during a riot between secessionists and troops headed to Washington, DC, exactly one week after the bombardment of Fort Sumter. And there were no casualties during the bombardment; one Union artillerist was killed and three wounded (one mortally) when a cannon exploded prematurely while firing a salute during the evacuation on April 14.

burnedshoes:

The first fatalities of the North and South in the American Civil War occurred in Alexandria. Within a month of the Battle of Fort Sumter, where two died, Union troops occupied Alexandria, landing troops at the base of King Street on the Potomac River on May 24, 1861.

In spite of the South’s shortage of soldiers, most Southern leaders — until 1865 — opposed enlisting slaves. They used them as laborers to support the war effort. As Howell Cobb said, “If slaves will make good soldiers our whole theory of slavery is wrong.” (read more)

#1: Unknown photographer, 1861, Steam Frigate Pensacola, Alexandria
Alexandria’s position along the Potomac River made it an importation logistical center for the Union Army. In early 1862, the ship in this photo, the USS Pensacola, departed Alexandria to take part a blockade in the Gulf. A few months later, thousands of soldiers embarked from Alexandria’s waterfront for Hampton Roads and what became the Peninsula Campaign.

#2: Unknown photographer, ca. 1863, African American laborers near coal wharf, Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria’s waterfront was the site of many wartime activities. The river, wharves and railroad made Alexandria a major supply distribution point for the Union.