The human-constructed island upon which Fort Sumter National Monument resides was completed in 1861 and saw the first shots fired during the United States Civil War (1861-1865). During that war it was held by Confederate soldier and was under near constant bombardment until it was surrendered to the Union Army in February of 1865. After that seminal period of history, the fort was rebuilt and modified multiple times as needed by the War Department who managed the property. In 1948 the site was transferred to the National Park Service (NPS) for continued management. At that time the NPS undertook a large scale excavation and demolition project revealing the fort’s historic interior and numerous artifacts. Today the NPS welcomes over 750,000 people to the historic site each year. Since Fall 2012, the CLL has been researching and writing a Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) for the park.