Construction of Forts Moultrie and Johnson begin. South Carolina challenges the federal government’s seizure of the Charleston Harbor shoal, delaying official construction of Fort Sumter until 1841. Fort Sumter, a five-sided, five-foot-thick masonry walled fortress, towering as high as 50 feet above low water, is completed in 1860. During this time, expeditionary engineers also help survey and design the region’s first railroad.