Hamilton's Floating Battery Moored at the End of Sullivan's Island the Night Before They Opened Fire upon Fort Sumter, April 1861, Albumen silver print from glass negative, Image: 1 15/16 ? 3 1/8 in. (5 ? 7. 9 cm), Photographs, Attributed to Alma A. Pelot (American, active Charleston, South Carolina, 1850s?1860s), Attributed to Jesse H. Bolles (American, active Charleston, South Corlina, 1850s?1860s), In January 1861, prior to the outbreak of war, James Randolph Hamilton began the construction of the ironclad floating battery to be used by the Confederate government to attack Fort Sumter and other Federal positions or naval vessels in Charleston, South Carolina