Tuesday marks the 150-year anniversary of a milestone in America’s history: the Civil War. In order to celebrate the yearly anniversary, a re-enactment will be held at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, S.C.

Beginning April 12, 1861, and ending April 9, 1865, the Civil War claimed the lives of more than 625,000 people and is considered to be the “bloodiest war in United States history,” said David Bulla, associate professor in journalism and communication.

The Civil War is an important event for citizens of Iowa to remember, Bulla said, because “it was right in Iowa’s own backyard. The line of slavery was split on right above Missouri and right below Iowa.”

“In my opinion, there were probably two main events that helped shape America: the Revolution and the Civil War,” Bulla said. “The Revolution set up our country and broke us away from Great Britain. However, this ball had some imperfections, with slavery being one of the biggest imperfections. The Civil War would act as the turning point for this.”

The Civil War began before dawn April 12, 1861, at Fort Sumter in Charleston, S.C., according to the official Civil War website. On April 10, Confederate Gen. G.T. Beauregard demanded the Union forces surrender. However, Union Gen. Robert Anderson refused.

Two days later, the Confederates opened fire on the fort. Unable to fight back effectively,  Anderson’s troops were forced to surrender. This marked the end of the first battle of the Civil War, making it the first victory for the South. The war was officially started.

“Regionally, Iowa was right in the heart of this,” Bulla said. “No state was more loyal in the Civil War than Iowa. The Republican party won all the elections in Iowa during this time, and Iowa sent more than its fair share of soldiers.”

Bulla also said there were two influential aspects the Civil War had on Iowa. First, the Transcontinental Railroad was created during this time, with Council Bluffs being a point on the First Transcontinental Railroad.

Second, Iowa State came into existence in the midst of the Civil War. In 1862, Iowa was the first state to accept the terms of the Morrill Act. The Morrill Act was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on July 2, 1862.

This provided “each state with 30,000 acres of federal land for each member in their Congressional delegation. The land was then sold by the states and the proceeds used to fund public colleges that focused on agriculture and the mechanical arts,” according to the Library of Congress official website.

“The Civil War and Iowa State University are connected at the umbilical cord, so to speak,” Bulla said. “Iowa was everywhere in this war. Whoever we are now, we really defined ourselves as people during this time.

“Equality was something that Iowa believed in and still believes in and it didn’t go to the back seat. No, it went straight to the front seat.”