Confederate flag taken down at Fort Sumter

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The historic site where the first shots of the Civil War were fired is no longer flying versions of the Confederate flag above it.

The U.S. National Park Service ordered all flags except the U.S. flag to be taken down at the Fort Sumter National Monument in Charleston Harbor.

The banners that were removed are neither the traditional Confederate flag that's most typically displayed by individuals nor the battle flag version that has been flying on the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia. Instead, the flags taken down were the less frequently seen national banners of the Confederacy.

The park service also took down the South Carolina state flag.

On April 12, 1861, the Confederate army fired artillery at the federal military installation, which is located in Charleston Harbor, in the first armed conflict of the Civil War. Union forces surrendered 34 hours later, and for four years, the fort remained in Confederate hands.

South Carolina lawmakers have been asked to decide the future of the Confederate flag flying at the Statehouse after nine people attending Bible study were shot and killed at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston on June 17. Alleged shooter Dylann Root posted Confederate-inspired messages on social media. Lawmakers are set to debate the flag's fate July 6.

On Saturday, Bree Newsome, 30, climbed a 30-foot pole in front of the Statehouse and took down the Confederate flag as fellow activist, James Ian Tyson, 30, waited on the ground. Both were arrested, then released from jail Saturday after posting bond.

Meanwhile, many top U.S. retailers, including Walmart and Amazon, said they they will no longer sell Confederate flag-related merchandise.