1876. A West Point graduate, Doubleday was at Fort Sumter when it was attacked, signaling the beginning of the Civil War. He aimed the first Union gun fired in defense of the fort. A staunch abolitionist, he served in numerous campaigns throughout the Civil War, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1863. After the war, he attained the rank of colonel before retiring from active service in December 1873. Doubleday is most famously remembered for being credited with inventing the game of baseball in 1839 at Cooperstown, New York, but it is thought that this is almost certainly untrue.