Friday, Oct. 31, 2014
Lake Aire RV Park
Charleston, SC
There are so many things to see and do in Charleston that it was hard to decide what to see first. Fort Sumter National Monument won for today's activity.
We accessed the Fort Sumter Headquarters on the water front in downtown Charleston. It required a boat trip to the Island where the fort is located. This boat leaves 3 times a day, allows 1 hour to see the fort and then brings you back.
Our 30 minute trip gave us time to view the Charleston Harbor including the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge between Charleston and Mt. Pleasant.
The USS Yorktown Museum off of Patriots Point.
There are schooner tours of the harbor and dolphin watches that could be a fun activity.
The fort was built on a man-made island after the war of 1812. Vermont granite was shipped from up north and dumped into the harbor to create a perfect spot for the Fort. The US decided to fortify the coastal area so Fort Sumter was started in 1832.
The original Fort was a very impressive fortress to guard the Charleston Harbor from enemy attack. It included 3 story barracks and officers quarters.
They were able to swivel to fire any direction.
As you can see they are very large.
During the Civil War the top two stories of the Fort were destroyed and all that is left is the bottom layers.
All the Confederate and South Carolina flags fly above Fort Sumter.
More Cannons on the lower battery looking out over the Atlantic.
From the first shot fired at Fort Sumter to the last, the battle between North and South was a duel between the heaviest artillery both sides could muster.
More than 43,000 shells, or 7 million pounds of metal, were hurled at Sumter. Not much is left of the 3 story living quarters.
Land and sea forces used traditional smoothbore guns and new rifled weaponry to pound the fort. Not much of the fort is left but it held through the various battles. You can see this 5' thick wall was blown from it's foundation.
Many of the walls were filled with sea shells and sand mortar.
This naval ship was anchored in the harbor. It has a catamaran hull and can travel at high speed of 60 knots (69 mph).
These pelicans were housed in the Charleston Aquarium and paced by the window all day.
That is all for today, more to come...
Becky and Lonnie
That fort is pretty epic: nothing like having to build an island!
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