I have always wanted to visit Charleston, South Carolina so I was thrilled when the hubby suggested we travel to see our friends who are staying in Goose Creek. The pictures I see are always so beautiful and being the Civil War geeks the hubby and I are, Ft. Sumter is in Charleston, where it all started. I have to say, if you ever get the chance to go, GO! There is so much to do and see. We could have spent a month there and not seen all that we wanted to. It truly is a beautiful city. So much history here!
This is the Ravenel Bridge that connects Charleston to Mount Pleasant, SC. On this particular day before we set out to see Ft. Sumter, the hubby and our friends ran across this bridge in the morning. Now, unlike at home where we wake up and it is a nice 50-60 degrees in the morning, it was already a happy 80 degrees when they woke up at 6:30 am. So back to our trip to Ft. Sumter. This was on the boat ride to the Ft. It took about 30 minutes to get there, by boat being the only way since it is on an island in the harbor. The Ft. itself is free to get into. It was $50 for the four of us to ride the ferry to the island.
Those lashes! Such a beauty!!
Jacob wanted to ride on the lower deck.
Little Miss enjoying the ride.
This is the picture of what the hubby thought he was going to see when we got to Ft. Sumter.
This is what I knew we were going to see...about half a fort, if you are lucky. There really is not much left of it at all! When you read the history books that it was bombarded, it really was bombarded...a LOT! Only half the outer wall is still standing and it is maybe a story and a half high, in some parts, if that (compared to the three is used to be).
If you look about a 1/3 of the way down on the left side, those are dolphins!! As we were waiting to dock, a pod of 4-5 came in and were playing in front of our boat. Such a cool surprise!
Inside the fort. I believe this is a 42 pounder (do not hold me to that, the hubby is much better at guns than I am).
These are a 15 inch Rodman, an 8 inch Columbian, and not sure on the last one.
The ruins of Ft. Sumter.
This was looking towards Morris Island, SC (on the right hand side) where the battle for Ft. Wagner (Battery Wagner) took place. The controversial 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, with free African-Americans, led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw marched on Ft. Wagner in 1863. This is the same Ft. Wagner as portrayed in the movie Glory, one of my all time favorite movies (funny enough, most of my favorite movies are historical movies...go figure). I wanted so much to go visit Ft. Wagner and stand where the brave men of the 54th stood. Unfortunately, Ft. Wagner is long gone, taken back by the ocean.
Here's my history lesson I have to give, especially after all the hoopla with the "Confederate" flag recently. First off, the flag you think of as the "Star and Bars" is in fact, not the "Stars and Bars". The "Stars and Bars" everyone is talking about was NEVER the Confederate States of America's National flag. The "Stars and Bars" most people think about with the blue X and red background, is the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia (1861) and later the Army of Tennessee (also the second Confederate Navy Jack from 1863-1865). The "Stars and Bars" is actually the flag that is second from the right (two red stripes, one white stripe). This is the First National Flag of the Confederacy (1861-1863), otherwise known as the "Stars and Bars". The white flag all the way to the left in this picture, is the Second National Flag of the Confederacy (1863-1865 also known as "The Stainless Banner"). They changed from the first flag because there was confusion on the battlefield because when looking at the First CSA flag and the USA flag, they looked fairly similar all beaten up and torn up, thus the reason for the major change to a white background. Then you have the other four flags: the blue flag (South Carolina state flag) and the three other flags are our current USA flag, the USA flag in 1860 (with 33 stars) and the USA flag in 1865 (35 stars). Phew, ok, history lesson over.
This is the flag that flew above Ft. Sumter before the war and was re-raised at the Fort after the surrender of the Confederacy (April 14, 1865).
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