And so it begins

And so it begins, our visit to Fort Sumter. Also this location marked the beginning of the Civil War or as my cousin from Virginia refers to it as the War of Northern Aggression. Never the less we have been here 2 times before, purely to capture INK and today I am fulfilling a statement, we need to come back here one day. This is the day.

Some historical perspective of Fort Sumter brought to you from Wikipedia
Fort Sumter is a sea fort in Charleston, South Carolina, notable for two battles of the American Civil War. It was one of a number of many special forts planned after the War of 1812, combining high walls and heavy masonry, and classified as Third System, as a grade of structural integrity. Work started in 1829, but was incomplete by 1860, when South Carolina seceded from the Union. It is open for public tours as part of the Fort Sumter National Monument operated by the National Park Service.

The First Battle of Fort Sumter opened on April 12, 1861, when Confederate artillery fired on the Union garrison. These were the first shots of the war, and continued all day, watched by many civilians in a celebratory spirit. The fort had been cut off from its supply line, and surrendered next day. The Second Battle of Fort Sumter (September 8, 1863) was a failed attempt by the Union to re-take the fort, dogged by rivalry between army and navy commanders. Although the fort was reduced to rubble, it remained in Confederate hands until it was evacuated as Sherman marched through South Carolina in February 1865.

Fort Sumter is now a National Monument with a Visitor Education Center.

Having spent the morning in Charleston we grabbed the 1:30PM boat to Fort Sumter from Patriots Point in Mt Pleasant. Easy parking and less the a mile from where we were staying. For the ride we left our helmets in the room, something we would not ordinarily do. Price of the boat to Fort Sumter was 17 (senior pricing). The boat takes about 45 minutes and is a nice ride, with the NPS providing lots of information over the intercom.


Located at Patriot Point is the USS Yorktown, one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy.



View of Charleston from the boat



This really has nothing to do with our visit to Fort Sumter, just like the color of the hats and they were on the boat.



On board view of Fort Sumter. Originally the fort had 3 stories.



Some shots while at the fort



Partner in Crime











Back at Patriots Point picked up Veteran Memorial and USS Yorktown, a specific location for the Americana Tour





Just outside of Patriots Point is this land sunken submarine. The top of the submarine USS Lewis and Clark SSBN 664 sticks up out of the ground in a memorial to the Cold War (1947-1989) and the local role in loading and servicing the nation's sub-based ballistic missiles.



We headed back to the motel to get ready for dinner with another high school friend that I have not seen in 20 years, Bruce Kahn. We had a great visit catching up on old times and what each of knew about fellow students at West Orange High. It was a great time.


Map of the whole day, but the center section is Patriots Point