Following our jaunt through Charleston on March 22, 2007, Mom, Denise, Ashleigh, Adam, and I boarded a boat that took us on a 45-minute journey terminating on the island where Fort Sumter is located. This, of course, is the site of the first battle of the Civil War which began on April 12, 1861. Here the Confederacy forced out the Union army stationed in the fort. It was a lovely day to browse the remains of this historic location.
Outside we could see the walls of the Fort complete with mortar shells that had been fired and lodged into the walls from the enemy along with some original Union cannons. On the upper level of the Fort was a museum of artifacts relating to the Fort and the Civil War. I was astonished that we were actually permitted to take photos of both the first Confederate flag to fly over Fort Sumter – as well as the American flag that was flying over the Fort when it was taken over by the Confederacy. Usually the deterioration caused by camera flashes dictates that we would not be permitted to snap such photos.
We viewed Fort Sumter at a leisurely pace, which was nice after rushing through Charleston a couple of hours earlier. We stayed on the island for about an hour and then reboarded our vessel which took us back to the area where we parked our car. On the way back to the condo, we stopped at Taco Bell where Adam was extremely amused by some other dining patrons.
Below are some nice shots from our great day at Fort Sumter. It was good to actually get out of Myrtle Beach and put another historical location notch on my belt.
A mortar shell in the wall
Me seeing what’s inside a cannon
Ashleigh seeing what’s inside a cannon
Our over-zealous, but very informative, tour guide
Me and the American flag that was flying over Fort Sumter during the Confederate takeover
The hidden face in the flag
The flag of the Palmetto Guard, the first Confederate militia flag to be erected over Fort Sumter
My Gang chats with a tour guide
The open air of Fort Sumter
All smiles on the site where the Civil War began
Myrtle Beach continues with Friday…
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