The Terrible Catsafterme

Brad's Musings and Meanderings

random acts of quoting

"Inspector Smoky Bates, private eye for the public schools." - Norman Lamb, "It's Your Move"

fs9.jpgFollowing 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.

fs.jpg

 A mortar shell in the wall

fs2.jpg

 Me seeing what’s inside a cannon

fs3.jpg

 Ashleigh seeing what’s inside a cannon

fs11.jpg

 Our over-zealous, but very informative, tour guide

fs4.jpg

 Me and the American flag that was flying over Fort Sumter during the Confederate takeover

fsf.jpg

The hidden face in the flag

 fs5.jpg

The flag of the Palmetto Guard, the first Confederate militia flag to be erected over Fort Sumter

fs7.jpg

 My Gang chats with a tour guide

fs10.jpg

The open air of Fort Sumter

fs6.jpg

All smiles on the site where the Civil War began

Myrtle Beach continues with Friday

Leave a Reply