May 31, 2012 Charleston, SC

We spent yesterday, May 31, touring Ft. Sumter. There is a very convenient shuttle service at this marina which will take you into town and drop you off at the many tourist destinations. We took a tour boat across the bay to the fort. There are several tour boats which you can take on a variety of harbor cruises. Below is one of the schooner boats.

As we headed out of the harbor we got a panoramic view of the cities historic houses.

When South Carolina seceded, Fort Sumter became a focal point of tension between the North and South. It became the Confederate stronghold between 1863 and 1865. On August 17, 1863 Federal troupes fired a bombardment of almost 1,000 shells on the fort.  Within a week, the fort's brick walls were shattered and  reduced to rubble. For 20 months Fort Sumter withstood a Federal siege. When General Sherman's troops advanced north from Savannah, the Confederates evacuated the fort in February 1865. In April Charleston was in Union hands and the the Union flag once again flew over Fort Sumter.

The Park Rangers gave an informative presentation of the history of the fort from the building of the fort in 1829 as one of a series of coastal fortifications built by the US after the War of 1812 and its hot point of contention between the Confederates and the Union during the Civil War as well as its role as a coastal defense in during WWII, against German U-boats and its decommission to a National Park.

Although it was a hot day for touring the fort, there were cool ocean breezes and shelter among the fort structures to make it a lovely day

Lucky for us to hear the fort rangers giving there historic presentations under the brick walls as a reprieve from the sun.

All six flags which have flown over the fort from its inception in 1829 until the present day are flown daily over the center of the fort.

Gordon looks like a happy tourist!

Great ocean view!

 Below, the tour boat which took us to the fort.