The Great American Road Trip

I’m keeping it short and sweet tonight because my wife says I need to get more sleep. This is me agreeing with her. 🙂

This morning we left Jacksonville, Florida (where we had been staying), and drove roughly 4 hours to Charleston, South Carolina. It was another warm day, where there is no breeze, and the humidity feels like someone put a warm wet blanket on you – and it’s 90+ degrees.

The only thing on our agenda today was to take a ferry out to Fort Sumter, which lies on a man-made island in Charleston’s harbor. If you know your Civil War history, this is where the Civil War started. A military buildup at the Union-held fort, heavy talk of secession throughout the south…all was needed was a spark. One thing led to another, and shots were fired. There is no doubt the South fired first. There is some question as to whether both parties involved knew what they were getting into. Some did. William Tecumseh Sherman, teaching at a military college in New Orleans, got into a heated debate in 1860, and declared that the South was going to lose any future war, and would regret starting one. Sherman would return, of course, as a Union general, and make good on his prediction.

We boarded a National Park Service ferry at the Liberty Square region of the harbor. The ride out was pleasant enough. We saw more dolphins surfacing in the water along the ship. Birds followed us out to the island. First thing which stood out was the size of the island. It was smaller than I thought. Then, I noticed that part of the fort was painted black. Strange, especially in this heat! I later heard something about black tar being used back in the day…yada, yada, yada. I will say one thing. The Park Service speaker was outstanding! He really had a flair for the dramatic, and set up our visit very well. I can’t remember his name, but if you get him, you’ll know what I mean. He was dynamite!

Below are some pictures of our visit to the fort. Like I said, keeping it short. I will say that the boys and I agree that this place was better than we thought it would be. Six thumbs up!

Some interesting things from today’s tour:

• A “fire eating” secessionist from Virginia, Edmund Ruffin, who had come down to South Carolina to urge the South Carolinians to “strike first”, ended up being the first person to fire a cannon at the fort, thus starting the battle, and the war.
• After 34 hours of constant bombardment, the Union soldiers surrendered the fort. No one on either side had been killed.
• An hour before the bombardment began, Confederate officers approached the fort and informed the Union officers that they were going to commence bombing in one hour. The Union officer in charge thanked them for the heads-up, and shook their hands. One hour later, it started. Things sure have changed.
• Most people in South Carolina were in favor of secession, and starting with the bombing on April 11, 1861, the people of Charleston congregated at the buildings on the shore, and they toasted the beginning of hostilities.
• The Union second in command was a man by the name of Abner Doubleday. He served at Fort Sumter, and would see action throughout the war, including at Gettysburg in 1863. Yet, he is most remembered as the person credited with inventing the sport of baseball, in Elihu Phinney’s cow pasture in Cooperstown, NY, in 1839.
• Although the United States flag came down on April 13, 1861, Union soldiers vowed it would be raised again. Fatefully, it would be raised, just days after the end of the war, on April 14, 1865, mere hours before President Abraham Lincoln would be shot and killed.

Well, that’s it for tonight. Tomorrow we visit Deborah’s brother’s house in North Carolina for a rest day. Not really expecting much to happen tomorrow, but I will regale you with something from the road. Until then, aloha!