A day in Charleston

We spent the day in Charleston yesterday and had a great time. The day started with a van tour of the city which gave us a overview of the place in about two hours. Then we caught the ferry ( the govt went back to work so the tour was  operating again) and visited Fort Sumter.

 We boarded this nice little boat for a 40 minute ride to the island which is home to Fort Sumter. It was a pleasant afternoon for a boat ride in Charleston harbor.








Fort Sumter sits on a man made island at the mouth of the harbor and between two other forts on land. The three forts were built in the mid 1700's to protect the town from the British. It was occupied by Union troops from then until 1861 when it became famous as the site of the first battle of the Civil War. Forgive me if the dates are a little off...... I'm getting old!




Before the battle the Fort was three stories high. After the battle it was still that high. The confederates won that battle and the Union soldiers retreated. But, it was the two years of bombardment by the Union forces that destroyed the two top stories. It seems that the Union really wanted the fort back. Another interesting fact is that this is the site of first sinking of a ship by a submarine. The USS Hunley rammed a  ship about 4oo meters off the island and unfortunately went to the bottom with it' prey.


Back  on shore, we caught sight of this bridge. I don't remember it's name but it is surely unique as far as bridges go.
Off to Savannah tomorrow morning. More from there.