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| You seldom see detailed models of military railroads |
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| The painting of figures is especially well done |
A trip to Charleston, SC is not complete without a trip to Fort Sumter. This is an island fort and was intended to protect the Charleston Harbor from enemy vessels.
History tells us this is where the first shot of the Civil War began, but the details of battles over the fort between the South and the Union forces are best understood by a first hand visit to the remains.
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| Your tour starts at the National Park Service building at the Harbor where the tour boat awaits taking you to the Fort |
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| The park outside is quite peaceful |
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| The lines to the tour boat queue up here |
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| When Fort Sumter was fully operational it was a very imposing structure. Since it was intended to bombard enemy vessels and prevent access to the harbor the main defenses looked seaward. Bombardment of the fort from shore batteries due to a civil war was not part of the original design plans. Most of what you see in this image has been blown to bits in the battles for control of the fort. |
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| The tour boat docks at the Fort and a walkway provides access to the entrance |
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| A cannon greats you as you enter |
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| Openings for cannon fire |
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| Many of the shells from the bombardment are still found impacted in the walls |
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| Signage explains the various highlights of the Fort. |
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| There is a very good collection of Civil War cannons and explanations of their use within the fort |
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| There is a very good museum at the fort that gives great detail of the history. The tour is about an hour long and you have to hustle to be able to see all there is to see. |
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| Detailed art work gives a feel for the battles for control of the fort |
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| Some of the signage aligns with where the bombardment came from shore batteries |
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| We were the first tour of the day. That means we were there for the ceremony of the raising of the flag |
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| One lower wall of the fort is pretty much intact |
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| Conservation of the cannons and carriages is underway |
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| Collections of Civil War cannons are to be found at the various Forts in the Charleston area |
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| Supporting equipment for firing cannons was on display |
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| Portions of the fort are distorted due to an explosion in a powder magazine |
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| There is a sand spit visible in this image that is pretty much fully exposed at low tide. They caution you to not attempt to access the fort that way as the tide can get you in a dilemma rather quickly |
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| The return trip involves a tour of the harbor and seeing the various sights and bridges |
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| The aircraft carrier and destroyer museum ships are nearby |
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| The RORO's (Roll On, Roll Off) are nearby. These big ships bring foreign built automobiles to the docks - in this case BMW's - acres of new BMW's |
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| We found these yellow boats of interest. There would be 6 or so of them in a line at most of the Charleston Harbor areas of interest. Turns out they are self driven tour boats. The first boat is the tour guide with a radio transmitter and each following boat is a tourist driving their own boat. |
