Park 23: Fort Sumter National Monument

5/26/13. We drove to Charleston early in the morning in time to get tickets for the 9:30 am ferry to Fort Sumter. The ferry ride took about 30 minutes during which time the boat played a recording of the history of the fort as the site where the civil war begun.  The weather was beautiful and we had amazing views of the harbor. We also learned that Fort Sumter's island was constructed with a foundation of over 70,000 tons of granite and other rock. For over a decade contractors from as far away as New York and the Boston area delivered this material by ship and dumped it on a shoal in Charleston Harbor.

When we got to the island, we spent a little while listening to a guide give us more details about the history of the fort, then we explored the various areas. The view of the inlet and river were amazing. Because it was Memorial Day weekend, and the weather was perfect, the monument was quite crowded. We also visited the museum at the fort which had some fascinating artifacts and information:

"When the Civil War finally exploded in Charleston Harbor, it was the result of a half-century of growing sectionalism. Escalating crises over property rights, human rights, states rights and constitutional rights divided the country as it expanded westward. Underlying all the economic, social and political rhetoric was the volatile question of slavery. Because its economic life had long depended on enslaved labor, South Carolina was the first state to secede when this way of life was threatened. Confederate forces fired the first shot in South Carolina, and the federal government responded with force. Decades of compromise were over, and the very nature of the Union was at stake."

In all, we spent about an hour on the island and learned a great deal about civil war history and the geography of the area. During the ferry ride back, we also heard more about the history of the area. When we got back to the visitor's center, we got our Passport Stamps and then headed out to have lunch in Charleston.