We were up early with breakfast being delivered to the room at 7:30. We had cereal, juice and coffee not wanting to get bogged down with a heavy feast at IHOP. We had a big day ahead which started early with a tour of Fort Sumter.
We rode down to the Charleston Aquarium without our helmets .... really odd for us, but we didn't get over 15 mph so Nancy didn't complain too much. There is plenty of parking in the parking garage, at least on a weekday at this time of year. We had to pay $5.00 for a little over 3 hours parking.
The only way to tour Fort Sumter is by taking the ferry from either the Fort Sumter Visitor Center next to the Charleston Aquarium, or at Patriot's Point. There is free parking and access for RVs at the Patriot's Point access. The ticket for the ferry and tour is $14 for adults. We suggest you get there early, especially during busy vacation times. It was fairly crowded on our 9 am visit on a weekday in winter.
The boat ride gives you some good views of both Charleston and Patriots Point. Dolphin dance around the boat as you motor out. A narrative plays over the speakers telling you some of the history of Charleston and the forts. You can get-up and walk around to take pictures or get a better view.
Arriving at Fort Sumter you can opt for the 15 minute history lesson given by one of the Rangers, or you can head-out and explore on your own. We have studied up so we wandered around just imagining those men who braved battle here during the Civil War.
What is left of the original 1860 fort is only part of the original structure. Most of the fort was decimated in that conflict, first by bombardment by Confederates and then by attack from the US Navy after the Southerners had taken control.
There is a newer battery that was constructed for the Spanish American War in 1898. It is located inside the old fort walls and painted black to prevent glare.
The construction of Fort Sumter began circa 1828. Little had been done by 1834 when ownership of the island came into question. The Federal Government obtained clear title in 1841 and the arduous construction resumed. By 1860 the fort appeared nearly finished, but in reality it was not even close. There were large holes in some of the walls, only 15 of the 135 guns had been mounted, and most of the quarters were still unfinished.
Fort Sumter was first occupied by soldiers on the night of December 26, 1860. Eighty-five Union soldiers at Fort Moultrie, located just across the main channel, under the command of Major Robert Anderson secretly took possession. After determining that Confederates were ready to attack the indefensible Fort Moultrie, Maj. Anderson planned this retreat to a more formidable defensive position.
The North was exultant while the Southerners were irate. Being low on supplies the Star of the West, a merchant ship, was sent with provisions. The South learned of this and actually fired the first shots of the Civil War as the ship approached the fort. Anderson held his fire as the ship turned and departed.
For the next several months efforts were made to have Anderson surrender. A final ultimatum was given April 11.At 4:30 am on April 12 a mortar was fired from Fort Johnson with a resulting burst directly over the fort. All of the Southern batteries then began to shell Fort Sumter. Anderson withheld firing until about 7:30 am when he gave the honor of firing the first shot in retaliation to Captain Abner Doubleday.
All of Charleston watched. The Battery, steeples, and rooftops were packed with gawkers. The shelling continued all day and into the night.
On April 13 Anderson surrendered. No deaths had resulted from the more than 3,000 shells hurled at the fort. Part of the surrender was allowing the Union soldiers a 100-gun salute before leaving the island. As the salute was being fired an cannon misfired killing two Union soldiers. The salute was cut to 50.
Fort Sumter was then occupied by Confederate troops. In April of 1863 the North returned with a vengence sending nine Federal ironclads to attack the forts at Charleston. As they moved in they met a large volly of fire from Fort Sumter, Fort Mountrie, and Battery Gregg at Cummings Point. The ships quickly retreated.
In the next few months Union land forces captured Folly Island and moved in close enough to establish positions to fire on Sumter some 2 miles distant. This lasted for several months and destroyed most of the fort, but the Confederates held-on, even repelling a landing by Union marines.
Another barrage was mounted against Sumter in July 1864 with some 350 rounds a day hurled into the island. This continued for 61-days, but still no surrender. It was not until February of 1865 after Sherman's devastating attack in the south that Fort Sumter was abandoned by the Confederates. On Febraury 18 the United States flag was raised once more over Sumter. Total Confederate losses were 52 killed and 267 wounded.
A celebration was held at Sumter on April 14, 1865. Anderson brought back the flag he took when he left the island and raised it once again. Lincoln had been invited to the festivities but declined as he had tickets to Ford's Theatre that fateful night.
Fort Sumter today is more or less what remained after the heavy bombardment of the Civil War. It is a great place to visit and reflect on the hardships faced during trying times. There is always hope for the future.
We heard no rumors of ghosts in this fort, but it is a place where you would expect to find one or two. No tours are allowed at night when one might meet such apparitions.
Returning to the mainland we jumped on the bike, fetched our helmets, and headed for yet another fort, Fort Johnson on James Island where the first shot of the Civil War was fired.
Fort Johnson Road dead-ends at the site of this historic place in history, yet what remains has been assimilated into the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources that now occupies the site. If you search around a little you'll find a powder magazine which had been buried during the Civil War to protect it from shelling. It was lost until dug-up during construction more than a hundred years later. There is also a memorial to mark the site of the first shot fired in the Civl War. The only other things that remain are the two fresh water cisterns.
Leaving Fort Johnson we headed for a tour of Folly Island. This is a unique place with at least half of the residents denoted as "vacation Rentals". It has a bohemian atmosphere with high roller prices. Our favorite Truth in Advertising is a great white shark mounted on the front of a building identified with the sign LAW OFFICE.
It was time for lunch, but the places on Folly didn't make Nancy slaivat, so we headed back to Charleston and decided on Sticky Fingers Memphis Style BBQ. We normally don't care for chains, but this place came highly recommended and had been packed the times we passed it in the evenings. I had the hot ribs and pulled pork while Nancy chose the chicken. The habanero hot sauces were not hot. We used more than half a bottle to get some heat. The food was above average.
When we got back on the Caponorde it wouldn't start. We tried everything for about a minute before calling our chief mechanic Ken Wheeler. There is no one like this guy for fixing bikes, even by telephone. He had us jumping the solenoid with a wrench and running in 5 minutes.
We stopped and picked-up some beer for the evening and returned to our haunted room. We decided the trip home would be an Interstate jaunt because of the mechanical problems. We really hate getting on the big roads with the big rigs, but we had 390 miles to navigate with a sick bike.
Thankfully the gentleman ghost let us have a good night sleep.
