We drove to Charleston from Congaree where we spent 3 nights. The first day we decided to take the boat to Ft Sumter National Monument from the Patriots Point harbor. This was a cool area to leave from because there is a decommissioned aircraft carrier there as well as a submarine. We didn’t do the aircraft carrier tour but the kids still loved being able to see it up close from the Ft Sumter boat.
The boat is about 30 minutes ride to the island, an hour on island to explore the fort, listen to a 10 minute Ranger talk, and visit the museum inside the Battery, and then 30 minute return trip. It was chilly and a bit rainy when we went. The inside museum was really excellent and gave a great overview of Fort Sumter and its role in the Civil war. Some of the language used in the museum, we have noted is common in these southern forts, is a bit… denial? Like calling the Civil War “The war between the states.” And referring to the war being about states rights. We’ve been to several of these old forts now and the kids really started asking questions this time.
I spent a good bit of time explaining to them why the war started, and why we generally don’t like wars but some things are worth fighting for. I have no idea if they get it more or not.
This Fort was interesting and has been well preserved and reconstructed in some areas. One of the craziest things we saw was a live cannon was discovered on the lawn inside the Fort in 1995 (and subsequently removed and made safe a couple years later). Imagine a tourist accidentally detonating a cannon while visiting over the years! Makes you wonder how many unexploded ordinances there are out there…
On the way back we had a heck of a following of seagulls and a couple pelicans.
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