Fort Sumter

Yesterday we toured Fort Sumter near Charleston.  For those of you that aren’t into American history, this is where the civil war began.  The fort is on an island – I’m sure in the summer it’s a beautiful boat ride out, but in January it’s pretty cold with the wind.  We were happy the sun was shining though..


Approaching the fort in 2011, is quite a different site than in 1861.  Today it doesn’t look like much, but the walls were much higher (50 feet) when it was active.  But, the civil war left it in ruins and it was never fully rebuilt.

However, once inside you get a feel for what the construction was like. A park ranger gave a very interesting talk on the fort and it’s significance.   We then had time to tour the grounds and museum on our own. 

In the evening, we went on a pub tour.  A tour guide took us to four different pubs downtown, spending about 30 minutes at each one getting a history lesson on Charleston.  It was an interesting way to learn about the city.  But, it was Friday night and several pubs had bands, so in some places it made it hard to hear.  I think I would have preferred a walking tour during the day, but since it was cold, the pub tour gave us a chance to learn and be warm…plus have a couple beers.