056: The Low Country Part 3:

March 19^th was notable for two reasons.  The first was that I turned 64 years old and second, we crossed 3,000 n/m’s on our trip: so, just over halfway.

The day started with Matt and Kathy having us over to Katmat for a birthday breakfast.   We then headed to Beaufort, SC, electing to stay at the Safe Harbor Beaufort Marina which is adjacent to downtown.  That night we had a birthday dinner “in town” at a pretty decent restaurant, the Old Bull Tavern.   The next day, on the advice of a friend, Dave Beecken who lives on nearby Brays Island Plantation, we took a horse drawn carriage ride through the historic district.  We weaved around the historic area, focusing on the many large homes in "The Point" neighborhood. All, with few exceptions, are privately-owned, the oldest of which is the Thomas Hepworth House (1717). Back in the day, the Point was a very desirable place to live because of its proximity to the cooling breezes coming off the water.

Our two-horsepower carraige:

Houses on "The Point:

A cool hotrod:

The most interesting resident, with a house still standing, was Robert Smalls, a former slave. Later in his life Mr. Smalls owned the home at 511 Prince Street, originally constructed circa 1840 by Small's enslaver, Henry McKee.  Robert Smalls was born there, but as a young man he was "hired out" to work in Charleston where, among other jobs, he worked aboard a transport boat known as "The Planter" and became a skilled pilot. He freed himself, his crew, and their families during the Civil War by commandeering The Planter and piloting it from the Confederate-controlled waters of the harbor through the Union blockade, where it later became a Union warship. His example helped convince Abraham Lincoln to accept African American soldiers into the Union Army. Following the war, Smalls returned to to Beaufort where he purchased his former master's house, which Union tax authorities had seized in 1863 for refusal to pay taxes. Smalls later was a politician, publisher, and successful businessman. His is an incredible story!

That evening we went to dinner at Breakwater Restaurant and Bar with Dave Beecken and his wife Kitty: a very nice opportunity to catch up. 

On the morning of the 21rst, Nancy, Kathy and I took an Uber over to the Cypress Wetlands area in nearby Port Royal. Not a large area, but well worth the visit.  We came to a boardwalk that ventured out from the treed area and into an area that can only be described as like a "Garden of Eden." There was a clump of trees in the middle that contained hundreds of birds--Wood Storks, egrets, anhinga’s, and others, all moving around. We were told it was the mating season and there was courtship behavior being displayed. There were many people there on the boardwalk with cameras, and Nancy got a terrific shot of a Wood Stork flapping its wings at a nest with a chick. There were also many small alligators lining the opposite bank. The scene was mesmerizing. After a full walk around, we returned to the boat.

The Boardwalk:

A gator with Forest Gump's feather?

The view:

Mother and chick:

We left Beaufort and headed up to the Toogoodoo Creek anchorage, which was marsh-lined and mostly with minimal wind protection, although further up we did find some trees.  We scouted out different spots before deciding on one way up the Creek, located several hundred feet from the only house on the waterway, which was flying a Confederate flag underneath the American flag on its dockside flagpole. On our first attempt to anchor, we realized that we would swing into a crab pot, so we moved nearby, and we held fine with plenty of swing room.

Sunset:

On March 22^nd, we left Toogoodoo Creek relatively early, in order to get to the dock at the Safe Harbor Marina in Charleston in time to beat any bad weather.  The trip to Charleston was relatively uneventful except that you could feel the wind picking up and there were several open areas where the water was chaotic.  We contacted the Marina to let them know that we were in sight of the Coast Guard Station, as they instructed, and a dockhand was waiting for us when we pulled up and we docked a the “mega dock” next to “Kokotea,” a 120’ sailing yacht made in New Zealand with a home port of Bloody Bay, Jamaica. The "mega dock" is 1,500-ft long and we later learned that a new dock under construction would be 3,000-ft long with slips for 500-ft yachts.  It was a long trip to the restroom! 

Nancy, Kathy and Matt took the marina shuttle into Charleston while I stayed behind to work.   Later I joined them for dinner in town.   On the way back it was pouring rain, and by the time we made it down the 1,500’ dock, we were all soaked.

We set ourselves up for a full day of sightseeing on Saturday. Matt declined to join, so it was myself, Kathy and Nancy. We started at the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon on Bay Street--Charleston's most historic building. Completed in 1771, the Old Exchange Building has been the site of some of the most important events in Charleston's history. It was originally built as the customs house, and at that time its location was right on the waterfront (several blocks were filled in since). Over the years, the building has been a commercial exchange (including for slave auctions), customs house, post office, city hall, jail, military headquarters and museum and been the property of the British, United States, Confederacy, and Charleston City governments. It is now owned by the SC State Society of the DAR.

Sites:

The Exchange:

The basement "dungeon" of the The Exhange:

Sights:

The Pineapple Fountain:

 From the Old Exchange we visited The Old Slave Mart, also known as Ryan's Mart, which was a large slave trading complex opened on Chalmers Street in 1859, after the City banned public auction of enslaved people (and other goods) from the streets near the Exchange Building--it just moved several blocks into a "private" enclosed complex where the genteel folk would not see it. This complex originally included a slave auction gallery, morgue (the dead house), kitchen building, large yard and a 4-story bar raccoon (slave jail). The area behind the Chalmers Street building, which once contained the barracoon and kitchen is now a parking lot.

 Our next stop was the Heyward-Washington House on Church Street (1772), where we did individual audio tours. This was built by Thomas Hayward, Jr., one of four South Carolina signers of the Declaration of Independence and a home that can truly boast that "Washington Slept Here". The City rented the house during the President's week-long stay in 1791. The house is special because of its age and because of its intact 1740's kitchen building with slave quarters above, a privy and formal gardens.

We then walked through the Joe Riley Waterfront Park, a very busy area with lovely walkways lined with benches, azaleas, live oaks and, you guessed it, dripping with Spanish Moss. The ultimate destination here was the infamous Pineapple Fountain and it did not disappoint. There was quite a crowd there, including children with their shoes off playing in the water. The fountain was a three-tiered affair, crowned by a large pineapple sculpture with water running through it, great spot!

On Sunday, the 24^th, we got up early and went to the Liberty Square Fort Sumter Visitor Center for a ride over to see Fort Sumter. We boarded the Tour Boat "Spirit of the Low Country" at for the 9am departure, joined by a large group of seniors who were off a cruise ship. The ride to Fort Sumter was about 35 minutes, out through the Harbor to the middle of the channel where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean. 

The ride was narrated by a ranger from the National Park Service.  My favorite part of his talk was about the origins of the Civil War.  He neatly dispensed with the revisionist history of "states rights" being the cause and read from the South Carolina Declaration of Secession (its about slavery) and quoted the Vice President of the Confederacy, Alexander H. Stephens’ “Cornerstone Speech” who said this about the U.S. Constitution:

Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races. This was an error. It was a sandy foundation, and the government built upon it fell when the "storm came and the wind blew."

Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery—subordination to the superior race—is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.

Well, tell that to people like Mr. Smalls!

Once we arrived, the exploration of the Fort was self-guided. As a bonus, since we were the first tour of the day, we witnessed the daily raising of the American flag over the Fort

Construction of Fort Sumter began in 1829, and the "island" that the Fort is on is man-made, built on a sand bar from thousands of tons of granite transported from New England and placed by enslaved people.  Its construction was intended to defend the region from a naval invasion, built after British forces captured and occupied Washington, DC during the War of 1812. Because of technical challenges, funding issues, unpleasant weather and disease, the interior and armaments were never fully completed by 1861. 

Of course, Fort Sumter is where the Civil War began on April 12, 1861 when the South Carolina Militia artillery fired from shore on the Union Garrison.  The bombardment continued all day.  As the fort had been cut off from its supply line and Union Commander Major Robert Anderson surrendered the next day rather than risk having the powder magazine suffer a direct hit from artillery fire. He took the Union flag with him as they evacuated, and the rest, as they say, is history.

The war took its toll on Ft. Sumter and by the end it was mostly just a pile of bricks, but it was rebuilt not quite to its former glory, but still a formidable defensive position until finally turned over to the National Park Service in the mid-20^th Century.

Interior:

A cannon shell still embedded in the wall:

A post-Civil War cannon:

After the visit we “mooched around” the City Market for a bit and had lunch then did some grocery shopping.  Matt and I took our respective groceries back to the boat while Kathy and Nancy did more sightseeing.    That evening a Red Sea Dive Trip Buddy of mine who lives in the area joined us for dinner at a (forgettable) restaurant nearby, but getting caught up with her compensated for the poor service and so-so food.   She was kind enough to drop us back off at the marina for a long walk back to the boats.

Dave

Odometer: 3,074.