Charleston, #3...

A must see when visiting Charleston is the Ft. Sumter site.  I have done quite a bit of reading about the Civil War -- the battles and how things came about as they did.  So having the opportunity to actually visit Ft. Sumter was a real treat.

Obviously, what you see now is not what was the scene back then.  The Fort had been reduced to rubble, occupied, reoccupied, rebuilt, and abandoned.  So as it stands now, you have to use your imagination a good bit to really take in what it means to stand in such a place.  The Park Service is doing its best to maintain it, and the rangers who work there do a real nice job of talking to visitors about the site, the remains, the battles, and the progression of Ft. Sumter since the Civil War days and subsequent rebuilding.

The original walls of the fort were five stories tall prior to the start of the civil war.  But after the bombardment and siege, it was, for the most part,  reduced to rubble.  Here you can see the walls now and how the cannon ports were closed up to keep out the water.

This post card shows the Fort in various stages of destruction during the bombardment.  Also, here is an overhead shot from the internet which gives you an idea of the layout of the fort. Here is what it looks like today with the new area (new from the Spanish-American War!  The windows are new construction, but the black walled area is from that time period).

If you happened to be standing in the green area, over the flag in the picture above, you would be looking out into the ocean.

 One thing that happened quite often while we were visiting Charleston was my meeting veterans and talking to them.  Here I met a gentleman who was wearing a 4th ID hat.  I asked him about it and we talked about "stuff" for a while.  He introduced me to his son who was also in 4th ID in Iraq.  We talked for a while and it seems we could have crossed paths a few times over there.

So, it was quite an honor to be standing in the middle of this historic site.  As I looked around at the remaining walls, the powder/ammunition storage area, the shells of the officer's quarters and the firing ports that were still open to the sea, it just reinforced some of the things I had read about the ferocity, and the magnitude of the destruction that took place during that war.

As we left, the rangers had just lowered the flags, putting to rest the spirits of those who had once fought there. It was quite a visit, and quite an honor.  And as we sailed away from this hallowed place, I couldn't help but remember something I read once from Joshua Chamberlain, the commander of the famous "20th Maine" ... "Not once in a century are men permitted to bear such responsibilities for freedom and justice, for God and humanity, as are now placed upon us."

War loses a great deal of romance after a soldier has seen his first battle...It is a classical maxim that it is sweet and becoming to die for one's country; but whoever has seen the horrors of a battle-field feels that it is far sweeter to live for it."  (from Mosby's War Reminiscences by John S. Mosby)

Hooah