FORT SUMTER

Took a boat ride out to Ft. Sumter last week, (sorry it took so long to get them posted). What a beautiful piece of history. The fort still stands, although the walls used to be 3 stories high before the shelling that took place at the beginning of the Civil War. This is the place where the 1st shots of the Civil War took place in 1861. It was neat to see old cannons and the inside locations and the way it was fortified. The Battle of Fort Sumter (April 12, 1861 – April 13, 1861) was the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina that began the American Civil War. The fort is maintained by the parks service and a guide meets you at the dock and gives about a 10 minute talk about the fort before you are left on your own to explore.

Taking the tour boat ride to the fort.

Approaching the fort. Taken from the boat.

Sign in front.

One shot of the many cannon bays.

A view of the courtyard and some of the cannons. Notice some of the rubble where the fort sustained hits during the attack.

One of the cannons. It could be rolled forward and side-to-side for aiming.

One of the locations, where a cannonball hit .

They left as much of the evidence of shelling as they could, so you have a better perspective of what it was like.

The courtyard and a center battery that was added in later years.