Visit Fort Sumter

Anne and I took a day trip to Charleston during our recent beach trip to South Carolina, and spent the afternoon touring Fort Sumter. The only way to the fort is by tour boat, which runs three trips daily from the modern brick visitor center. We took the last trip of the day, which leaves the dock at 2:30. You'll need about two-and-a-half hours, forty-five minutes travel time each way and an hour to explore. My favorite view of Sumter is from the tour boat as we were coming up to the dock near its main gate. The old brick and mortar fort looks relatively unspoiled. But the years have not been kind. About the time of the Spanish-American War the fort was modernized by the addition of a massive cement structure which occupies more than half of Sumter's interior. It's black-tarred walls stick up above the deteriorated brick walls of the original fort. So you've got to use some imagination to get a picture of Sumter in 1861. Despite the modernization (which, by the way, helped to keep the fort in service unti 1947) it was great to be on the spot where the war began. The park rangers were, as has been my experience at all NPS locations, friendly and informative. The lead ranger poked fun at the tape which played during our boat trip, but I thought it did a great job providing background and interesting details about the history of the fort and Charleston from colonial times to the present.