Monday, Nov. 21st

Toured the Charleston Museum this a.m. I am presently sitting in a Starbucks having a cappacino (spelling?).

My flight leaves here at 4:25 p.m. today. We have a lay-over in Chicago and then back to Omaha around 9:30 p.m. tonight. It will be a late night, but looking forward to coming home.

The "Holy City"

Look at this picture. Can you see why they call Charleston the "Holy City?"

Ghost in the Flag

This flag is on display at Fort Sumter. Our tour guide pointed out the image of a "ghost" in its canton. Can you see it?

The Citadel

In response to a slave rebellion plot, a municipal guard of 150 men was established in Charleston in 1822. Half the men were stationed in an arsenal called the citadel. Later, the South Carolina legislature replaced the expensive guardsmen with less expensive cadets and the arsenal was turned over to the newly established South Carolina Military Academy. On December 20, 1842, the South Carolina Legislature passed an Act "to convert the citadel and magazine in and near Charleston, into Military Schools.” The act specified:

That the students when admitted, shall be formed into a military corps, and shall constitute the public guard of the Citadel and Magazine in and near Charleston...to guard effectually, the public arms and other property at the places aforesaid...

The first 20 cadets reported to The Academy on March 20, 1843. The name of the college was officially changed in 1910 to "The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina". On January 9, 1861, SC Academy cadets George Edward Haynsworth and Samuel Bonneau Pickens were present when their unit fired two large cannon from their Morris Island station at the U.S. steamer, the Star of the West, preventing it from reaching Fort Sumter with troops and supplies and thus firing what are considered the first shots of the Civil War.

On January 28, 1861, the Corps of Cadets of The SC Academy was made part of the military organization of the state and named the Battalion of State Cadets. The Academy continued to operate as a military academy, but classes were often disrupted when the governor called the cadets into military service. Mounting and manning heavy guns, performing guard duty, providing security and escorting prisoners were among the services performed by the cadets. They were known as the Battalion of State Cadets and participated in the following engagements from 1861 to 1865. As a result of these services, The Citadel is authorized to carry nine Confederate battle streamers:

1. Confederate States Army (larger gray)
2. Star of the West, January 9, 1861
3. Wappoo Cut, November 1861
4. James Island, June 1862
5. Charleston and Vicinity, July–October 1863
6. James Island, June 1864
7. Tulifinny, December 1864
8. James Island, December 1864-February 1865
9. Williamston, May 1865

On February 18, 1865, the school ceased operation as a college when Union troops entered Charleston and occupied the site.

Following the war, the Board of Visitors eventually regained possession of The Citadel campus, and the South Carolina Legislature passed an act to reopen the college. The 1882 session began with an enrollment of 185 cadets.

In its Vision Statement, the Citadel Board of Visitors identifies the following as the school's "core values:"

• Honor: First and foremost honor includes adherence to the Honor Code of The Citadel. A cadet “will not lie, cheat or steal, nor tolerate those who do”. The commitment to honor extends beyond the gates of The Citadel and is a life-long obligation to moral and ethical behavior. In addition, honor includes integrity; “doing the right thing when no one is watching”. Finally, honorable behavior includes exercising the moral courage to “do the right thing when everyone is watching”. The Honor Code is the foundation of our academic enterprise.

• Duty: First and foremost duty means to accept and accomplish the responsibilities assigned to me. At The Citadel, my primary duty is to perform academically and then to perform as a member of the Corps of Cadets and the campus community. I accept the consequences associated with my performance and actions. Once I have held myself accountable for my actions, then I will hold others accountable for their actions. Finally, duty means that others can depend on me to complete my assignments and to assist them with their assignments. Duty is also a call to serve others before self.

• Respect: First and foremost respect means to treat other people with dignity and worth – the way you want others to treat you. Respect for others eliminates any form of prejudice, discrimination, or harassment (including but not limited to rank, position, age, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, physical attributes, etc.). In addition, respect for others means to respect the positions of those in authority which include faculty, staff, administrators, active duty personnel and the leadership of the Corps of Cadets. Finally, respect includes a healthy respect for one’s self.

Sunday, November 20 Schedule

Today we are going to visit Fort Sumter and the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Yorktown. Super excited for the Sumter visit. Here is some information on the fort. I will add some pictures tonight.

Named after General Thomas Sumter, a Revolutionary War hero, Fort Sumter was built following the War of 1812, as one of a series of fortifications on the southern U.S. coast. Construction began in 1827, and the structure was still unfinished in 1861, when the Civil War began. Seventy thousand tons of granite were imported from New England to build up a sand bar in the entrance to Charleston Harbor, which the site dominates. The fort was a five-sided brick structure, 170 to 190 feet long, with walls five feet thick, standing 50 feet over the low tide mark. It was designed to house 650 men and 135 guns in three tiers of gun emplacements.

On December 26, 1860, six days after South Carolina declared its secession, Major Robert Anderson abandoned Fort Moultrie and relocated his 127 men to Fort Sumter. He thought that providing a stronger defense would delay an attack by South Carolina militia. The fort was not yet complete at the time and fewer than half of the cannons that should have been available were in place. Over the next few months, repeated calls for evacuation of Fort Sumter from the government of South Carolina and then from Confederate Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard were ignored. Union attempts to resupply and reinforce the garrison were repulsed on January 9, 1861 when the first shots of the war, fired by cadets from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina (a state funded school), prevented a steamer, hired to transport troops and supplies to Fort Sumter, from completing the task. After realizing that Anderson's command would run out of food by April 15, 1861, newly elected President Lincoln ordered a fleet of ships to attempt entry into Charleston Harbor and support Fort Sumter.

On Thursday, April 11, 1861, Beauregard sent three aides to demand the surrender of the fort. Anderson declined, and the aides returned to report to Beauregard. After Beauregard had consulted with the Confederate Secretary of War, he sent the aides back to the fort and authorized them to decide whether the fort should be taken by force. The aides waited for hours while Anderson considered his alternatives and played for time. At about 3 a.m., when Anderson finally announced his conditions. The aides then left the fort and proceeded to the nearby Fort Johnson. There, they ordered the fort to open fire on Fort Sumter.

On Friday, April 12, 1861, at 4:30 a.m., Confederate batteries opened fire, firing for 34 straight hours, on the fort. No attempt was made to return the fire for more than two hours. The fort's supply of ammunition was not suited for the task, also there were no fuses for their explosive shells, only solid balls could be used against the Rebel batteries. At about 7:00 A.M., Captain Abner Doubleday (yes, he is the inventor of baseball), the fort's second in command, was given the honor of firing the first shot in defense of the fort. The shot was ineffective, in part because Major Anderson did not use the guns mounted on the highest tier, the barbette tier, where the gun detachments would be more exposed to Confederate fire. The firing continued all day, the Union fired slowly to conserve ammunition. At night the fire from the fort stopped, but the Confederates still lobbed an occasional shell in Sumter. On Saturday, April 13, the fort was surrendered and evacuated. During the attack, the Union colors fell. No Union soldiers died in the actual battle though a Confederate soldier bled to death having been wounded by a misfiring cannon. One Union soldier died and another was mortally wounded during the 47th shot of a 100 shot salute, allowed by the Confederacy. Accounts, such as in the famous diary of Mary Chesnut, describe Charleston residents along what is now known as The Battery, sitting on balconies and drinking salutes to the start of the hostilities.

Slave Tag(s)

Here are two examples of metal slave tags.

Fort Moultrie Flag

What is unique about this flag that flies over Fort Moultrie?

Fort Moultrie Pictures

Fort Moultrie originally was a palmento pine log and sand "fort" during the American Revolution. By the 1830's, locally made bricks were used with dirt to reinforce the structure. The fort was situated to repel seaborne attacks into Charleston Harbor. It was to work in conjunction with Fort Sumter and Fort Johnson. Fort Moultrie continued as a harbor defense until 1947. From her ramparts, you can see Fort Sumter in the middle of approach to Charleston; Charleston can be seen as well as the Atlantic Ocean. The infamous Battery Wagner (Fort Wagner) of 54th Massachusetts fame was also in this area across from Moultrie. This was also the location of the sinking of the C.S.S. Hunley.

Cotton

Cotton production required alot of land and slave labor. Here are some cotton plants found at Boone Hall. After harvest, the cotton was processed in the building shown. This building housed the Cotton Gin(s) and this is where the cotton was bailed. The standard cotton bail was 500 lbs.

The building has wooden braces to add support against hurricanes / earthquakes. The building is also being rebuilt.

Boone Hall Visit and Pictures

No doubt this plantation is what we "northerners" think all plantations were like. The oak lined lane, with the Spanish Moss hanging from them, approach to the house is awesome. However, other than the tree lined lane, the house that is currently there is not from the antebellum or Civil War period. The house on this site from that period would have been a traditional wooden farm house that we see in Nebraska.

The brick slave cabins are original. These slave shacks would have housed five to fifteen slaves. These slaves were house servants or "skilled" slaves. The field slaves would have lived in wooden shacks near the fields they worked.

A Southern "treat"

So our tour guide today had us try a southern treat; boiled peanuts. The peanut shell is soaked and boiled in salt water and then served. The shell is soggy and the peanut had the texture of a cold kidney bean. NOT an enjoyable treat. It will be my first and last.

Fort Moultrie

Fort Moultrie is the name of a series of citadels on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina. The first fort, built of palmetto logs, inspired the flag and nickname (Palmetto State) of South Carolina. It is named in honor of the commander in the Battle of Sullivan's Island, General William Moultrie.

Fort Moultrie is the only area of the National Park System where the entire 171-year history of American seacoast defense (1776–1947) can be traced.

American Revolution

South Carolina patriots began to build a fort to guard Charleston harbor in 1776. With nine warships the British attacked the fort—still unnamed and incomplete—on June 28, 1776, near the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. The soft palmetto logs did not crack under bombardment but rather absorbed the shot; cannon balls reportedly even bounced off the walls of the structure. William Moultrie commanded the 2nd South Carolina Regiment for the revolutionary patriots in this battle. The fort took its name Fort Moultrie in his honor.

The British eventually captured Fort Moultrie in the Siege of Charleston in spring 1780. However, the British troops were forced to departed it 1782.

Civil War

South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. Unlike their counterparts at the other forts, defenders of Fort Moultrie chose not to surrender to the South Carolina forces. On December 26, 1860, Union Major Robert Anderson moved his garrison at Fort Moultrie to the stronger Fort Sumter. On February 8, 1861, South Carolina joined other seceded Deep Southern states to form the Confederate States of America. In April 1861, Confederate troops shelled Fort Sumter into submission and the American Civil War began.

In April 1863, Federal ironclads and shore batteries began a bombardment of Fort Moultrie and the other forts around Charleston harbor. Over the ensuing twenty months, Union bombardment reduced Fort Sumter to a rubble pile and pounded Fort Moultrie below a sand hill, which protected it against further Union bombardment. The rifled cannon proved its superiority to brickwork fortifications but not to the endurance of the Confederate artillerymen who continued to man Fort Moultrie. In February 1865, the Confederate Army finally abandoned the rubble of Fort Moultrie and evacuated the city of Charleston, South Carolina.

Postbellum period

The Army modernized Fort Moultrie in the 1870s with huge rifled cannon and deep concrete bunkers. Further modernization in the 1880s turned all of Sullivan's Island surrounding the old fort into a military complex.

The fort evolved with the times through and beyond World War II. Seacoast defense of the United States ceased as a viable strategy by 1947.

Decommissioning

The Department of Defense in 1960 turned Fort Moultrie to National Park Service. The National Park Service manages the historic fort as a unit of Fort Sumter National Monument. The National Park Service constructed the fort as a tour backward in time through its defenses from World War II back to the palmetto log fort of William Moultrie.

Pictures tonight!

Boone Hall Plantation

I am preparing to leave this morning for Boone Hall farm and then to Fort Moultrie.

The earliest known reference to the site (Boone Hall) is of 1681. The land grant of 470 acres was given as a wedding present to a daughter. The original wooden house was constructed in 1790. The house that stands now is a "grander style" home than what was there. Boone Hall Plantation is one of America's oldest still working plantations...continually growing crops for over 320 years.

On the grounds today, besides the house, sit nine of the original slave cabins which date back to 1790-1810, a smoke house dating back to 1750, the Cotton Gin house (1853) and the grand Avenue of Oaks that was created in 1743 and completed in 1843. The live oak trees run 3/4 of a mile long from the entrance to the front house gates.

The McRae family opened the plantation to the public in 1957 and have made great efforts to preserve the original structures and gardens.

I will be posting pictures from both sites tonight.

Drayton Hall

The house was begun in 1738 and completed in 1742, using both free and slave labor. The house stands in a 630-acre site that is part of the plantation based on indigo and rice. Drayton Hall is the only plantation house on the Ashley River to survive the American Revolution and the Civil War intact. Seven generations of Drayton heirs preserved the house in all but original condition, though the flanking outbuildings have not survived: an earthquake destroyed the laundry house in 1886 and a hurricane destroyed the kitchen in 1893.

There is fine plasterwork in several of the rooms of the main floor, which is set above a raised basement where servants prepared meals and lived.

Middleton Place

Here is the first SC plantation we visited today. A brief timeline for this site:

• 1675 – Earliest known date of existence
• 1755 – House built
• 1865 – Union troops occupied the plantation and on February 22, the plantation was ransacked and its main house and northern wing were burned beyond repair.
  
• 1869-1870 – The southern wing of the house, which was less severely damaged, was restored.

This is a "working" farm today. Various crops are planted; various farm animals are on site; and the ground / gardens are spectacular. The belief is it took 100 slaves almost 10 years to complete the landscaping and gardens around this estate.

Column Styles Found in Charleston

Here are a couple pictures for the World History students. Are these pictured columns Ionic, Doric, or Corinthian?

John C. Calhoun

I was able to visit the grave site for John C. Calhoun today. Interesting to note he passed in March, 1850.

Friday, Nov. 18th A.M.

We arrived in Charleston last night about 8:30 p.m. local time (What time is that in O'Neill?). Had a bus ride from the airport to the hotel in Old Town Charleston. "History" is all around. After checking in, we were off to grab a late dinner. Ate at a small place a half block from the hotel. I did struggle alittle with the French language that the menu was written in, but was able to order a cheeseburger!

This morning we are off on a walking tour of Old Town and then off to our first plantation visit. Pictures will be posted tonight of today's activities.

Trip Schedule Nov.17-21, 2011

November 18th.  We will visit Middleton Place plantation.  http://www.middletonplace.org/

A walking tour of Charleston’s historic district.

Nathaniel Russell House http://www.historiccharleston.org/experience/nrh/   and Thomas Elfe House. http://www.thomaselfehouse.com/

Boone Hall plantation.  http://boonehallplantation.com/

Fort Moultrie. http://www.nps.gov/fosu/historyculture/fort_moultrie.htm

Tour the U.S.S. Yorktown. http://www.patriotspoint.org/explore_museum/uss_yorktown/

Fort Sumter http://www.nps.gov/fosu/index.htm

The Citadel

The Charleston Museum http://www.charlestonmuseum.org/about-factsheet

The Trip

Part of a college class I am currently taking is the opportunity to travel to historical sites in the U.S. Last year we spent five days in the Williamsburg, Virginia area while we studied Colonial America and the American Revolution.
This year the course is an examination of the U.S. Civil War. From November 17 - 21, I will join my classmates on a trip to Charleston, South Carolina. During that trip, we will study plantation life during the antebellum period, as well as visit Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay.
I plan on adding photos and comments during my time there, so check back often to share in my exploration of South Carolina.