Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie

https://www.nps.gov/fosu/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Sumter_and_Fort_Moultrie_National_Historical_Park Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park is located in Charleston County, in coastal South Carolina. It mainly protects Fort Sumter, Fort Moultrie, the Charleston Light and Liberty Square, Charleston. The Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center features museum exhibits about the disagreements between the North and South that led to the incidents at Fort Sumter, particularly in South Carolina and Charleston. Displays include slavery and the plantation culture, major figures, politics, and how the Confederate Army was formed. This site is also the main departure point for tour boats heading to Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, which is only accessible by boat. Park rangers and volunteers offer topical programs throughout the week for every boat. The museum at Fort Sumter itself focuses on the activities at the fort, including its construction and role during the American Civil War. Two forts stand at the entrance of Charleston Harbor. Patriots inside a palmetto log fort, later named Fort Moultrie, defeated the Royal Navy in 1776. As Charleston blazed a path towards secession to preserve slavery, construction on a new fort, Fort Sumter, proceeded. The Confederacy fired on the US garrison of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861 opening the Civil War, which redefined American freedom. Fort Sumter is accessible by ferry boat. Boats depart at scheduled times from two sites. The primary departure point is the Fort Sumter Visitor Center, 340 Concord Street, Charleston. Boats depart from Patriots Point, 40 Patriots Point Boulevard, Mount Pleasant. There is a fee for the concession-operated ferry. Fort Moultrie is accessible by car at 1214 Middle Street, Sullivan's Island. A park entrance fee is charged for the park. Details at: https://www.nps.gov/fosu/planyourvisit/directions. Fort Moultrie Visitor Center The Fort Moultrie Visitor Center is located at 1214 Middle Street, Sullivan's Island, SC. Inside are museum exhibits, a 22-minute orientation film and a museum store. The visitor center and fort are open daily from 9:00 am-4:30 pm. The park is closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. There is a park entrance fee. Follow SC-703 to Sullivan's Island, and turn right onto Middle Street. The visitor center is 1.5 miles on the right. Parking is on the same side as the Visitor Center. There is limited bus, RV and large vehicle parking. Fort Sumter Visitor Center The primary departure point for Fort Sumter is the Fort Sumter Visitor Center at Liberty Square, located at 340 Concord Street, in downtown Charleston. Visitors can find parking in a City of Charleston parking garage (fees apply) at 24 Calhoun Street, just steps away from the entrance to Liberty Square. There is no fee for entrance into the visitor center. Boats also depart from Patriots Point, 40 Patriots Point Boulevard, Mount Pleasant. There is a fee for riding the concession-operated ferry. The primary departure point for Fort Sumter is the Fort Sumter Education Center at Liberty Square, located at 340 Concord Street, in downtown Charleston. Visitors can find parking in a City of Charleston parking garage (fees apply) at 24 Calhoun Street, just steps away from the entrance to Liberty Square. There is no fee for entrance into the visitor education center. Boats also depart from Patriots Point, 40 Patriots Point Boulevard, Mount Pleasant. There is a fee for riding the concession-operated ferry. Fort Moultrie A row of cannon with Fort Moultrie in the background. A US flag is flying in the fort. Fort Moultrie spans 171 years from 1776-1947 Fort Sumter Fort Sumter with a US flag flying above the fort with dock in the foreground Fort Sumter is located on an island in Charleston Harbor and is only accessible by boat. Fort Sumter Cannon Civil War cannon sitting on carriage pointing towards firing hole in brick wall Fort Sumter cannon sitting on cannon carriage under a brick casemate Inside Fort Moultrie Today Center of image is round metal and glass signal light with grassy hills hills in background Interior View of Fort Moultrie featuring the World War II signal light with grass hills and black concrete gun bateries Fort Sumter Visitor Center A three-story brick structure with a staircase in front and water in the background The Fort Sumter Visitor Center is the primary departure point for the ferries to Fort Sumter. The Echo In 1858, the US Navy intercepted the Echo, a slave ship bound for Cuba. The survivors, quarantined in Charleston Harbor at Fort Sumter, were resettled in Liberia. The trial of the captain and crew showed that despite the horrors of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the laws prohibiting it, Southern judges and juries would not convict fellow white men for enslaving and trading in Africans. Defenders of the Echo crew later favored secession as a final means to protect slavery. African survivors of the Echo, slave ship, seated on board the USS Niagara, bound for Liberia Listening to the Eclipse: National Park Service scientists join Smithsonian, NASA in nationwide project A solar eclipse is visually stunning, but what will it sound like? NPS scientists will find out by recording sounds in parks across the USA. An NPS scientist installs audio recording equipment in a lush valley at Valles Caldera NP. A Model for Partnership While parks work with local tourism offices to a variety of degrees, staff at Fort Sumter & Fort Moultrie NHP lean in to the relationship. Park staff collaborate with their local convention and visitors bureau to amplify public engagement and share the site's unique and pivotal role in U.S. history. aerial photo of fort sumter 11 Ways National Parks Influenced World War I (and vice versa) Uncover the hidden history of World War I in the national parks! A Renault tank and infantry move through a field Battle of Fort Sumter, April 1861 The bombardment of Fort Sumter by the Confederacy in Charleston Harbor from April 12-13, 1861 began the American Civil War. The battle ended in the evacuation of Fort Sumter by the US Army. The Confederates occupied the fort and held it for the majority of the war. Fort Sumter aflame and bombarded by Confederates Sabotage and Naval Preparedness in Charleston Before the United States declared war on Germany, entering the Great War, an act of naval sabotage brought the war to Charleston Harbor. The German vessel would be raised and converted to an American naval vessel, the USS Houston, thereby linking sabotage to naval preparedness and increased production on the homefront. USS Houston in 1918 NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Fort Sumter & Fort Moultrie National Historical Park, South Carolina Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. view across water to fort Hispanics and the Civil War The Civil War was an American epic and an American tragedy. The bloodiest war in United States history claimed the lives of more than 620,000 Americans. Hispanics were very much a part of this conflict. They knew hardship, fear, death, and destruction. They experienced victory and defeat. Some performed acts of spectacular gallantry. Others provided steady service that attracted little comment or notice. Painting of the Battle of Glorieta Pass Third System of Coastal Forts How should a country protect its borders? The United States had to consider this question when the War of 1812 ended in 1815. One year later, the federal government believed it had an answer. The nation created a broad national defense strategy that included a new generation of waterfront defenses called the Third System of Coastal Fortifications. Battle of Sullivan's Island South Carolinian defenders of an unfinished palmetto-log fort defeated the Royal Navy on June 28, 1776 in the Battle of Sullivan's Island. The fort was quickly named Fort Moultrie after the victorious commander, William Moultrie. The British southern expedition of 1776 lacked strategic direction and suffered from poor cooperation between army and navy commanders. After the victory, patriotic fervor in the south soared. Sergeant Jasper planting the regimental flag atop the fort with British ships firing in background US Life-Saving Service The United States Life-Saving Service (USLSS), the predecessor to the United States Coast Guard, formed in 1878. The story of the USLSS dates to almost 100 years before the service became an official agency, to the noble efforts of the Humane Society of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a group of affluent individuals seeking to prevent needless deaths from shipwrecks. A black and white photo of seven men wearing uniforms and standing in front of a boat house. Siege of Charleston 1780 The British refocused their efforts to conquer the rebellious American colonies in the South in late 1778. In 1779, a large British expeditionary force sailed for Charleston. The siege of Charleston lasted from March 29, 1780 until the Americans surrendered on May 12. The fall of Charleston marked the largest British victory of the war. Their assumptions of significant loyalist support were not realized, and the campaign became bogged in a civil war in the Carolinas. Seacoast Ordnance Cannon manufactured for use in Third System forts are called seacoast ordnance. These were some of the largest and heaviest cannon available at the time. Cannon at forts Pickens, McRee, Barrancas, Massachusetts, and Advanced Redoubt fell into three categories: guns, howitzers, and mortars. Each had a specific purpose. A cannon is mounted over a brick wall, an American flag is flying to the left. Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie Virtual Ranger Activity Junior Ranger symbol Junior Ranger symbol featuring a ranger hat and the words explore, learn, protect. The Civilian Experience in the Civil War After being mere spectators at the war's early battles, civilians both near and far from the battlefields became unwilling participants and victims of the war as its toll of blood and treasure grew year after year. In response to the hardships imposed upon their fellow citizens by the war, civilians on both sides mobilized to provide comfort, encouragement, and material, and began to expect that their government should do the same. Painting of civilians under fire during the Siege of Vicksburg The Changing War Begun as a purely military effort with the limited political objectives of reunification (North) or independence (South), the Civil War transformed into a social, economic and political revolution with unforeseen consequences. As the war progressed, the Union war effort steadily transformed from a limited to a hard war; it targeted not just Southern armies, but the heart of the Confederacy's economy, morale, and social order-the institution of slavery. Woodcut of spectators watching a train station set fire by Sherman's troops Battle of Secessionville - 1862 With new military intelligence from Robert Smalls, an escaped slave and harbor pilot, Union forces advanced up the Stono River and landed on James Island in June of 1862, threatening Charleston, South Carolina. At the Battle of Secessionville, the Confederates defeated Union advances on their earthen fortifications, ending the only significant overland campaign to threaten Charleston during the Civil War. South Carolina Secession South Carolina seceded from the federal Union in response to Abraham Lincoln's victory in the 1860 presidential election because of real and perceived threats to slavery, the lifeblood of the South's economy. The secession of South Carolina began a chain of events culminating in the outbreak of the American Civil War in Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861. Newspaper headline declaring the secession of South Carolina Was the Civil War a “War of Choice?” Was the Civil War a war of choice? Read this article to learn more about the subject. black and white picture of fort sumter National Park Service Commemoration of the 19th Amendment In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment the National Park Service has developed a number of special programs. This includes online content, exhibits, and special events. The National Park Service’s Cultural Resources Geographic Information Systems (CRGIS) announces the release of a story map that highlights some of these programs and provides information for the public to locate and participate. Opening slide of the 19th Amendment NPS Commemoration Story Map Confederate Occupation of Fort Sumter After the evacuation of Fort Sumter by the US Army garrison on April 13, 1861, the Confederates occupied the fort for the majority of the war. During their first two years at Fort Sumter, the war raged on other battlefields. However, on April 7, 1863, the war came again to Fort Sumter with an attack by nine Union Navy ironclads, and life in the fort over the next two years changed dramatically. Photograph of First National Flag of the Confederacy flying above damaged Fort Sumter Amphibious Assault on Fort Sumter Confederate defenders of Fort Sumter defeated a direct assault by Union sailors and Marines on September 8, 1863. This constituted the only direct assault on Fort Sumter in its history and allowed the Confederates to retain Fort Sumter until Charleston's evacuation in February 1865. 54th Massachusetts Regiment The 54th Massachusetts Regiment, the first regiment of African Americans from the North to serve during the Civil War, bravely assaulted Battery Wagner in Charleston Harbor. Their bravery increased Northern efforts to enlist African Americans. By war's end, over 180,000 African Americans fought in the US Army, roughly 10% of the fighting men. Crop of mural depicting the 54th Regiment's assault of Battery Wagner, focus on death of Col Shaw Confederate Slave Payrolls Reveal Details about the Lives of African Americans during the Civil War During the Civil War, the Confederate States of America required enslavers to loan their enslaved people to the army. Confederate slave payrolls provide a record of the service of enslaved people on the fortifications of Charleston Harbor, including Fort Sumter. At least 1,210 enslaved people worked at Fort Sumter during the war. They worked as carpenters, laborers, bricklayers, stone masons, boat hands, and in other roles for a government seeking to permanently enslave them. Laborers inside Fort Sumter gathered around a table with left face wall in background Series: Tourism Stories The National Park Service (NPS) has a long history of working in collaboration with the travel and tourism sector to manage responsible tourism that supports conservation and facilitates enjoyment of public lands. These stories are one of a series profiling success stories and case studies of NPS-tourism sector collaboration stacked logs, revealing ring circles Liberty Won and Lost: The British Evacuation of Charleston a The Civil War's Impact on Schools for the Deaf and the Blind in the South Schools for the Deaf and the Blind were profoundly affected by the Civil War, and in very different ways between schools in the North and the South. In the North, schools continued their terms, with the battles being taught as "current events." In the South, students were sent home as their schools were taken over as field hospitals or severely damaged in battles. Metal sign on a vertical post in front of a 2-story, red-brick building with 2 rows of windows. Causes of Deafness During the Civil War Civil War soldiers faced death on a daily basis. However, they also faced going home with various disabilities. One such disability was partial or complete deafness. Many soldiers were accustomed to temporary deafness from the constant artillery fire in the field. However, illness, the environment, and even the medicine the doctors used on patients could cause a much more permanent hearing loss. 102 Cases of Deafness.Prepared 4 Consideration of senate & house of reps. by Wallace E. Foster. Civil Rights and the Civil War in the National Capital Area The Civil War showed the cracks in the loosely held peace between the North and South. As the end of slavery through the Emancipation Proclamation established a reason for African Americans to join the fight, the stage was set for African American men to fight for their own freedom and rights as citizens of America. An unidentified African American soldier sits with a leg crossed over the other for his portrait. 2022 George and Helen Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service The National Park Service is pleased to congratulate the recipients of the 2022 George and Helen Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service. A montage of photos of volunteers working in a national park. Series: A Timeline of Resistance: The Perseverance of African Americans from the Revolutionary War to the Civil Rights Era The story of African American’s fight for equality did not begin or end with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. In the National Capital Area, dedicated activism and self-determination has been documented since the Revolutionary War through the present day. This series consists of six articles that outline distinct timelines of resistance and activism in the fight for freedom. A young African American girl gazes at the camera holding a banner for the March on Washington The Adventures of Ranger Cow! Follow Ranger Cow's journey to American Revolutionary War sites! Crochet Cow in Park Ranger uniform Updated Species Database Will Help Boost Amphibian Conservation Across the National Park Service To steward amphibians effectively, managers need basic information about which species live in parks. But species lists need constant maintenance to remain accurate. Due to recent efforts, the National Park Service now has an up-to-date amphibian species checklist for almost 300 parks. This information can serve as the basis for innumerable conservation efforts across the nation. A toad sits on red sand, looking into the camera.