Ft. Sumter

My boys and I at the entrance of Ft. Sumter.
A galley of cannons

Father's Day took us to Ft. Sumter National Monument. Being on vacation I actually forgot till we got on the ferry, oops. Chris didn't seem to mind although I know he would have loved to go sunning on the beach. He seemed to enjoy the Ft. as well. The Ft. is in the middle of Charleston Harbor and is only accessible by boat. Before taking the ferry we visited the Visitor Education Center which has great interpretive displays and a great little shop. There is also the Aquarium right next door, but we did not have time for it. It took only about 15 min to get to the Ft. while we enjoyed the scenery of Charleston Harbor. The Ft. surrendered shortly after being attacked, about 34 hrs.It is bigger than Ft. Pulaski and has a museum on the grounds. You can see for miles from the top. There is officer's quarters they re-created and looked quite sparse.( gosh I sound so snobby). It's a beautiful Island. They still have several of the spots where cannons were fired and lodged or left a big dent in the fort. It truly transpires you back to that time.

You get a limited amount of time due to having to take the ferry there and back. Although 2 hrs seems like forever when you are walking the perimeter of the fort from the top and going through the museum that talks about the history of the fort it seems as though it took just minutes. It went very fast.

We rented John Adams from blockbuster. HBO made it and it is quite terrific. Be cautious though because there is nudity, it was made by HBO after all. If I had been taught history through this type of breathtaking film I would probably have had a lot more interest in the subject. As it stands I am intrigued by the films. The first one is leading up to and the writing of the Constitution. I think it would make an wonderful addition to any Revolutionary War history class/unit.

http://www.nps.gov/fosu/

Main website for ft.

http://www.nps.gov/fosu/forteachers/curriculummaterials.htm

Curriculum

http://www.charlestonscrealestate.us/

Web cams of Ft. Sumter and Charleston

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/battle-fort-sumter.htm

Great resource for a few different wars including the civil war

http://www.civilwarhome.com/ftsumter.htm

Has detailed official records and a breakdown of events.

http://www.tulane.edu/~sumter/

Vanessa