Charleston…Boone Hall Plantation…FT Sumter… The Civil War!



Very Crafty!

Boone Hall Plantation

South Carolina was the first to secede from the Union, yet Union forces still occupied Fort Sumter at the entrance of Charleston Harbor. The South demanded that Fort Sumter be vacated. The North refused. Finally, on April 12, 1861, South Carolina Confederate troops from nearby Fort Johnson fired on the fort…the start of a two day bombardment that resulted in the surrender of  Fort Sumter by Union troops. With the North’s withdrawal, the South held the fort until it was finally evacuated on February 17,1865. During that time, the fort experienced one of  the longest sieges in modern warfare. For almost two years 46,000 shells, estimated at more than seven million pounds of metal, were fired at Fort Sumter. For these reasons and more, Fort Sumter remains one of the most significant historic monuments in the United States. 

View from Camper Driving into Plantation

The above description of Charleston's’ Fort Sumter is to set ones’ mind into the geographical location. This is where the Civil War began! We didn’t take the ferry over to see Fort Sumter. Instead, we went to Boone Hall Plantation to see and learn about slavery and a major factor in the “Civil War!”
Boone Plantation had many, many slaves. They worked 4,000 acres of farming land. They also made bricks, four million bricks a year actually! Once the Cotton Gin was invented, the production of cotton swelled and the plantation owners became wealthy. More slaves were bought! The slave lived in crude brick buildings which still stand to this day. A lot of slave history was gained by us today.

In 1681, Englishman Major John Boone came to Charleston and established a plantation and gracious home on the banks of Wampocheone Creek. In 1743, his son Captain Thomas Boone, planted live oak trees, arranging them in two evenly spaced rows. This spectacular approach to his home became a symbol of Southern heritage. It would take more than 200 years for the trees to meet overhead to form the present-day scenic corridor that welcomes visitors to America’s most photographed plantation.
That is what we did and saw!

Charleston, SC…The Citadel…The Mighty Eight Air Force

This morning we left Hunter Army Air Field and soon were on I-95 North. I had seen information about “The Mighty Eight Air Force Museum” on exit 102, just up the road. When I saw the sign, I was compelled to exit. The Mighty Eight was the US Army Air Force in the European theatre during WW-II. The museum was informative, well displayed with artifacts and many volunteers, who made the self guided tour personal. One of the facts that stayed with me was that the Mighty Eight had 26,000 airmen that didn’t make it back. This is the most casualties of any of the armed forces. There were 28,000 men captured. Well done to the Mighty Eight Air Force!


The Citadel...Cadets in Review!

On to Charleston, South Carolina... Our daughter Lori had been down earlier this past winter to visit friends and they took her to the “Citadel” South Carolina Military College. Their grandson is a cadet. On Fridays, there is a military retreat on the parade ground. We happened to arrive in Charleston at 3pm just 45 minutes before the marching Cadets did their review in front of a three star Air Force General. The general wasn’t the only staff officer there. Every branch of the armed forces were represented by at least two full bird colonels! I was impressed with the precision marching, the band, the cannon fire and everything. The grandson, mentioned above, is the grandson of Dave and Sam Cordwell of Berlin, NH. We knew that he was in “Tango Company”. I set my Nikon camera on burst and “I think” captured every Cadet in Tango Company. Time will tell if I actually got their grandson.

AirForce...Three Star General..Impressive!

Tonight, we are at JP Charleston (Joint Base Naval Weapons Station and Charleston Air Force Base). It was the first time that coming on base, I had my whole truck camper X-rayed. You drive right through this large device that sees all of your dirty laundry! The RV Campground here is looking very good.

That is what we did and saw 

Savannah, GA…Sparklingly Even In Rain!

The rain started last night and drizzled off and on most of the night as well as today. We made the decision to stay another day and navigate the puddles around old town Savannah. 

St John the Baptist Cathedral

It wasn’t a cold rain, with an umbrella, water proof jackets and a couple of hats, we were off on a walking tour. The historic section of town is about a mile across and a mile in the other direction. We walked towards the Cathedral, this would take us past Pulaski Square, Madison and Lafayette Squares. These squares are so inviting, if not drizzling one would sit and admire these inspiring places for hours. People were walking around oblivious to the rain.
The Cathedral of  St. John the Baptist is getting a face lift on the outside. There is scaffolding covering the entire front façade. Now our tour guide,  yesterday, said that all would be finished by the end of the month. You see the contractor’s daughter  is scheduled to be married on the first of May. The inside of the church is one of the nicest churches that we’ve visited in the United States, and we’ve visited a lot of them! In colonial days, Catholics were banned from Savannah. The authorities believed that Catholics were of Spanish decent and if war came they would favor Spain their arch enemy.

Its Not Snow!

A note here about churches in the old town…I believe every denomination has a church in this district of town.
From the Cathedral, we strolled down Abercorn Street passing the Colonial Park Cemetery. Normally, we would give it a second look, but the wet lawn made us pass on this side exploration. Chippewa Square, one street over, was used for the filming of “Forrest Gump”. The scene in the park where Forrest recalls his past while sitting on a park bench… 

“and that’s all I’ve got to say about that!”
Our walk brought us to River Street and the Savannah River. Here is where one can go crazy smelling all of the home made chocolates, candy apples, taffy kisses, caramel popcorn with pecan nuts! “Helen,” I said, I’ll never make it up all those cobble stone steps from the river bank, if I buy any of this “look, but don’t eat merchandise”.
One last stretch to the visitor parking lot and it was time to bid farewell to this wonderful Southern Bell of a city.
That is what we did and saw!

Savannah… Sherman’s March to the Sea

I can not leave the State of Georgia without mentioning the Civil War. There are 350 Civil War sites here in Georgia. To me, the one campaign that stands out is Gen Sherman’s “March to the Sea.” I wouldn’t have enough time left in my life to study all of the campaigns and battles of the Civil War. The article below was copied from Wikipedia,  and will give you a sense of how the war effected the people on both sides in this area.

Sherman's "March to the Sea" followed his successful Atlanta Campaign of May to September 1864. He and the U.S. Army commander, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, believed that the Civil War would end only if the Confederacy's strategic, economic, and psychological capacity for warfare were decisively broken.^[2] Sherman therefore applied the principles of scorched earth: he ordered his troops to burn crops, kill livestock and consume supplies. Finally he destroyed civilian infrastructure along his path of advance. This strategy is one of the components of total war. The second objective of the campaign was more traditional. Grant's armies in Virginia continued in a stalemate against Robert E. Lee's army, besieged in Petersburg, Virginia. By moving in Lee's rear and performing a massive turning movement against him, Sherman could possibly increase pressure on Lee, allowing Grant the opportunity to break through, or at least keep Southern reinforcements away from Virginia. The campaign was designed by Grant and Sherman to be similar to Grant's innovative and successful Vicksburg Campaign, in that Sherman's armies would reduce their need for traditional supply lines by "living off the land" after consuming their 20 days of rations. Foragers, known as "bummers," would provide food seized from local farms for the Army while they destroyed the railroads and the manufacturing and agricultural infrastructure of Georgia. In planning for the march, Sherman used livestock and crop production data from the 1860 census to lead his troops through areas where he believed they would be able to forage most effectively.^[3] Cotton gins and storage bins were to be destroyed because Southerners used the cotton to trade for guns and other supplies. The twisted and broken railroad rails that the troops heated over fires and wrapped around tree trunks and left behind became known as "Sherman's neckties".  That is what we did and saw!

Savannah, GA…Southern Charm at its Best!!

Finally, we are at an Army facility RV Campground! We are at Ft Stewart, Hunter Army Airfield.

One of 22 Squares or Parks

The campground is actually located on Lott’s Island Recreation Area, Marina and Pier. I am NOT knocking the Navy or Air Force. I am just glad to see Army uniforms again. To be truthful, this facility does have full hookups, but that is all for amenities. The Wi-Fi is slow and the sites do have concrete pads, but the surroundings look like they would be wet if it rained. Speaking of rain, the forecast for tomorrow calls for rain all day. (If it does rain it will be our first rainy day in 48 days on the road).
Arriving here around 11am, we selected a couple spots before going to the MWR Office (Morale Welfare and Recreation) to sign in. We had been advised back at Kings Bay that if it rains it would be wise to be on high ground. Those of you who remember (Hotel California at Fort Drum will know what I mean)

Savannah...Full of Life...Past & Present!

The weather today is fine. With that in mind, we set out for the old downtown just a few miles down the road. The campground location is prime for this exploration. We didn’t fool around and went directly to “Old Town Trolley Tours”. They would show us all the highlights and in case of inclement weather tomorrow we would of at least have seen a glimpse of the best!
A brief description of Savannah… It is a city that was well planned from its beginning. It was Georgia’s First City! It had 24 squares or parks in the old town area. There are 22 remaining squares. Savannah is adorned with extraordinary architecture, lush botanicals gardens. Historic, Colonial and Victorian districts were included in the Trolley tour. I took many pictures, but they don’t do justice to the squares! They are the jewels of the city! Most have abundant Live Oak trees, the flowers are in bloom and many many statues of famous people who have made their mark on the city as well as the country. As I write this blog this evening, I really hope that tomorrow’s weather will still enable us to walk the town and justly explore this Southern Bell of a City!

That is what we did and saw

Cumberland Island, GA…National Seashore



This is the only sub picture I was able to take,
it is unclassified... actually it's made of concrete!

According to the “Travel Channel”, “America’s Most Beautiful Wilderness Beach”, St Marys is the gateway to spectacular Cumberland Island… the largest of the Georgia Coast Barrier Islands. The Cumberland Queen ferry shuttles people to the Island. Unfortunately for us, it was at capacity and we were unable to explore the Island. We missed the historic mansions, wild horses (I’m told 107 of them) running along the beaches and trails. We did take in the National Park Service Visitor Center for a good overview of Cumberland Island.
Not giving up the ship of adventure, we decided to explore St Marys in greater detail. At the St Marys Visitor Center, we learned a little more of its history. The Civil War played a nearly unknown part in St Marys. The Union Forces took Fernandina Beach, Florida which is just across the St Marys River. The Union Forces had not planned on attacking St Marys, but someone from St Marys side of the river shot and killed a Union Captain. All hell broke loose, the Union Army destroyed and or took everything that was not nailed down in St Marys. All of this happened five days after the Civil War ended, but neither side knew!
It was a good day for walking and a visit to the cemetery was a good choice. The large “Live Oak Trees” lined the side street to the cemetery.

The camper is dwarf by the giant Live Oak trees!

The grave stones dated back to the early 1800’s. It is a very large place with some stones that are just a year or two old. One really gets a sense of a town’s history looking at grave markers. I always ponder…”Um, I wonder what this person died of or was that person killed in a war”? We left looking back at all those Live Oak Trees with the moss hanging from branches. Time marches on and we’ve got places to visit.
That is what we did and saw

Kings Bay, GA…. Naval Submarine Base

This morning we had a few errands to do before leaving Mayport Naval Station. Refill on propane, go to NCIS to have Helen’s ID renewed. With that behind us, we will have no problems accessing any military facility. I drove over to Pelican Roost (RV Campground) to grab one last look and a cup of free coffee. Jorge… the camp host was in the club house, sat down with us for a chat. Jorge and Jim (Osprey Cove host) are two guys that are a perfect match for their jobs! They go out of their way to help and make you feel at home.

Last view of Guided Missile Navy Cruiser

Our next destination was only 53 miles up the road to Kings Bay, Georgia. We are at a Naval Submarine Base. The RV Campground is called “Eagle Hammock RV Park” it is rated number one in the southeast. Full hookups, cable TV, Wi-Fi  are just a few amenities at each site. Registration was simple,  I asked if any submarines are in view? The answer is that they are all covered in these giant buildings. The temptation to take a picture was taken away and I felt relieved!
On with our visit to St Mary's historic town! To paraphrase the tourist literature “Historic St. Marys’ enchanting storybook setting on the St Marys River beckons with white picket fences, charming Victorian inns, majestic magnolias, stately live oaks, fragrant salt air, alluring waters, quaint shops, captivating cafes, warm smiles and gentle people who welcome you.”  Come and discover legends of forgotten battles, daring pirates, antebellum mansions.

Jimmy Carter met us the gate! This is
 Peanut Country!

After settling in at Eagle Hammock RV park, we just had to take a quick run down to St Marys to briefly check out the above statements. The town was quiet, a few tourist were walking around, a guy was fishing out on the pier and I walked over to talk to him. I asked…Are they biting? He said, “just got here, but yesterday I got two Whites and three large Catfish”. He said, “the water here is brackish and and can get both salt water and fresh water fish”. We moved on and found a place to eat dinner.
That is what we did and saw