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 largest sieges in modern warfare—46,000 shells, estimated at over 7 million pounds of metal, were fired at the fort. During this time, most of the walls were shattered and reduced to rubble.

The Army attempted to put Fort Sumter back together with improvements and additions. It served as a lighthouse station for 21 years, and during that time, the fort was back in disrepair. With the impending Spanish-American War, activity began again at Fort Sumter, including the construction of Battery Huger and installation of two long-range rifles. The fort was not used as a military establishment again until World War II. Afterwards, it became a tourist attraction and a national monument maintained by the National Park Service.

You get a feel for the history by taking a tour of the fort with a guide. A brochure will guide you through the different areas if you’d like to go on your own. At each of the sights, there are markers with lengthy descriptions. Fort Sumter today looks considerably different than it did when it was built. Not only are the walls and many of the rooms "a pile of rocks," as my friend described, but the battery’s size makes it the focus of the tour; and the battery wasn’t built until 1898.

The fort itself is large, and you will see such things as the barracks, cannons, casemates (gunrooms), brick walls, and various ruins. I was most struck by the huge flags flying. They include the U.S. flag, with 50 stars, 33 stars (1861), 33 stars (1865), First National Flag of the Confederacy (1861), South Carolina State Flag, and Second National Flag of the Confederacy (1863). Sadly, I found those to be the most interesting part of this tour.

There is a lot of information to absorb on this tour, so I recommend reading a little about the fort before going, although I’m not sure that would make the tour anymore interesting if you are not into forts, like I discovered while I was there! To get there, you take a 30-minute ferryboat ride where you can see the skyline of Charleston and part of the Battery. The ride itself is worth the price of admission, which is adults $12, seniors $11, $6 for ages 6-11, and free for 5 and under. The tour takes a little over 2 hours, start to finish. Call 843/881-7337 or visit Fort Sumter online.

Federal forts had been constructed in the Charleston area to protect the city from invasion after the War Of 1812. Granite, mostly from New England, was used to build an island on a shoal in the harbor to construct a fort. It was named Fort Sumter. In December of 1860 the fort was still not finished. Major Anderson, in charge of Fort Moultrie, had orders to move his men to Fort Sumter if the situation in Charleston got too hostile. The major and his two companies, consisting of 85 officers and men, moved across the water to the safer fort the day after Christmas, 1860, because they were in eminent danger of attack.

The unfinished Fort Sumter was designed to hold 135 cannon. Only 15 had been mounted. The barracks were still in the construction stage. His men worked day and night to prepare for an attack. Other southern states seceded from the Union and, as the Confederacy took form, they viewed the situation at Fort Sumter as a hostile military maneuver by a foreign government. On April 12, 1861, the new Confederate army, under General P G T Beauregard, commenced firing on Fort Sumter. Three days later, a fire broke out in the barracks near the powder room so Major Anderson had to surrender.

Today, two tour boats are allowed to land at Fort Sumter, one from Patriots Point in Mount Pleansant and the other from Liberty Square, next to the Aquarium in downtown Charleston. Parking in downtown Charleston is very expensive and free at Patriots Point. The fort was almost demolished during the war. Barracks were built on the parade ground inside the fort during WW II and are painted black.

While we were there a park ranger gave a really good talk about the Civil War and its effects on the south. He said, England, the south’s best customer for cotton and rice found a supply source elsewhere causing a break up of the plantation system with only a minor market after the war. Many of the former slaves stayed where they were and eventually owned their own homes as sharecroppers.

As part of the tour of the harbor, Ft Johnson, Castle Pinkney, the battery on the shore of Charleston, Ft Moultrie and much, much more were brought to our attention.