After our lunch at the Rooftop Bar, we were anxious to visit the historic Fort Sumter National Monument at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, where the first shots of the American Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861. We’d pre-purchased our tickets from Fort Sumter Tours, the authorized National Park Service concessioner who provide the only commercial boat transportation to the park. Our walk was about a mile from the Rooftop Bar to the Fort Sumter Visitors Center at Liberty Square. This center offers a number of interpretive and visual exhibits on the many events leading up to the start of the Civil War and the bombardment of Fort Sumter. It’s also the primary ferry departure facility for visiting the fort and it wasn’t long after our arrival that we found ourselves on the "Spirit of the Low Country" ferryboat for a relaxing thirty-minute cruise to the famous historical fort.
On arrival, we were greeted in the remnants of the Parade Ground by a National Park Service Ranger who gave us a brief history of the fort. Named for South Carolina Revolutionary War patriot Thomas Sumter, its construction began in 1829 as one of a series of coastal fortifications built by the US after the War of 1812. It was still unfinished when Major Robert Anderson moved his 85-man garrison in the day after Christmas in 1860, setting in motion events that would tear the nation apart just four months later. Brig Gen. Pierre Beauregard, a former West Point student of Major Anderson, commanded the Confederate forces in Charleston at that time. On April 11, 1861 he demanded Anderson’s surrender. The Union major refused and the Confederates opened fire on April 12. After two days of bombardment and exchange of cannon, Anderson and his Federal troops marched out of the fort and boarded a ship for transport to New York. Exactly four years later, on April 14, 1865, with Charleston in Union hands, the US flag that was lowered when the fort was evacuated in 1861, was once again raised above Sumter’s battered ramparts. The actual flag is on display behind protective plexiglass. In a cruel twist of fate, that was the very same evening President Abraham Lincoln was fatally shot in Washington, DC.
The day was bright and sunny when we later left Fort Sumter (despite the rain forecasted earlier) and it was smooth sailing for our return ferry ride back to the city. While still onboard the boat, we booked several Ubers which met us at the Visitors Center and drove us back to the Belmond Charleston Place Hotel. Later that evening, our group walked to the High Cotton Restaurant on East Bay Street near Waterfront Park for drinks and dinner. The bar here is a warm and cozy place where we enjoyed gathering for cocktails. High Cotton is a reliably delicious Low country restaurant which is managed by the well-known Maverick Southern Kitchens. Specializing in southern hospitality and fresh Low country ingredients, High Cotton serves dinner daily and brunch on Saturday and Sunday mornings beginning at 10:00 AM through 2:00 PM. This restaurant is very stylish and our service was pleasant and attentive. Prices ranged from about $22 to $38 per dinner entrée. Their menu highlights include Buttermilk Fried Oysters and Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs to share, we well as their highly-regarded High Cotton Shrimp & Grits and Braised Elk Osso Buco. The restaurant proved to be an ideal spot for our gathering and we very much liked the good food, lively ambiance and extensive wine list. In fact, we ended up purchasing several bottles of our dinner wine to take home.
After a very nice breakfast in the hotel’s Palmetto Cafe the next morning, the couples parted company as the ladies preferred to spend their day shopping. The Shops at Belmond Charleston Place was their first stop. These shops extend the length of an entire city block and include an eclectic collection of world-renowned stores nestled in the heart of the city’s downtown shopping district. From Godiva to Gucci to St. John, it’s billed as the ultimate shopping experience. The hotel’s signature Belmond Boutique features unique gifts from its sister property, the famous Venice Simplon Orient Express train, as well as one-of-a-kind items from local artisans. I later learned the ladies also enjoyed King Street shopping. This street runs through the center of the downtown peninsula and is another major destination for those seeking top stores. The street is typically divided into Upper and Lower King Street at the point where it intersects Calhoun Street. I’m told the best King Street shopping is to be found on the lower half of the street featuring local, boutique shops and some big-name stores lining the thoroughfare.
While our spouses were shopping, we gents walked down Meeting Street to Broad Street and then headed towards Waterfront Park to find the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon. This historic building was constructed between 1767 and 1771. While the Boston Tea Party is well known, Charleston had her own “tea party.” But, as it turns out, they didn’t toss the seized tea in the harbor – these warriors first stored it in the Old Exchange Building and eventually sold it, using the proceeds to help finance the Revolution! Later, gunpowder was walled up in the dungeon, and when the British invaded the city in 1780 and commandeered the Old Exchange Building, they were literally “sitting on a powder keg” for the next two years – but never realized it. The British used the dungeon to imprison local patriots including several of South Carolina’s signers of the Declaration of Independence until they could be shipped out to spend the rest of the war imprisoned in St. Augustine, Florida. In 1791, when President George Washington spent a week in Charleston as part of his Southern Tour, the Old Exchange saw various activities in honor of his visit, including a fancy dress ball.
In 2012, a study was completed of the building’s use as a British prison during the Revolution. The investigation was able to document that at least 120 prisoners were held in the Exchange but there were many more whose identities could not be corroborated. The building was also the site of the South Carolina Convention to ratify the US Constitution in 1788. It was designated a National Historical Landmark in 1973 and now functions as a museum operated by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). We enjoyed a personal tour of the Dungeon conducted by a docent in historical garb and then were free to wander about the historic, upstairs rooms. The first and largest is the Great Hall which has two fireplaces and offers picturesque views of historic Broad Street. Next is the Isaac Hayne Room and the South Carolina DAR room, both of which feature a number of historic collections on permanent display.
We gentlemen walked back to the Belmond and stopped by the bar for refreshments before taking an Uber to the Charleston Museum. This place is a “must see” for anyone interested in the fascinating history of the South Carolina Low country. Founded in 1773, on the eve of the Revolution, it’s considered America’s First Museum and provides the most comprehensive overview of area history in Charleston. The exhibits contain an unrivaled display of artifacts from its Archaeology Archives, History, Textiles and Natural History collections which together tell the story of the Low country’s very interesting past. The museum is sure to have a display or two that captures any visitor's attention, from exhibits featuring the Native Americans who first called the region home to the generals who rose to local and even national fame during Charleston's involvement in America's major wars. We thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon here and I would highly recommend seeing it for yourself next time you have an opportunity to visit this charming city.
On our final evening in town, we went to Magnolia’s Restaurant for dinner. It’s said that Magnolia’s started Charleston on its way to becoming so well known for its cuisine when it first opened in 1990. The restaurant remains a forerunner in upscale Southern cuisine, blending traditional ingredients and cooking techniques with modern flair for artful presentations. It was quite busy on the Sunday evening we showed up but the food lived up to its reputation and we had no complaints about the service. There was, however one annoyance that might have put a “damper” on our night out. One of the vents above our table kept up a very slow but steady drip, right on one of the women in our party! But she’s a trooper and took it all in stride. Once back at the hotel, we stopped for a night cap at the Thoroughbred Club, a warm, classic-style, old-school rated bar with comfortable chairs and sofas where we started to reminisce about all the fun we had in Charleston before our all-too-soon departure the following morning.
Until next time...safe travels.
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