Charleston and Fort Sumter

This statue is in Battery Park - Charleston. It honors those that defended the city against the Yankees.

Charleston is a beautiful southern city with so much history. People do not realize how important it was to have forts around the perimeter of the USA. If you held the fort at the mouth of the harbor - no ships could pass - in or out. 

In 1861 - the federal government manned all the forts around country. The rebels of South Carolina sought to control their harbor and attacked Fort Sumter. The war had commenced. South Carolina left the union mainly because Abraham Lincoln was elected. Lincoln believed that slavery was wrong. But Lincoln claimed he wanted to keep the union together - even if some states had slaves. 

The Military College of South Carolina is here. At one time is was right downtown on Marion Square. In the 1900s - the campus was moved north and west maybe 3 miles. I was surprised that only 10% of its funding comes from the state. The average SAT of an entering cadet is 1100 on the 1600 scale. 

It was 400 miles from Tallahassee to Charleston - it is also 400 miles from Richmond. A shocking figure for me - 40% of all American slaves entered thru Charleston. Brown Sugar.