First time visitors to Fort Sumter are mystified by two things. The first is the height of the walls that do not reflect the once three-story structure where the opening battle of the Civil War occurred. The second is an imposing black concrete battery that spans the center of the parade ground. More thoughtful visitors may look at the 1860 rendering of the fort and become thoroughly confused by the location of the sallyport. These and other changes reflect both the destruct

Many National Historical Parks, such as Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, focus on singular historical events that occurred at the site. However, some, like the Fort Moultrie Unit of Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park, witnessed larger spans of the Nation’s history. When the National Park Service acquired Fort Moultrie in 1960 it was faced with how to shape the visitor experience with so many events that had occurred on the site and structu

Though nearly three-quarters of a century had passed since Pres. George Washington’s 1791 tour of Charleston, his legacy as the “Father of His Country” was revered by both the Confederacy and the Union. His week-long visit included, breakfast at Snee Farm and the inspection of the remains of the original Fort Moultrie – the former now preserved as Charles Pinckney National Historic Site and the later within Fort Sumter Fort Moultrie National Historical Park. Even a bloody Civ

With the election of Abraham Lincoln as President on November 6th, 1860, politics in Charleston, South Carolina took on a decidedly belligerent tone. Within four weeks, the state had called a Secession Convention and unanimously voted itself out of the Union. In the view of South Carolinians, all things belonging to the Federal Government in the state were then expected to be turned over to the new Republic of South Carolina. Major Robert Anderson, commander of the small Fede

The United States Constitution is a venerable document that has served the Nation since 1789 with relatively few changes. Charles...

Any recounting of the life of the man who became Sgt. William Jasper, one of the most famous heroes of the Battle of Sullivan’s Island,...