Monday, July 30, 2007

Carolina History Tour- 2007
A couple of weeks ago, I visited the Moore's Creek Battleground with Nicole and some friends. I had not heard of it before, but it turns out to be the site of the patriots first victory over the British in the US War of Independence. The site is a swampy area with a small bridge over Moore's Creek. A Scottish contingent of about 1500 loyalists was moving toward a rendevouz with the British Fleet at nearby Wilmington. They met with a much smaller group of patriots near the bridge and offered their terms... surrender or surely be killed!


But, those patriots were a sly bunch. They had built earth fortifications just south of the creek, but set up a small, vulnerable looking camp just north of the creek for the meeting. The loyalists could see they were a small bunch trapped with their backs to the creek, but generously offered their surrender terms. When the patriots rejected the offer, the loyalists prepared to attack the next day.
When they arrived at dawn the next morning, they found the camp abandoned. Assuming the patriots had fled, they crossed the bridge to the south side of the creek. There the patriots attacked from their fortified positions, pushing the loyalist back to the creek, where they had strategically weakened the bridge to prevent a retreat. The loyalists were routed and the British were denied their reinforcements at Wilmington. Eventually the fleet sailed further south to Charleston. That reminded me of my desire to visit Charleston, where I lived for a few years in the '70s. So, this weekend, it was off to visit Charleston to renew some memories and review some more history.

Ryan, Nicole and I drove down and visited Fort Moultrie, which prevented the fleet from entering Charleston Harbor and taking the city, setting off several years of struggle for the city. Below, you see Ryan and Nicole manning Moultrie, with Fort Sumter across Charleston Harbor in the background. As you probably remember, Fort Sumter was where the first shots of the Civil War were fired almost 100 years later.
Below, Ryan and Nicole at the Battery, from which many residents of Charleston watched the battle and check out the cannons also located there.

Many of these houses and their residents along the battery also witnessed the battle.

And, now to more recent history. There I am in front of the Plant office and Entry gates I helped build as part of the Cooper River Plant in the '70s.

And the beach house we enjoyed in winter '78-79.
Ryan and Nicole with the "Sword Gate" relocated from another historic mansion in Charleston.

And, of course, some of the gardens which are famous in Charleston, ranging from small gardens at a church in the city to Middleton Gardens in the Plantation District and the Magnolia Cemetery.






Stay vigilant, my friends. I hope to start travelling more over the next few months, beginning with a backpacking trip in the Carolinas with Ryan, Nicole, Jeremy and Amanda, and eventually visiting Glacier NP along with Montana, Washington and Oregon, and then ending up back in Texas in the fall.