Fort Moultrie

Tim and I headed for Charleston to visit Fort Moultrie on Sullivan Island,SC.  It is a series of fortifications and was built to protect the city of Charleston.  Fort Moultrie was a fort for 171 years from 1776 to 1947.  It was built just before the Revolutionary War and was closed just after World War II.  The first fort was built out of palmetto logs which in turn inspired the flag and nickname of South Carolina, "The Palmetto State".  The fort is named after the commander in the Battle of Sullivan's Island, General William Moultrie.  In 1960 the fort became a National Park and was restored to show the several different eras of the fort's history.
The fort was built to protect Charleston from the British and the use of the palmetto logs was genous back then because the center of the log is sponge and so the cannonballs would bounce off the walls.   Unfortunately the first fort did ware out due to the sea and sun which eroded the logs away.  A second Fort Moultrie was built in 1798 on top of the old front but was built stronger.   It was built to help defend Charleston from any other invaders but primarily for the French and British.  Once again that fort was destroyed in 1804 by a hurricane.  The fort was once again rebuilt but this time with brick and mortar but it took some time, three years.  It followed the design for several other forts along the Atlantic coast.  The walls, barracks, ramparts and mountings were all brick and it stood strong for over 50 years.
During the Civil War the fort was damaged when the Union lost defending it from the Confederates, When the Confederate soldiers took over the fort they repaired the damage and made it stronger by using earth to reinforce the brick.  After the Civil War the fort stayed in operation and had improvements made for the next several years.  Today Fort Moultrie is a great example of a U.S. Fort through out our Country's history and the tour is very well done.  It is a self guided tour and the entrance fee is only $3.00 a person.
We enjoyed our day at Fort Moultrie and since it is right on the pass leading to Charleston we even enjoyed the beach for a little while.  Fort Moultrie is a dog friendly park as long as the dog is on a leash and does not go into the Visitor Center or the Fort.  We had a great day in Charleston and at Fort Moultrie and if we are ever in this area again we will definately visit it again.