Day 194 –South Carolina (by Ben)
The Events of Wednesday, January 5, 2011
People here in South Carolina are so friendly! Maybe it is just part of Southern culture, or maybe it is just who we meet. But almost everyone we interact with in South Carolina is super friendly!
After breakfast, a quick departure from Costco, and getting lost for the first time today, the RV, with messed up tire and all, pulled into the Sears Auto Center. Dad headed in to tell them about our problem and came back soon, looking a bit downtrodden. He reported that, although the bay could accommodate a rig our size, like Costco, they didn’t have a strong enough jack. To avoid repeating this problem, Dad called ahead to several other repair shops to see if they could fit and lift the RV. The call each shop received never deviated from a standard: “Hi! My name is Jim. We have a 30 foot RV and are having problems with one of the tires. Can you accommodate the rig this size? (long pause)…OK, I’ll give them a ring. Thank you very much. Bye!” On the fourth call, something changed. It ended not with “I’ll give them a ring” but “I’ll be right over.” Finally! Success! Needing service for an RV is quite an event—finding a place that can give the service is even bigger!
After we pulled into the parking lot Dad went in to explain our situation. The next thing we knew, a mechanic walked around the RV, opened the driver’s door, climbed in and saw Mom. You could say that he was just a little surprised. Cheerfully he announced, “You’re getting a new tire!” Confused at the unusual communication, Mom looked puzzled as the mechanic closed the door and went to insert the key. Then he smirks and says, “Whoops! Wrong key!” As soon as he left the RV to get the correct key, we all cracked up. It’s not every day that a mechanic hops into your car with you in it and makes a fool of himself. After a little more communication, Dad skillfully maneuvered the RV into the narrow bay. In the garage, eight mechanics watched, in wonder, as we pulled in with inches to spare. We squeezed out of the RV, turned over the keys, and then headed inside to let the pros have at it.
About an hour later, the mechanic came in, talked with Dad, and then announced that our RV was outfitted with two new tires (one on each side) and ready for travel. The customer service was fabulous: they saved us the nerve-wracking work of backing the RV out of the bay, engaged in conversation about our trip, gave us free bumper stickers, and, as we left, said they would pray for our trip. How great! But the biggest surprises were yet to come. As Mom opened the front door, she saw that a long stem red rose had been left on her seat. Later, as we kids entered by the side door, the girls found that three more red roses lay on the couch. The flowers came with a note reading, “To our Special Customer: Please accept this Rose from the staff at Gerald’s Tires and Brakes. Thank You for allowing us to serve you! Have a Great Day!” How great! Their car service was fantastic; their customer service was better.
With repairs made, our next destination was Patriot’s Point and Fort Sumter. Caitlin and Dad headed inside to purchase tickets for the 1:30 ferry. When they returned, they brought tidings of success and of the fantastic exhibits in the restroom. We laughed at that last part, but they were serious! There were exhibits about naval terms posted in every stall and above each sink. Since we had arrived early, math and computer work filled the spare time before lunch.
After lunch and getting dressed for rain, it was time to board the General Beauregard, the ferry that would take us to Fort Sumter. The nearly empty boat pulled out of port and the recorded narration began. When the wind increased and the temperature dropped a few degrees, the open upper deck emptied out as everyone but Abby (who is never cold) moved to the closed-in lower deck. When the ferry pulled into the dock, the thirteen passengers climbed off the ship to greet the rangers. They took us inside the fort to give us the orientation speech. When dismissed, we decided to head over to the ranger talk in the museum, which was given by Ranger Jennifer.
She was very informative in her talk about the events preceding the battle. Between Lincoln’s election and inauguration, many events set up the beginning of the Civil War. When South Carolina seceded, they demanded complete control of all federal property in the state. The president at the time, James Buchanan, did not want to give the state the property for, if he did, he would be recognizing the state’s sovereignty. Meanwhile, back in South Carolina, Major Anderson, the Union commander of the harbor, moved his troops to Sumter from Fort Moultrie on his own accord. Although he did not have any explicit instructions from Washington to make the move, his poor timing, which coordinated with the events in Washington, made South Carolina suspicious.
Buchanan ordered a supply ship sent to the fort. Originally a warship was allotted to the task. However, since the vessel would have difficulty maneuvering in the harbor and sending a ship with guns could be interpreted as an act of war, Buchanan instead hired a civilian vessel. When the Star of the West arrived in Charleston harbor with 200 soldiers and supplies for the fort, they were greeted by Confederate gunfire. Southern sympathizers in Washington heard about the plan and told the governor of South Carolina, who prepared to stop the ship. Meanwhile, Major Anderson, still in the fort, had not received any news of the supply ship or any further instruction. On March 4, the problem moved hands from Buchanan to Lincoln.
After Lincoln failed at negotiating with South Carolina’s governor, General Beauregard was given authority by the governor to use whatever means to attain the fort. Translation: you can start the Civil War. At 4:30 on April 12, 1861, the bombardment of Fort Sumter began. With only 85 troops, Anderson worked tirelessly for 36 hours returning fire before surrendering. Remarkably, there was not one fatality from either side in the siege. However, during a gun salute when taking town the US flag, Private Daniel Hough was killed in an accidental explosion—the first death of the Civil War.
Although everyone knows about Fort Sumter as the first battle of the Civil War, few know about its role later in history. It was used by the Confederates during the siege of Charleston in 1863 and was later modified for use in the Spanish-American War.
After the talk, we explored the fort. Walking along the ramparts, we saw the other forts in the harbor that fired upon Sumter. They seem far away but, with their “high-tech” cannons, could still do serious damage. As we walked down to the lower levels in the fort, we took a loop around the interior. Embedded in the walls are several artillery shells left over from the 1860s. We could have spent hours exploring, but it was time to return to the ferry. After the boat ride back, Dad found a campsite for us near Congaree National Park, so we headed there.
It turned out to be a good thing that we were given an after-hours phone number for the campground. We thought the RV Park was in a state park and were at our “destination”, but we couldn’t find the campground. Confused, Dad called Sam, who is the grounds manager. He told us to go a certain way. But after a little driving, it was clear that we weren’t headed the right way. So we called him again and got better directions. After a bit more confusion, we eventually were on the main road. Since we needed so much help, Sam decided to leave his campsite, find us, and escort us to our campsite in the Lake Marion RV Resort. He helped us navigate, find our site, change sites, and provided light while we were setting up. It was great!
Once set up, dinner was served. Since we had already done math today, we prepared for one of our favorite movies, A Walk to Remember, after dinner. After the movie ended, it was 9:30 and time for bed.