Revisit to Liberty Square, the Visitor Information Center for Fort Sumter National Monument, Charleston SC

Finished up the trio of Charleston National Park visits with a quick stop at Liberty Square, which is the embarkation point for the ferry to Fort Sumter.  Had some missing stamps here, but I managed to still miss one of the bonus stamps.  I did get the new Civil War 150th stamp.

Date of revisit was April 24, 2014.  

Liberty Square is shown as the Visitor Education Center on the map.

Revisit to Fort Moultrie, a part of Fort Sumter National Park, Sullivan's Island SC April 24, 2014

Tina and I ran over to Fort Moultrie next to pick up a couple of missing stamps from my last visit in 2010-  

Fort Moultrie is a fort that protected the entrance to Charleston Harbor and is part of the Fort Sumter National Monument.

Fort Moultrie

The first fort on Sullivan's Island was still incomplete when Commodore Sir Peter Parker and nine warships attacked it on June 28, 1776. After a nine-hour battle, the ships were forced to retire. Charleston was saved from British occupation, and the fort was named in honor of its commander, Colonel. William Moultrie. In 1780 the British finally captured Charleston, abandoning it only on the advent of peace. After the Revolution, Fort Moultrie was neglected, and by 1791 little of it remained. Then, in 1793, war broke out between England and France. The next year Congress, seeking to safeguard American shores, authorized the first system of nationwide coastal fortifications. A second Fort Moultrie, one of 20 new forts along the Atlantic coast, was completed in 1798. It too suffered from neglect and was finally destroyed by a hurricane in 1804. By 1807 many of the other First System fortifications were in need of extensive repair. Congress responded by authorizing funds for a Second System, which included a third Fort Moultrie. By 1809 a new brick fort stood on Sullivan's Island.  Between 1809 and 1860 Fort Moultrie changed little. The parapet was altered and the armament modernized, but the big improvement in Charleston's defenses during this period was the construction of Fort Sumter at the entrance of the harbor. The forts ringing Charleston Harbor - Moultrie, Sumter, Johnson, and Castle Pinckney - were meant to complement each other, but ironically received their baptism of fire as opponents. For more information about the Fort Moultrie of 1860, including 3D models and animation, visit Battlefields in Motion. In December 1860 South Carolina seceded from the Union, and the Federal garrison abandoned Fort Moultrie for the stronger Sumter. Three and a half months later, Confederate troops shelled Sumter into submission, plunging the nation into civil war. In April 1863, Federal iron-clads and shore batteries began a 20-month bombardment of Sumter and Moultrie, yet Charleston's defenses held. When the Confederate army evacuated the city in February 1865, Fort Sumter was little more than a pile of rubble and Fort Moultrie lay hidden under the band of sand that protected its walls from Federal shells. The new rifled cannon used during the Civil War had demolished the brick-walled fortifications. Fort Moultrie was modernized in the 1870s, employing concepts developed during the war. Huge new cannon were installed, and magazines and bombproofs were built of thick concrete, then buried under tons of earth to absorb the explosion of heavy shells. In 1885, President Grover Cleveland appointed Secretary of War William C. Endicott to head a board to review the coastal defenses in light of newly developing weapons technology. The system that emerged, named for Endicott, again modernized the nation's fortifications. New batteries of concrete and steel were constructed in Fort Moultrie. Larger weapons were emplaced elsewhere on Sullivan's Island, and the old fort became just a small part of the Fort Moultrie Military Reservation that covered much of the island.As technology changed, harbor defense became more complex. The world wars brought new threats of submarine and aerial attack and required new means of defense at Moultrie. Yet these armaments also became obsolete as nuclear weapons and guided missiles altered the entire concept of national defense. Today Fort Moultrie has been restored to portray the major periods of its history. A visitor to the fort moves steadily backwards in time from the World War II Harbor Entrance Control Post to the site of the Palmetto-log fort of 1776.  The fort is also the final resting place of General William Moultrie, for whom the fort is named:                                      William Moultrie Birth:  Nov. 23, 1730 Charleston South Carolina, USA Death:  Sept. 27, 1805 Major General William Moultrie. Born in Charleston, S.C., November 23, 1730. Second in command of Charleston's defenses during the American Revolution. He was taken prisoner when Charleston fell to the British in 1780. Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives 1783-1784. Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina in 1784 and Governor in 1785. He was elected to the South Carolina Senate in 1787 and was again elected Governor in 1792. Moultrie published in 1802 Memoirs of the American Revolution. He died in Charleston on September 27, 1805, and is buried on the grounds of Fort Moultrie, which is named after him.

Revisit to Charles Pinckney National Historical Site - Mt Pleasant, South Carolina

Last time I was here was in 2008, when we were on a trip with the Kingston's-  Wow!  They had added a couple of stamps, so that was a reason to visit.  

It's stop number 2 on the map.  About 13 miles from our hotel.  

The location is on the old Snee Plantation, and is the last remaining parcel of land that belonged to Charles Pinckney, who was an early and noted public servant of South Carolina.  

Charles Pinckney National Historic Site

Location	Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, USA
Nearest city	Charleston, South Carolina
Area	28.45 acres (12 ha)
Established	September 8, 1988
Visitors	45,254 (in 2011)
Built	1824
Added to NRHP	April 13, 1973
Designated NHL	November 7, 1973

Charles Pinckney National Historic Site preserves a portion of Charles Pinckney's Snee Farm. The site is located at 1254 Long Point Road, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Pinckney fought in the American Revolutionary War and became one of the principal framers of the United States Constitution. He served as Governor of South Carolina, and as a member of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. He was President Thomas Jefferson's minister to Spain.The main house on the farm was constructed in 1828, after Pickney's death.

New Pin Addition- Juan Bautista de Anza NST

I was able to get a De Anza Trial pin sent in the mail-  I've been to I think 7 locations for the trail in Arizona, and a couple in California-  Plan on getting to about another 6-7 locations in California on the June trip with Cooper.  

Revisit to Big Cypress and another stop at Everglades

Date of visit: February 18th, 2014

On the last day of the Derry's visit, we decided to make a run out to the Oasis Visitor Center for Big Cypress, the Shark Valley VC for Everglades, and get in an air boat ride to finish off the day.  

It was about an hour ride through a bit of traffic to Oasis, but it did not disappoint-  Lots of bird wildlife present on the drive out the Tamiami Trail and lots and lots of wildlife present at the lagoon at the center. Got two stamps, but did not see any of the three bonus stamps. 

Then, about 10 miles back towards Miami, is the Shark Valley Unit of the Everglades.  Not much going on here, just one stamp, and we were in a hurry to get the airboats, and we had previously visited here, but we did get the two stamps.  

Then, David and the boys went on a 45 minute air boat ride, which they said was very cool. 

Weather was perfect today, 77 or so, no humidity, no bugs, bright sunshine.  

Park # 278 Dry Tortougas National Park - Florida

The Derry's (David, Ryan, and Christopher) and I made the long trek to this park yesterday, #278. We boarded a boat at 0700 in the morning and made the 2.5 hour trip across the Gulf of Mexico to this old fort, Fort Jefferson, which formerly was a National Monument, until in 1992 when they included the environs around the 11 islands that make up the Dry Tortougas chain, added elements of underwater habitat, and bird sanctuaries, and such, and named it Dry Tortougas.  

It was a bit of a rough ride out, a big storm having past through the previous night, and several riders got quite sea sick.   

We were able to spend about 4 hours on the island before having to make the return voyage, which was much smoother and much more enjoyable.  

Got all 5 stamps listed for here, a site stamp, a 25th anniversary, and an Underground Railroad one as well.  I also got two lighthouse stamps,  

 A view down the halls of the fort at the casement level 

 The boat that took us out to the island-  Nice ride, great crew, super food. 

 View from the stern on the way back 

 Views of the big cannon 

 A view seaward 

 2 Views of the lighthouse on the island.  

 Another seaward view from the 3rd deck, overlooking the moat 

 Entrance sign  

 View to loggerhead Light, 3 miles distant 

 The main powder magazine