Southern U.S.
Charleston, South Carolina – Civil War
When Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election of 1860, American national unity was doomed. Southern states, seeing Lincoln’s election as a direct and powerful threat to the institution of slavery, moved quickly toward secession. South Carolina was the first state to leave the Union, declaring its secession on December 20, 1860. Federal troops occupied Fort Sumter on December 26 because they felt that their previous base, nearby Fort Moultrie, was indefensible. The South Carolinians felt that their Fort Sumter had been forcibly occupied by a hostile power.
After Lincoln’s inauguration in March of 1861, he tried to hold the nation together while maintaining a position of strength, even though several states had already seceded. Fort Sumter became the focal point of the war of words. When Union forces tried to resupply Fort Sumter, their efforts were repulsed. Confederate forces repeatedly ordered the Union forces at Fort Sumter to surrender. President Lincoln ordered supplies to be sent by sea on April 8, 1861, and the Confederate government, in return, demanded that the Union troops evacuate the fort. Finally, on April 12, 1861, Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter, signaling the start of the Civil War.
The park’s territory includes several different locations. The Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center in Charleston’s Liberty Square presents exhibits that depict the fort’s history and explain the causes of the Civil War. You can reach Fort Sumter itself by boat, from either Liberty Square or Patriots Point. Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan’s Island, which dates from the Revolutionary War, also belongs to the park. Museum exhibits at Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie trace the history of each stronghold.
Nearby attractions: Patriot’s Point Naval and Maritime Museum, South Carolina Aquarium, Drayton Hall Plantation
Yorktown Battlefield / Colonial National Historical Park
Yorktown, Virginia – Revolutionary War
Every American student learns that the Revolutionary War ended in Yorktown, when General Charles Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington in 1781. Cornwallis and his troops had occupied Yorktown to protect the Chesapeake Bay and York River. Washington’s American troops, accompanied by the Comte de Rochambeau and his French soldiers, lay siege to Yorktown on September 28, 1781. Cornwallis sent for help, but General Clinton and his troops were unable to leave New York in time to help their fellow soldiers. Cornwallis tried both attacking the American and French positions and evacuating his own troops across the river, but both measures failed. With no help in sight, Cornwallis had no options left. He surrendered on October 19, 1781.
When you visit Yorktown, be sure to make time to visit both the Yorktown Battlefield, which is part of Colonial National Historical Park, and Yorktown Victory Center, a museum and reenactment center near the battlefield. You’ll learn why Cornwallis brought his army to Yorktown and how the combined American and French forces cornered him. Walk the siege lines or, in summer months, take a self-guided driving tour or National Park Service bus tour of the battlefield. You can also visit several homes and buildings that date from colonial times. Military history buffs will find the original redoubts and earthworks especially interesting.
Nearby attractions: Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement, Water Country USA
In Part 4, we'll head west to Texas and beyond.
