I don’t have any ancestors (that I know of yet) that lived in Georgia or South Carolina. It is so hard living in a place full of so much history and not being able to do any research here!
I have been working on my DAR membership for the past few months. The patriot I chose was Nathaniel Brittain, my 5th great-grandfather. He was from Virginia, and served in B. Company of the 8th Virginia Infantry during the Revolutionary War. Imagine my surprise when I found out that his unit fought in the Battle of Sullivan’s Island in Charleston, SC on June 28-29, 1776. Of course I had to make a road trip!
After the War, Fort Sullivan was renamed Fort Moultrie after Colonel William Moultrie, who fought during this battle. Today, it is a part of the National Park Service.
So, we piled all of the kids in the car and drove to Charleston. It’s only about 2 hours away, but it’s kind of a boring drive – not much to see on the way. They grumbled a bit, but were fine after we stopped for food. 🙂 We took them to the aquarium first, and then headed across the bridge and over to Sullivan’s Island.
I think that we must have chosen the windiest day of the year to visit. It wasn’t super cold, but we were being blown away. Two of my kids finished the Junior Ranger programs, so they had to fill out their booklets and learn about the fort. They had a hard time keeping hold of their papers with all of the wind!
I was a little disappointed that there weren’t more exhibits geared towards the Revolutionary War period, but I should have known there wouldn’t be much. The fort was in use through WWII, so a lot of the exhibits were geared towards that and the Civil War. The Palmetto Fort that was used during the Revolution is of course, long gone.
I’m still glad we made the trip. It’s always nice to walk in the footsteps of your ancestors. 🙂
I also was able to give the kids a great history lesson!
Here are some pictures from our visit:
(The first few were taken at Battery Park in Charleston, where there is a memorial to those that died or were wounded at this battle.)
