Review Archive/June 2013
Updated May 31, 2013
QCT A Day In Charleston, SC™; Part II
A Memorable Journey!
By Jay Whipple/
Trend Magazine Online™
In addition to having a healthy sense of humor our captain also had a wealth of knowledge of
Charleston, SC, history in which he conveyed without the assistance of notes or cue cards which let me know (as a tour guide myself) that he had been doing this for quite some time. The first thing that I learned on this tour was that the
City of Charleston, SC, was first to enact historic preservations laws and charters in the
United States. Early on our cruise/tour he pointed out a provost building which once held two signers of the
Declaration of Independence which was pretty fascinating if you are into history -- as I am.
Captain Craig also stated that
Charleston, SC, was once the richest city among the colonies during the
Revolutionary War era in the late
1770’s to early
1780’s, and that
Charlestown (named after King Charles II) was established in the spring of
1680 and incorporated in
1783, along the
Ashley River.
One of my favorite tidbits on this cruise/tour was the mention of pirate activities from
1690 to
1720 and in particular the capture and death of the now infamous
Edward Teach a.k.a.
Blackbeard in
1718. A special mention was made of
Robert Smalls, a
Mulatto Slave who in
1862, planned and executed a daring escape – with eight fellow Slaves -- in this very same
Harbor. He went on to become the first
Black Captain of a
U.S. Navy vessel, a
South Carolina State Legislator, a
Major General in the
South Carolina Militia, a five-term
U.S. Congressman and a
U.S. Collector of Customs. At this point in the tour we were tasked with a trivia question and the first guest to walk up to
Captain Craig’s steering compartment with the correct answer won free snacks at the snack bar. I was not fast enough even with the assistance of my
Android mobile phone. Our
Captain continued to ingratiate us with a pleather of area history like the fact that
South Carolina was first to secede from the union in
1860 and that there were over
600,000 fatalities during the
Civil War in the early
1860’s. He also pointed out the
Morris Lighthouse which was completed in
1673 but was not in use and replaced by the
Sullivan Island’s Lighthouse. At this point during our cruise/tour I could feel a very nice and cool harbor breeze blowing across the upper deck – it was pleasantly surreal and I likened it to a pirate sailing the ocean blue.
Another cruise/tour highlight came as we neared the now famous
Morris Island which was depicted in the movie
Glory (1989) starring
Matthew Broderick,
Denzel Washington, and
Morgan Freeman, to name a few actors. This was the role, in my opinion, that
Denzel should have won the
Emmy as opposed to
Training Day (2001) with
Ethan Hawke; another great movie. We also learned that the famous
Civil War era
Fort Sumter was named in honor of
General Thomas Sumter (1734 – 1832; a.k.a. the Gamecock) is remembered for his leadership of troops against
British forces in
North and
South Carolina during the
Revolutionary War in the late
1770’s and early
1780’s. In addition, the famous writer
Edgar Allen Poe (1809 – 1849) was stationed at nearby
Fort Moultrie in
1827 before going on to scare the dickens out of most of us avid readers.
Captain Craig also stated that nearby
Sullivan’s Island contained the wealthiest zip code (29482) in
South Carolina with an estimated median household income of
$95,694 (2010 census). Another special added touch was the
Blues music that was played between sites; sweet!
Other area
Hollywood connections include the movie
The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) starring rapper turned actor
Will Smith,
Matt Damon, and
Charlize Theron, the
Army Wives reality show, and the Patriot (2000) starring bad-boy
Mel Gibson and the late
Heath Ledger. We also learned that the reason there are no skyscrapers in town is because of a city ordinance that states no building shall be taller than the tallest church as
Charleston, SC, is known today as the
Holy City; a title it adopted in the
1600’s. Of course, some may argue that it’s past embrace and economic benefits from the institution of
Slavery may suggest otherwise. Towards the end of this tour we were treated to a remarkable pass underneath the new
Highway 17 Bridge that replaced that old rickety scary bridge that I crossed over in
1995, opening in
2005 and extending
572 feet up in the air.
Captain Craig gave us some very interesting comparative stats to add to the splendor of this modern day engineering feat and believe it or not, people routinely jog across it as there are parks on either end.
All in all I was thoroughly impressed with this 1 ½ hour cruise/tour and the staff of the
Charleston Harbor Tours. I suggest that you do this tour first if you visit
Charleston, SC, as it prepares you for all there is to see and do in the
Holy City. You can also join our
A Day in Charleston, SC, tour each
June or year round for a party of
10 or more. Check out my next
Charleston, SC, area review of the nearby
Boone Hall Plantation in
Mt. Pleasant, SC, in the next edition of
Trend Magazine Online™.
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