Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie
The island fort where the Civil War began on April 12, 1861, reached by the official ferry with a ranger talk on the fort.
- Open
- Ferries daily, several times a day
- Price
- Paid ferry; the fort itself is free
- Time Needed
- 2.5 hours
- Address
- Ferries leave from Liberty Square, 340 Concord St, Charleston, SC 29401, and Patriots PointGoogle MapsApple Maps
- Getting There
- Liberty Square downtown.
Why Go
Confederate guns fired on the Union garrison here, starting the Civil War. The ferry crossing gives fine views of the harbor and city; on the island there's a museum and the ruined walls.
Across the harbor on Sullivan's Island, Fort Moultrie's palmetto-log walls beat off a British fleet in 1776, a Revolutionary victory that's why South Carolina has a palmetto on its flag.
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