We headed into Charleston for a look around. We started with a minibus tour of the city, making note of the things we want to come back to see. The tour took us around the major sights, including the Civil War submarine, the H.L Hunley. The reconstruction of the Hunley is now known to be about 17 inches higher than the original. It had a crew of 8 who hand cranked the propellor. The first time it had sea trials it sank, killing 3 men on board. The second seas trial it sank, killing all on board. The third time it went out, they headed 7 miles off shore (!) and became the first submarine in history to sink an enemy ship, the Federal ship the Housatonic, on Feb 17th, 1864. Sadly, on the way back it sank. The Hunley was recovered in 2000, by Clive Cussler the famous author and treasure hunter.
We saw rainbow row, where all the homes are painted in pastel colours. Lots of beautiful architecture here.
We went to the waterfront and saw Fort Sumter from the shore – where the first shots of the American Civil War were fired.
After the tour we walked to the Charleston Markets. It’s a series of long buildings, not much different to our Salamanca Market, but not as good. We had a late lunch at a nice restaurant next to the market, then walked back via historic King Street.
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