This act of aggression prompted Lincoln to ask the states to send 75,000 troops to put down the rebellion. The South reacted by authorizing the enlistment of 100,000 for a year’s service. The war had begun.
For most of the war, Fort Sumter was occupied by a Confederate garrison. During the siege of Charleston, 1863-65, more than half of the fort was demolished by Federal cannon fire.
Fort Sumter National Monument is on a man-made granite island in the harbor, four miles from downtown Charleston. Open daily except Christmas. Park Service tour boats leave from the City Marina on Lockwood Drive, just south of U.S. 17, and from the naval museum at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant. During the summer there are three round-trips from each location. The trips cost $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and military personnel, and $5.50 for children six to twelve. For information phone 803-883-3123.
Charleston is a beautiful, aristocratic city where pastel-hued houses peek out from behind lacy iron gates. More than eight hundred of its buildings predate the Civil War. To capture the spirit of the city, see the multimedia presentation, Charleston Adventures, shown continuously at the Visitor Center in the Arch Building, 85 Calhoun St. For information phone 803-724-7474.
Among the prizes at the Charleston Museum, 360 Meeting St., is a full-size replica of the Confederate submarine Hunley, the first submarine to torpedo and sink a warship. Open Monday-Saturday, 9:00-5:00; Sunday, 1:00-5:00. For information phone 803-722-2996.
Charleston Walks, 334 E. Bay St., Suite 186, Charleston, SC 29401, offers two guided walking tours of particular interest. The Civil War Walk visits a slave market, the South Carolina Institute Hall, where the Ordinance of Secession was ratified, and the High Battery, from where rebel artillery fired on Fort Sumter. The other is the Low Country Ghost Tour, which visits cemeteries, houses, and other places where ghosts have been reported over the years. The tour, offered three times each evening, is sufficiently popular to have its own phone number: 803-853-GHOST. Each tour costs $12 for adults, $8 for children seven to fourteen, and no charge for children six and under.
Maison DuPre
Charleston, South Carolina
The people of Charleston gathered at the Battery in a party mood to cheer when the first shots of the war were fired at Fort Sumter in the harbor. The Battery is just a fifteen-minute walk from the Ansonborough District, where this delightful inn is located.
The Maison DuPre is made up of three restored homes and two carriage houses surrounding a charming courtyard. Two of the structures were moved to the site of this 1801 Federal house. The inn is owned by Robert and Lucille Mulholland and is managed by their son Mark.
The inn is furnished in period antiques, including the unique Charleston rice beds (stately four-posters with carvings of rice plants on each of the posts), and the decoration of each guest room is keyed to one of Lucille’s paintings. An elegant Low Country tea is served every afternoon with sandwiches, cheeses, cakes, and cookies. Beds are turned down nightly and a chocolate left on the pillow. The staff will book dinner reservations, carriage rides, and tours.
Address: 317 E. Bay St., Charleston, SC 29401; tel: 803-723-8691 or 800-844-INNS; fax: 803-723-3722.
Accommodations: Fifteen double rooms, all with private baths.
Amenities: Air-conditioning, off-street parking, afternoon tea, concierge service, nightly turndown.
Rates: $$$, including continental breakfast. Visa, MasterCard, and personal checks.
Restrictions: No pets, restricted smoking.
Two Meeting Street Inn
Charleston, South Carolina
Fort Sumter, a Federal fort in Charleston harbor, was a bone in the city’s throat. Rather than allow it to be resupplied by Lincoln, Jefferson Davis ordered it seized. When the bombardment began, on April 12, 1861, Charlestonians gathered on the Battery to watch.
Where this inn now stands, at Meeting and South Battery Streets, would have been a perfect vantage point to view the attack. Looking across the small park, which now has a number of Civil War cannon and mortars, Fort Sumter is clearly visible in the distance.
This grand Queen Anne mansion, a wedding present from a wealthy merchant to his daughter, is filled with family antiques and Oriental rugs, and has Tiffany stained-glass windows and intricately carved oak paneling throughout. The rocking chairs on the veranda provide a panoramic view of the Battery and the harbor.
Depending on the weather, the innkeepers, the Spell family, serve breakfast and afternoon tea in the formal dining room or on the veranda. Jean Spell is a licensed tour guide and points the way toward the historic places and pleasures of Charleston.
By any standards, Two Meeting Street is an exceptional inn, and a perfect complement to the Charleston experience.
Address: 2 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401; tel: 843-723-7322.
Accommodations: Nine guest rooms, all with private baths.
Amenities: Air-conditioning, concierge service.
Rates: $$$, including continental breakfast and afternoon tea. Personal checks.
Restrictions: No children under twelve, no pets, restricted smoking.
Greenleaf Inn
Camden, South Carolina
Camden was a Confederate storehouse and refugee center until General William T. Sherman’s troops burned and looted most of it on February 24, 1865. In town when it happened, Mary Boykin Chesnut wrote in her diary: “All the railroads are destroyed, the bridges gone. We are cut off from the world, to eat out our own hearts.”
Alice Boykin, a distant relative of the famous diarist, owns this charming inn. The inn is a compound composed of four buildings: the main inn, built in 1805; a carriage house (complete with carriage), built circa 1890; the McLaine house, built in 1890; and a guest cottage built in the 1940s. The guest rooms are decorated in the classic Victorian style and have four-poster beds, Oriental rugs, and period wallpaper.
Ms. Boykin will direct you to the little village of Boykin, about eight miles south of Camden on Rte. 261, where, in the Battle of Boykin Mill, badly outnumbered members of the South Carolina Home Guard made 2,500 Yankees pay dearly for coming this way. Among those killed in the battle was fifteen-year-old Bur well Boykin.
Address: 1308 Broad St., Camden, SC 29020; tel: 803-425-1806 or 800-437-5874; fax: 803-425-5853.
Accommodations: Eight double rooms, all with private baths, three suites, one cottage.
Amenities: Air-conditioning, ceiling fans, off-street parking, phones in rooms, use of nearby health club.
Rates: $$, including continental breakfast. All major credit cards and personal checks.
Restrictions: No pets, restricted smoking.
South Carolina State House
Columbia, South Carolina
The South Carolina State House is the only structure on Main Street that predates the burning of Columbia. When Sherman’s army arrived outside the city on February 16, 1865, the general allowed that it was a “handsome granite structure.” But when he saw the Confederate flag flying above it, he ordered his artillery batteries to fire on the building from across the Congaree River, a range of one mile. Bronze stars now mark the places where the shells hit.
Before continuing their march through the Carolinas, Sherman’s men looted the state house, and in a mock session of the legislature repealed the Ordinance of Secession.
The State House may be toured Monday-Friday, 9:00-12:00 and 1:30-4:00. From I-26, which becomes Elmwood Ave., turn right onto Main St., which dead-ends at the statehouse at Gervais St. Several Civil War monuments are on the grounds. For information phone 803-734-9818.
Near the campus of the University of South Carolina is the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Museum, 920 Sumter St., where relics include firearms made in South Carolina, sabers, flags, currency, newspapers, photographs, and uniforms. Open Monday-Friday, 9:00-5:00. Admission is free. For information phone 803-734-9813.
On Garner’s Ferry Road is Millwood, once the home of Wade Hampton II and of his son, the Confederate ge
neral Wade Hampton III. The mansion was destroyed by fire during Sherman’s occupation of Columbia. Only five front columns on brick bases remain of the Greek revival plantation home. Open dawn to dusk; reservations are suggested. Admission is free. For information phone 803-252-7742.
The Chesnut Cottage
Columbia, South Carolina
To read the diary entries of Mary Boykin Chesnut is to virtually enter the inner circle of the Confederacy. Her husband, James Chesnut, a prominent South Carolina lawyer and wealthy plantation owner, became an aide to Jefferson Davis, and the Chesnuts became part of the social elite in wartime Richmond. Mrs. Chesnut, a gifted writer and born gossip, saw it all and told it all. Excerpts from her diary have been published several times, from 1905 to the present. Mary Chesnut’s Civil War, edited by C. Van Woodward and published in 1981, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.
This house was the Chesnuts’ temporary home during part of the war. President Davis stayed with them here in October 1864, and gave a speech from the front steps, a copy of which is on the night tables in the guest rooms. The house, built around 1850, is on the National Register.
The Mary Boykin Chesnut Room is feminine and has a queen-size canopy bed, while the masculine James Chesnut Room features an antique bed and Civil War memorabilia. The owner, Gale Garrett, is a genial host and serves a Southern breakfast worthy of Mrs. Chesnut herself.
Address: 1718 Hampton St., Columbia, SC 29210; tel: 803-256-1718.
Accommodations: Three double rooms in the cottage, and two suites in the carriage house, all with private baths (three have Jacuzzis).
Amenities: Air-conditioning, off-street parking, house tour by appointment.
Rates: $$.
Restrictions: Children at host’s discretion, no pets, no smoking.
TENNESSEE
Andrew Johnson House
Greenville, Tennessee
A tailor by trade, Andrew Johnson had little formal schooling. His wife read aloud to him while he sewed in his shop and spent her evenings teaching him to read. Johnson was a gifted debater and found his true calling in politics, rising from mayor of Greenville to governor of Tennessee to U.S. Senator.
Devoted to the Union, he remained in the Senate despite Tennessee’s secession. Lincoln chose him as his running mate in 1864 and he became president after Lincoln was assassinated. Considered a traitor by Southerners and distrusted by many Northerners, he was determined to give the South the same generous terms as Lincoln had intended, but Congress had other ideas. Johnson was accused of wrongdoing, and at his impeachment trial in the Senate he missed being convicted by a single vote.
At the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, Depot and College Sts., Greenville, TN 37744, are two homes, Johnson’s tailor shop, and a museum, which displays mementos of his life, including a wedding coat he made. The Homestead, on Main St. between Summer and McKee Sts., was Johnson’s home from 1851 to his death in 1875. The site is open daily, 9:00-5:00, except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Admission to Visitor Center and gravesite is free; Homestead tour is $2, free to seniors and youths seventeen and under. For information phone 423-638-3551.
Hilltop House
Greenville, Tennessee
On a hill overlooking the Nolichucky River Valley, Denise Ashworth, an English lady who made a career as a horticulturist and landscape architect in the National Forest Service, has turned a manor house, built in the 1920s, into a comfortable and charming inn.
All three guest rooms look out on the Appalachian Mountains, and two have their own verandas. Ms. Ashworth has furnished the house with English antiques, tasteful reproduction pieces, and Oriental rugs.
Including a visit to the nearby Andrew Johnson home, there is a lot to do around here: take a scenic drive, play a public nine-hole golf course, go white-water rafting, birdwatch or fish for trout in the National Forest, and hunt pheasant and quail in the local hunting preserve. Or you can just sit in a rocking chair on the front porch and enjoy the view.
In late October, the Battle of Blue Springs, a Confederate attempt in October 1863 to drive a Federal force out of East Tennessee, is reenacted nearby.
Address: #6 Sanford Circle, Greenville, TN 37743; tel: 423-639-8202.
Accommodations: Three double rooms, all with private baths.
Amenities: Air-conditioning, parking, small refrigerator upstairs for guests, afternoon tea, dinner by reservation and picnic baskets (both at extra cost).
Rates: $$, including full breakfast. American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and personal checks.
Restrictions: No children under three, no pets, no smoking.
Carter House
Franklin, Tennessee
On November 30, 1864, the Battle of Franklin was fought on the southern edge of this central Tennessee town. General John Bell Hood planned to march from Alabama through Tennessee into Kentucky, where he hoped to pick up recruits, defeat the Federal forces there, then go to Virginia to join Lee.
The first step in Hood’s grand plan was to capture Nashville. Federal troops, commanded by General John M. Schofield, were dug in across the Columbia Pike here, south of Nashville, when Hood, over the objections of his officers, ordered a frontal assault.
In the late afternoon, 22,000 rebels marched across an open field, banners flying. Fierce hand-to-hand fighting up and down the line continued until well after dark. Sometime after midnight, Schofield withdrew his troops, but it hardly was a Confederate victory. Hood lost more than six thousand men, including twelve generals (five had been killed outright, one had been captured, and six more were wounded, one fatally) and more than half of his regimental commanders. Federal casualties were 2,300.
Some of the heaviest fighting swirled around this house, located just behind the Federal breastworks. As the battle raged through the night, the Carter family and their servants huddled in the cellar of the small brick home. When they emerged they learned that a son, Captain Tod Carter, lay wounded on the field. His father and sisters found him a few hundred yards from the house, and carried him home to die. The restored house is furnished with family heirlooms and period antiques.
The Carter House, 1140 Columbia Ave. (Rte. 31S), is open April through October, Monday-Saturday, 9:00-5:00, Sunday, 1:00-5:00; November through March, Monday-Saturday, 9:00-4:00, Sunday, 1:00-4:00. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, and $2 for children twelve and under. From I-65 take Exit 65, then Rte. 96 into town. At Courthouse Square turn left on Main St., then left on Columbia Ave. The entrance is off Fowlkes St. For information phone 615-791-1861.
Carnton Mansion
Franklin, Tennessee
The Battle of Franklin was fought the night of November 30, 1864, and in only five hours of fighting, more Confederate soldiers were lost than in Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg. After the battle, the bodies of five generals were picked up and laid out on the back porch of this mansion, which was on the southern part of the battlefield.
The wounded began arriving in the early evening. Carpets were rolled back, furniture moved aside, and upward of two hundred wounded Confederate soldiers were crowded in. Hundreds more were cared for on the lawn. Doctors worked through the night, dressing wounds and amputating shattered arms and legs. This twenty-two-room mansion was built by Randall McGavock, a former mayor of Nashville, and the plantation was famous for its formal gardens and fine thoroughbreds. Sam Houston and James K. Polk were among the celebrities entertained here. The house, still in the process of being restored, is furnished with period pieces and McGavock heirlooms. The nearby family cemetery holds the graves of 1,481 Confederate soldiers.
Carnton Mansion, one mile southeast of Franklin off Rte. 431, is open January through March, Monday-Friday, 9:00-4:00; April through December, Monday-Saturday, 9:00-4:00, and Sunday, 10:00-4:00. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $1 for children. Museum. Gift shop. For information phone 615-794-0903.
Travellers Rest
Nashville, Tennessee
For two weeks bef
ore the Battle of Nashville (December 15-16, 1864), a plantation house called Travellers Rest was the headquarters of John Bell Hood, the Confederate commander.
Riding from Murfreesboro to confer with Hood, Nathan Bedford Forrest spent the night here on December 11, 1864. During the battle, Federal forces charged the Confederate right flank on Peach Orchard Hill, within sight of the house.
The house was also the scene of several charges of the U.S. Colored Infantry. Several women and children were in the house during the fighting, but no one was injured. During the occupation of Nashville, Union troops camped on the grounds of the house.
Travellers Rest was built in 1799 for Judge John Overton, a friend of Andrew Jackson and a strong influence on his political career. The house has been restored to the period of Overton’s residence, and the grounds contain a small museum.
Travellers Rest Historic House Museum, 636 Farrell Pkwy., Nashville, TN 37220, is open year-round, Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00-5:00; Sunday, 1:00-5:00. Admission is $6 for adults, $3 for children six to twelve. From I-65 take Harding exit, turn left onto Franklin Rd., go one mile, turn left onto Farrell Rd., then turn right onto Farrell Pkwy. For information phone 615-832-8197.
The State Capitol, 7th and Charlotte Aves., was completed in 1859, just in time to be swept up in the war. The fortifications around the Greek revival building consisted of four earthworks connected by a stockade with rifle loopholes. On the grounds is a statue of Sam Davis, a young hero of the Confederacy. Open weekdays, 8:00-5:00, Saturday, 9:00-4:00, Sunday, 10:00-4:00, except major holidays. For information phone 615-741-1621.
In the nearby James K. Polk State Building is the Tennessee State Museum, 5th and Deaderick, which has an extensive exhibit on the Civil War. Open daily except Monday and major holidays, 10:00-5:00, Sunday, 1:00-5:00. Admission is free. For information phone 615-741-2692.
English Manor Inn
Chuck Lawliss Page 9
