Friday, November 7, 2025
The second day of our 2025 Football Weekend would again be filled with a combination of historical sites, action packed football and, what else, exotic local cuisine.
We were up bright and early in time to catch the morning Magic Hour so crucial to good photographic efforts.
As you undoubtedly know, out in the middle of the Charleston Harbor lies the remains of Fort Sumter. It was shelled in April of 1861 thus hailing the start of the American Civil War.
But where did the bombardment come from?
It came from this fort located on
Sullivan's Island to the east of Fort Sumter
The Confederate forces used this area for their three days of bombardments.
This position at the mouth of the harbor previously known as Fort Sullivan. During the Revolutionary War, in 1776, Col. William Moultrie led an American contingent of 435 men who repelled a British attack of nine ships and 3,000 troops.
The Americans had 37 men killed or wounded in the battle while the British losses mounted to 219. Moultrie's cannon shots damaged all nine Royal ships forcing the British to withdraw.
It was the first major Patriot victory of the Revolutionary War.
The fort was later rebuilt and renamed in honor of Col. Moultrie.
Magic Hour near a battery of firepower
What a BEAUTIFUL day to
explore a historical site
The same battery from
a different perspective
Oh how they so wanted to
fire one of these bad boys
This 17 ton mortar was just a tad
bigger than the one at their reenactments
Revolutionary War replicas
Fort Moultrie's fortifications
Off in the distance, Fort Sumter
Reconnoitering Fort Sumter
Checking for Union supply ships
Something spotted to the south
with Fort Sumter directly in
front of this scout
In 1861 the walls of Fort Sumter were
MUCH higher than they are today
Just outside of Fort Moultrie
is this memorial obelisk
It commemorates the 62 Union sailors who died aboard the U.S.S. Patapsco, an ironclad monitor that sunk in Charleston Harbor on January 15, 1865, the victim of a Confederate mine.
Five of those sailors are interred at this spot just outside of Fort Moultrie's main entrance, all 62 names of the sailors are on this marker.
Next to the memorial obelisk
is the tomb
Buried here is famed Seminole leader Osceola who led his people's resistance to the government's desire to move them out of Florida and into the new Indian Territory.
The Seminoles are the only native American tribe to have never signed an official peace treaty with the U.S. Government.
Osceola was a resident in Fort Moultrie when he passed away from a throat infection on January 30, 1838.
This was a great start to our day but Jacob and I needed . . .
. . . freshly made after you ordered
and thus hot cake donuts
Those bagels were interesting
Jacob opted for a confetti donut
with additional candy corn
A maple donut with bacon bits hit the spot for me.
We crossed the Arthur Ravenel Jr.
Bridge from Mount Pleasant back
to Charleston
The highly recommended BBB
Different decor in the BBB
Charleston is the home of three universities, from left to right, Charleston Southern, The Citadel and the College of Charleston.
Jacob said that his flapjacks were wonderful and Michael and I agreed that our Creole Omelette was amazing.
Exiting the BBB fully sated
If you ever go to Charleston, have breakfast here!
Charleston loves its colorful homes
Hmmm . . .
Wide awake and well fed, we were finally off to Fort Sumter.
Our ferry boat ride took us
30 minutes to reach Fort Sumter
from the Visitors Center dock
Fort Sumter's flag pole is just
visible on the horizon on the right
Three happy ferry boat riders
One of the three National Park Rangers on duty today, thanks again to a private donor's generosity during the government shutdown, gave us a nice history lesson about the fort's role in the Civil War on the serene ride out to the island in the mouth of Charleston Bay.
Getting closer
We made it
Both of our boys were half dressed
in their Civil War garb for the visit
The Union troops endured three
intense days of shelling
In the latter part of the war, Rebel forces were similarly bombarded inside these walls by Union ships.
Fort Sumter is mostly ruins today
as the walls were MUCH taller before
the years of shelling
Store rooms perhaps
A lone American flag atop
an ancient cannon
On the ride over to the fort, as we were the first visitors of the day, the Park Ranger had asked for volunteers to raise the American flag over the fort.
Guess who the first two volunteers were?
Note that red stripe about half
way up the fort's flag pole
In 1861, before the fighting began, the walls of Fort Sumter were as tall as that red stripe.
The tallest ruins of the walls today are at least 20 feet below where I'm standing.
Artillery shells can just ruin the architecture when you think about it.
A tribute on the base of the flag pole
to Union Major Robert Anderson the
fort's commander during the Rebel attack
Our Park Ranger explaining the
flag raising ceremony to the volunteers
Note the two volunteers at attention receiving their orders.
First the volunteers needed to
properly unfurl "Old Glory"
It's a detailed process
Almost ready . . .
Hold on tight
Michael's artsy, one handed photo
while still clutching the flag with
his other hand
Here we go
During the pitched battle in 1861,
one of the Rebel goals was to hit the
flag pole and take down the Union flag
Jacob looking back towards
Fort Moultrie across the bay
The flag was brought back down
to half staff in memory of recently
deceased former Vice President
Richard Cheney
From here, note the clear view of the horizon and then look up at that red stripe on the flag pole just below the flag.
As I said, the old walls were MUCH taller.
This gun port opening has been
bricked up but that cannon is OLD!
Two would be Union soldiers and
one Swiss war correspondent
It was a glorious day
The names of all the Union forces
that served the nation at the fort
during the three day bombardment
All of these projectiles were meant
to leave a mark in their own way
Nice Union musket
Fort Sumter is shaped like
a baseball home plate
During the battle, the first Union cannon was fired by Captain Abner Doubleday, second in command at the garrison to Major Robert Anderson.
Doubleday, who would become a Major General during the Civil War, is credited with being the inventor of the great American pastime, baseball.
I wonder if the fort's perimeter had anything to do with the shape of home plate.
No matter as most historians now argue that Doubleday did not invent baseball.
The old walls would have been so
much taller than where I was standing
One of three artillery shells
still embedded in the walls
All three were fired from Union ships laying siege to the fort at the end of the war when the Rebels controlled it.
This is about the size of the cannons
that Michael and Jacob fire at
their Civil War reenactments
At the end of our allotted one hour
visit to Fort Sumter
Michael and an inquisitive Park Ranger
As it turned out, because he was partially in uniform, several people on our tour started asking Michael questions about the battle and artillery usage.
Ever the historian and technician, Michael was able to answer the questions correctly.
The Park Ranger seen with Michael also started asking him questions and taking copious notes of Michael's answers.
I think that Michael was more than just a bit proud of his unexpected performance under pressure today.
We made one last trip to the Visitor's Center once we were back on the mainland.
Buglers were crucial in communicating
orders on the battlefield over the
din of warfare
The Civil War started in Charleston
Bay's Fort Sumter
One last view of Liberty Square
as we moved on to our next stop . . .
. . . one of Charleston's three colleges
The Citadel
The Military College
of South Carolina
Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges in the United States.
The six U.S. Senior military colleges, not service academies, in order of year established are:
Vermont's Norwich University (1819)
Virginia Military Institute (1839)
South Carolina's The Citadel (1842)
Virginia Tech (1872)
University of North Georgia (1873)
Texas A&M (1876)
When we stopped our car at the Guard Station, the cadet on duty told us where to park and to be sure to visit The Citadel's museum on the third floor of the school's library.
He also warned us that things might get a bit hectic in about 30 minutes as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was due on campus to deliver one of his rousing speeches to the cadets.
Part of why we opted to stop at The Citadel was the fact that some of their cadets had participated in shelling of the Union ship Star of the West from an installation on Morris Island that was trying to resupply Fort Sumter in January of 1861, three months before the war officially started.
One BIG class ring
Padgett-Thomas Barracks overlooking
Summerall Field
Daniel Library and Museum
To me, this looks like an old
parade on Summerall Field
Who doesn't love a German helmet?
We found the museum
Class rings
Swords in a military museum
but of course
Kilts and bagpipes?
I definitely would love to see the cadets using these in a parade.
Three old The Citadel football
helmets were on display
Needless to say, I loved the leather version.
The Citadel's first football team
took to the gridiron in 1905
The Citadel Bulldogs
1905 Results
2 Wins - 3 Losses - 1 Tie
Porter Military Academy - Tied 0-0
Porter Military Academy - Won 17-0
Porter Military Academy - Won 5-0
Welsh Neck H.S. - Lost 6-5
Fort Moultrie - Lost 10-0
South Carolina - Lost 47-0
You have to start somewhere.
What an old The Citadel
dorm room looked like
A different view of the same somewhat
spartan cadet accommodations
Jacob was drawn to this
cannon fire photo
Interesting Missing Man Table
in the Library with lots of symbolism
The meaningful symbolism explained
As we were leaving the main campus,
the Hegseth motorcade approached
The Bulldog statue in front of
The Citadel's 11,500 seat
Johnson Hagood Stadium
Remembering deceased Bulldog mascots
Michael liked this section
of the stadium
We were on the field soaking
it all in while we could
A tribute in the end zone to two former
Bulldogs who died fighting in Vietnam
Joe Missar, Class of 1965
Guard and Linebacker
and
Frank "Skip" Murphy, Class of 1965
Center and Linebacker
The Citadel (4-5) was on the road
tomorrow facing Ole Miss (8-1)
The Bulldogs were about to balance the Athletic Budget with a football loss.
From The Citadel, we drove three hours and 30 minutes to Anderson, South Carolina, our home for the next two nights, located near the Clemson University campus.
It was amazing to again see several dead deer laying on the side of the road in various states of decomposition on our long drive.
We planned on attending a high school football playoff game tonight at 7:30 p.m., so obviously we needed a pre-game meal.
Good choice that would . . .
. . . make all of us happy
All the fixins
We all loved the booths . . .
. . . dedicated to the . . .
. . . three local high schools
We were heading to Westside H.S. after our meal to watch the Rams play.
Storm Trooper burger flag?
The burgers at Fuddruckers were as delicious as I remembered them. I cannot for the life of me figure out why they died out in Southern California.
On to the game . . .
A South Carolina High School League
"AAAA" Opening Round Playoff Game
Counting tackle and flag games played in Spain, California and, now, South Carolina, it would be the 59th game that I've attended or coached in the 2025 calendar year.
Our combatants tonight were . . .
#14 Seeded - Pickens H.S. Blue Flame
3-7 Overall, 2-4 League
Fifth Place Region 2 "AAAA" League
2025 Results
at Easley (3-7) – Lost 56-34
vs. Walhalla (2-8) – Won 70-28
vs. Liberty (7-3) – Lost 42-17
at St. Joseph Catholic (5-5) – Lost 49-41
vs. Blue Ridge (6-4) – Lost 50-42 *
at Berea (2-8) – Won 63-0 *
at Greer (4-6) – Lost 60-14 *
at Daniel (9-1) – Lost 52-7 *
vs. Seneca (3-7) – Lost 48-14 *
vs. Travelers Rest (2-8) – Won 49-27 *
* Region 2, AAAA League Game
at
#3 Seeded - Westside H.S. Rams
6-4 Overall, 5-0 League
Region 1 "AAAA" League Champions
2025 Results
at Vestavia Hills (8-2) – Lost 49-7
vs. T.L. Hanna (9-1) – Lost 49-20
at Belton Honea-Path (10-0) – Lost 42-6
at Prince Avenue Christian (7-3) – Lost 59-34
at Abbeville (8-2) – Won 26-20
vs. Southside (0-10) – Won 55-0 *
vs. Emerald (5-5) – Won 43-7 *
at Fountain Inn (6-4) – Won 48-21 *
vs. Laurens (1-9) – Won 41-9 *
at Wren (7-3) – Won 21-7 *
* Region 1, AAAA League Game
It should be noted that the Rams' four losses came in the first four games of the season against tough teams with a combined 34-6 record this season.
In 2023, the Rams (14-1) won the "AAAA" State Championship with a nail biting win over South Florence (14-1), 34-32.
The 2024 season saw Westside (13-1) end up in the State Championship game again but this time South Florence (12-3) got a measure of revenge and their own State Crown defeating the Rams, 42-41.
We arrive at Westside's stadium
about 15 minutes before Kickoff
It was a nice venue that had lots of
fans on the home side but not many
Pickens supporters across the way
Of course, the only two obnoxious
fans sat near us, one on each side
We survived them on a night that was
much more comfortable than adverstised
The Captains meeting at mid-field
The Rams entered the field by filing
through the stands to the delight
of all the Westside fans
Subtle but nice Rams' horn helmets
The Region 1, "AAAA" League Champions
storming the field
The Blue Flame contingent was
much smaller
One large Ram and he was not alone
in being a plus size Westside player
The Game's Opening Kickoff
Rams taking to the air here, displayed
a fine balance between their ground
and air attacks
A solid Ram run play
#99 was another impressively
large Ram player
Light Show as the Rams scored first
The Rams Cheerleaders
were large in number
Pickens Offense on the move
Pickens RB semi-Heisman pose
We were in the Bible Belt
The Pickens QB was elusive
End of the First Quarter
Westside - 14
Pickens - 0
Vicious Blue Flame block launching
the second Ram from the left
#39 was enjoying his time
on the sidelines to the fullest
Long Rams' TD run
Turn up the volume and listen to the
announcer's call at the end of the run
Halftime Score
Westside - 28
Pickens - 7
Michael bought one for Jacob
He was actually under control
for the most part
End of the Third Quarter
Westside - 42
Pickens - 7
The Mercy Rule was in full effect. The Rams were substituting liberally but we still decided to stay until the end of the game.
the Blue Flame players continued to
compete all the way to the finish
of American high school football
Final Score
#3 Seed Westside (7-4) - 49
#14 Seed Pickens (3-8) - 21
The loss ends the Pickens H.S. 2025 season.
For Westside, they move on to the Upper State Quarterfinals at home against the #6 seeded Wren Hurricanes (8-3).
Tonight the Hurricanes defeated the #11 seeded Blue Ridge Fighting Tigers (6-5), 42-28.
This sets up an interesting rematch of what turned out to be the Region 1 "AAAA" League Championship game played just a week ago and won by Westside, 21-7.
the school features all of the Rams
big time boosters
Impressive.
accommodations, the boys proudly
showed off their new Westside t-shirts
It was agreed upon by all three of us, for the sake of peace and quiet, to leave the precious Westside Rams cowbell in the car.
Good move.
Tomorrow morning, bright and early, we head north 12 miles to Clemson University to explore the campus before the start of the 7:00 p.m. Kickoff between the struggling Tigers (3-5) and the disappointing Florida State Seminoles (4-4).
As for my physical fitness today, I mustered another 10,549 steps during our multi-faceted adventure bringing my two day total to 20,748 steps.
I'm plum tuckered out.
Stay tuned . . .
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