Beaufort

The next day we headed in another direction and made it to Beaufort, the second oldest city in South Carolina (behind Charleston).  The town was named after Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort in the United Kingdom. 

The Civil War had a dramatic effect on Beaufort as the city was occupied in November, 1861 making it one of the first communities in the South to be held in Union Hands.  Though much of the town was spared from physical destruction, there were many incidents of arson and looting.  Numerous houses were used as hospitals and Union Army headquarters.

We like to visit the Visitor's Center and/or museum when we visit a new area so we headed there first.

The Visitor's Center and the Museum were in the same building, the Arsenal.

At the Visitor's Center we saw a model of the building which made it easier to visualize (my dad loved to visualize things).

Look at that - a tribute to Forrest Gump.  Hang tight, you'll hear more about the bench in the next post.

After talking with the volunteer in the Visitor's Center, we headed upstairs to the Museum.  We were greeted by Russ, the docent, and since we were the only visitors, we spent quite a bit of time talking with him about the history of Beaufort.  One thing led to another and we talked even longer about things other than history and learned a lot about his life as a fighter pilot just as the Viet Nam war was ending so he mostly patrolled Florida.  He went on to become a commercial airline pilot before his retirement.

I think he was tickled when Ron asked to take his photo

I love that the photo has the British Red Ensign flag behind him.  This flag, also called the 'Colonial Red Ensign' and the 'Meteor' flag, was adopted by Queen Anne as the new flag for England and her colonies in 1707.  This flag was widely used on ships during the Colonial period.  This was the first national flag of the colonies, and Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown under this flag. 

Unfortunately, other visitors arrived so we had to give up our personal time with Russ.  We could have stayed all day with him!

We learned a lot about Robert Smalls, an American politician, publisher, businessman, and maritime pilot.  He was born into slavery in 1839 and freed himself, his crew, and their families during the Civil War by commandeering a Confederate transport ship in Charleston harbor on May 13, 1862 and sailing it from Confederate-controlled waters to the U.S. blockade that surrounded it.  He then piloted the ship to the Union-controlled enclave in Beaufort-Port Royal-Hilton Head area where it became a Union warship.  His example and persuasion helped convince President Lincoln to accept African-American soldiers into the Union Army.  Robert Smalls went on to serve in politics and served two terms as a US Congressman for the South Carolina's 5th district from 1884-1887.  Apparently, Amazon is currently in production with a movie about his life.

Before we left, we asked Russ for a lunch recommendation (remember, it's all about the meal) and he suggested Blackstone's, a local favorite.  So off we went.

What a charming spot.  It is owned by a couple who relocated from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania five years ago to buy the restaurant.  We snuck in a picture when she wasn't looking.

What we're learning is that most people, in order to make conversation, ask where people are visiting from.  We become rock stars when we explain what we're doing, how long we've been gone, and how far we've traveled.  It makes for great conversation.  As we were telling the owner our story, the customer at the next table overheard us and as she left, she said she had just dropped her son off for school at The Citadel and she and her daughter, who was about 8 or so, were going to off to travel in order to decide where they wanted to live.

The restaurant was 'funky', which is what I like about eating in restaurants while traveling.

And then, based on Russ' suggestion, we headed to the main part of town to visit the Verdier House, also known as Lafayette House.  It was built by John Mark Verdier, in 1804.  The house typified Beaufort's antebellum architectural style and was a focal point of town.  It is the only house museum in Beaufort today.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo but Pinterest was able to provide me with a rendering of what it looked like in the day.

Photos were not allowed inside the house but it was beautiful.  The basement level (you can see it underneath the stairs above, had a small display of Tabby, which is a material used for bricks and walls.

And an example of what the walls look like inside.

And with that, it was time to leave the charming town of Beaufort.  As we walked down the street I took a photo so that we could remember the surroundings.