The Good, the Sad and the Ugly

As this is being written, Velsignet has left the Maritime Center Marina and cruising the Charleston Harbor heading towards the ICW. This beautiful city offered us excellent local food, markets, museums, reunions with Looper friends, and a greater understanding of its many architectural buildings, Gullah culture, Charleston’s involvement and engagements in wars, as well as its role in human trafficking for the slave market.

While the siege of Charleston was the worst American defeat and a major British victory during the Revolutionary War, the first shots fired to begin the Civil War is what this area is most noted for (while there were no deaths in this first battle, a total of 620,000 Americans died in the Civil War). On this day--April 12, 1861--with expectations that the Civil War would be a short one, the elite and refined Southern gentleman and ladies who lived in the large stately homes in Charleston gathered along the shore as spectators to the event, which would surely end in their victory. Just a block or so from them, blacks were being sold into slavery "in genteel fashion" (new laws were enacted that required the outdoor auction blocks to be moved indoors, out of eyesight). In Charleston, more than any other place in our country, humans continued to be prepped for and sold into slavery (by the Civil War, it was illegal to import “slaves” into the US, so most being sold were born or already living here).

Because it was filmed in Charleston , we watched the movie “The Patriot” starring Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger. On another note, Brenda just finished reading Delia Owen’s book “Where the Crawdads Sing,” a novel with its narrative taking place in South Carolina’s low country marshes. Having experienced this part of the United States, we have a greater appreciation for the descriptions and details included in these stories.

Today we will cruise 65 miles to anchor near Georgetown, SC. We plan to take a few hours tomorrow to explore the town before heading towards Myrtle Beach.

Meet Donald. Donald and our Tour Guide took us through the historic downtown of Charleston. It seems Charleston in the US was similar to Venice in Italy: The homes and residents of Charleston were very wealthy. And the fashion of the day for home building: Anything that was obviously European!

Charleston was once a wall-fortified city with many churches with tall steeples; stately homes representing Roman, Greek, French, Italian architecture; and impressive city buildings--each built to impress their wealth to the outside world.

Many of the homes had porches where breezes could bring relief from the heat of the day.

Home were built by plantation owners, those involved in the slave trade, those involved in the trade of exports (like cotton, rice and indigo), and those in the shipping industry.

One of the museums we visited was the Old Slave Mart Museum. This was Charleston's largest indoor auction block for selling persons into slavery. It seems the visitors found it unsightly to come to Charleston and have such sales taking place out in the open. So...the City Council of Charleston passed an ordinance that all slave auctions should take place indoors and out of the eyesight of the "genteel."

Charleston was the center for bringing people into the United States for the slave market, as well as the selling of people who were born into or already living here in slavery. We learned that if you are an American who is black, there is a 1 in 6 chance that you have an ancestor who was sold as a slave in Charleston.

The Magnolia is a iconic Charleston restaurant where Mike enjoyed a seafood bouillabaisse and Brenda a salmon salad.

The Magnolia: White tablecloth, fresh flowers, and great food!

Another museum we visited was the Charleston Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon (known as the Custom House). On the main and second floors (with rooms decorated in ballroom fashion), community events and gatherings took place, including the Ratification of the Constitution for the State of Carolina and visits by President George Washington. The main floor and lower levels accommodated the pass through of all imports and exports (so appropriate taxes and fees could be applied). If needed, the lower level (the dungeon) also provided space for certain prisoners. While the Pirate Blackbeard was certainly a threat in the Charleston area, he was never a prisoner here; however, the gentleman Pirate Stede Bonnet was held here.

Our tour guide at the Custom House was in costume.

This is the new US Custom House in Charleston that was built to take the place of the Old Custom House. This is the side that faces towards the Charleston Harbor...another building built to make an impression to the outside world.

While this building needs some work, it shows how many homes were built in Charleston. A fake entry door was to the front (an open door welcomed visitors; a closed door indicated "privacy please.") which allowed residents to get into the yard and enter the house. Porches were situated to one side of the house to act as a breezeway; more wind, more relief from the day's hot temperatures.

One of our joys was welcoming MV "Miss Utah" with captains Kris and Roger Vanhoozer into Charleston. Three years ago, Kris and Roger set out to do America's Great Loop and this past Saturday, Miss Utah crossed its wake (completed the Loop). We met Roger and Kris on the Tennessee River last fall and were delighted to celebrate with them their graduation to become "Gold Loopers."

Captains Steve and Kathy Hollenberg (MV "Red Pearl") joined us on Sunday to attend church at St. Johannes Evangelical Lutheran (ELCA) in downtown Charleston, as well as brunch at the award-winning "The Husk" Restaurant. Chef Travis Grimes is the nephew of our friend and Long Lake neighbor, Pat Grimes.

This is Kathy with her photo-worthy Normandy Farms Brioche French Toast, Macerated Spring Berries, Whipped Ricotta, Ginger Crumble, and Maple Syrup brunch entree. The Husk restaurant features the essence of Southern fare made from locally grown or raised ingredients (even the salt is harvested locally!). As starters, we shared the cheesy grits (yum) and biscuits and gravy (double yum); our individual dishes were too tasty to share!

Mike enjoyed his Wood Fired Funnel Cake, Bear Creek Brisket, Smoked Cheddar, Comeback Sauce,
Green Cabbage Slaw, with Sunny Side Up Egg at The Husk.