How to Tour South Carolina's Civil War Battlefields

South Carolina played a pivotal role in the Civil War. In the spring of 1861, the first shots of the Civil War were fired by Confederate forces toward Union forces attempting to hold their position at Fort Sumter. The Union's defeat at Fort Sumter was not the end of South Carolina's involvement in the Civil War. Subsequent battles were fought throughout the remainder of the Civil War. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

1. Start your tour at the Charleston Visitor Center. Ask for information about local Civil War walking tours. Get directions to the Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center located in Liberty Square. Contact the Charleston Visitor Center at [phone].

2. Arrive at the Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center. Take the 15-minute boat ride out to Fort Sumter. Enjoy the narrated history as you travel to the island. Tour the island then return to the mainland and drive out to Fort Moultrie. Take a self-guided tour of the fort. Use wayside exhibits to guide you through the sites.

3. Visit the Hunley, a Confederate submarine, responsible for sinking the Union's USS Housatonic. The Hunley later disappeared, but was resurrected from the water in 1990 and continues to undergo restoration. Call the Warren Lasch Conservation Center at [phone] for hours of operation and tours.

4. Stop at the Visitor Center at 1106 Carteret St. in Beaufort to get information about the free historic driving tour past relevant Civil War battle sites. Call [phone] for operating hours.

5. Tour the Rivers Bridge State Historic Site, which is where the Confederacy took one of its last stands against General Sherman's Union forces. See earthen buffers that remain from the battle that was fought on these grounds in February of 1865. Contact [phone] for park hours.

6. Spend time in Columbia where fires destroyed at least half of the city in the last days of the Civil War. Take a free guided tour of the South Carolina State House. Visit the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Museum and the South Carolina State Museum. Go the Saluda Mill Interpretive Center at the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens to learn about the destruction of the mill.

7. Go to the Cheraw Chamber of Commerce at 221 Market St. in Cheraw. Obtain the walking tour brochure showing various Civil War sites. To contact the Chamber of Commerce, call [phone].

Resources

• Find information about the Hunley.
• Learn about Rivers Bridge State Historic Site.