Around Beaufort

Wednesday dawned partly sunny, however, the weather was to deteriorate and so I set out early to attempt to get some pictures before the clouds and rain moved in.  The large old oak trees and Spanish moss here are amazing.  There are even city ordinances that prohibit trimming the trees so they keep them just high enough over the streets for traffic to pass.

 
I was able to take a walk around the historic district and get some photos of several significant homes and churches.  The first is the secession house.

This home was built circa 1810 for Milton Maxcy.  It was purchased by its second owner, Edmund Rhett, in the 1850s.  Rhett was a lawyer, planter, state representative, and state senator.  He and his brother Robert were outspoken champions of state’s rights and Southern nationalism from the 1830s to the Civil War.  The house was the scene of many informal discussions and formal meetings hosted by the Rhetts and their allies advocating secession and southern independence.

This home is known as the “Castle” built for Dr. Joseph Fickling Johnson by local builder J. S. Cooper.

The house was completed in 1861, however some elements of the house notably its porch railings, mantelpieces, and iron work were reportedly caught in the Union naval blockade and never reached Beaufort.  The house was confiscated by the Union during the Civil War and made into a hospital.  Dr. Johnson was able to reacquire the house at the end of the war upon payment of $2,000 in taxes.  The house and gardens occupy an entire city block.  Many of the trees and shrubs were planted by Dr. Johnson including a pair of olive trees brought from the Mount of Olives in the Holy Land.

Like many of the gardens and homes here, it is surrounded by shrub walls and overhanging trees making it very secluded.  It is gorgeous however.

Many of the homes in Beaufort and around the south have light blue porch ceilings.  This color is known as “haint” blue which is an offshoot of “haunt”.  It was believed that this blue represented water and spirits were not able to traverse water.  By painting the ceilings blue and sometimes the window and door trim as well, this protected the home from bad spirits.  Here is an example of the haint blue porch ceiling.

 It is not hard to see how people might think about spirits here in Beaufort.  The expansive large old oaks have Spanish moss hanging so thick in many places it nearly blocks the sunlight.  This can be a bit eerie even at mid-day.  It is beautiful though.

One particularly famous person from Beaufort is Robert Smalls.  He was born into slavery in 1839 in this home in Beaufort.

This shot includes the carriage step.

 As a young man, his master hired him out to a sailing vessel of the Confederacy.  He learned much from the white captain and officers on the vessel, The CSS Planter.  In 1862 while the Planter was in Charleston, Smalls was able to commandeer the vessel and sail it out of Charleston harbor and surrender it to the Union blockade ships.  During the takeover of the ship Smalls also picked up his family members and those of his fellow black crew members.  This secured his freedom and that of his family and the other black crew members families.  Smalls even received notice and a monetary reward from President Lincoln.  After the war, Smalls returned to Beaufort and became a US Representative for South Carolina and was the founder of the Republican Party of South Carolina.  He was instrumental in promoting education for freedmen.  He even purchased the home in which he was born and allowed his former master’s wife, Jane Bond McKee, to move into the house in her elderly years where she remained until her passing.

The First African Baptist Church was built in 1865 by freedmen and has been the home congregation for many prominent black citizens of Beaufort including Robert Smalls.

Almost the entire structure is original although updates such as electricity and heat/air condition have been added.  The choir of this church is famous for being in the movie Forest Gump.  They still have an active membership and locals say at certain times of the year they open the church doors and windows and people stand outside on the street to listen to this choir.

The Tabernacle Baptist Church was founded by members of the First African Baptist Church in 1840.

 It has intricate stained glass windows and its cemetery is the final resting place of Robert Smalls.

By later in the afternoon the clouds began rolling in so Keith and I did some shopping on Bay St. then headed back to Southern Style.

Thursday was VERY overcast and misty.  I was not to be deterred however and walked up into town to the Beaufort National Cemetery.

The Cemetery is 33 acres and currently has over 19,000 interments.  The first interments were men who died in nearby Union hospitals during the occupation of the area early in the Civil War.  Although initially a Union Cemetery, it soon included over 100 Confederate soldiers.  It became a national cemetery in 1863.  A year later in 1864, the remains of 27 unknown Union prisoners of war from the Blackshear Prison in Georgia were reinterred here.  Grave of 3 unknows.

Beaufort National Cemetery now has interrments from every major American conflict.

In 1987 the remains of 19 Union soldiers of the all black Massachusett's 55th Volunteer Infantry were discovered on Folly Island, SC.  These troops were stationed on Folly Island from 1863-1864 and were a sister unit to the famous Massachusett's 54th Volunteer Infantry featured in the film "Glory".  On May 29, 1989 these soldiers were reinterred in the Beaufort National Cemetery with full military honors.  Cast members of the film "Glory" served as the honor guard at the ceremony.  Definitely a solemn and sacred spot.

 As I walked back from the cemetery I decided to make one more quick stop before the inevitable rain started.  I went into the Chocolate Tree and purchased some hand made chocolates for Keith and Pengi.

This shop makes homemade chocolates and fudge and provided Tom Hanks with the box of chocolates for the movie Forest Gump.  They continue to send him a box of chocolates every year for his birthday.

I made it back to the boat just before the rain started.  Might be dinner on board tonight.