BEAUFORT, SC

A Town Preserved

Beaufort before the Civil War was one of the wealthiest plantation cities and trade centers of the South. In the early months of the war the city residents fled when Union troops invaded a nearby port. With the city and area in Union hands the city remained untouched by cannon fire. One of the many antebellum buildings still in use is St. Helena's Anglican Church, celebrating its 300th anniversary this year. Not many southern cities were so fortunate to escape unscathed from that war.

The grounds of old churches cradle the long dead. William Henry Cory was a veteran of two wars. Born in England in 1831, he was old enough to be part of the horrific Crimean "Charge of the Light Brigade." Cory relocated to the colonies and later fought for the Rebels during a 3 year span. The image was taken on Veteran's Day and thus, Union soldiers who fell nearby and were buried in the same churchyard are also honored with flags of their country.

Beaufort churches are busy places on Sunday. When doing a search for the number of churches in the area, there were too many to count.

Not as old as St. Helena's, the Beaufort Inn is a beautifully kept Victorian style former mansion. It was built in 1897 for a summer retreat for a congressman's family. They lived large then and they live large now, don't they.

Most evenings we had entertainment. Our evening in Beaufort we had a very competent local actress run us through the extensive way women would use fans as a communication device during the 1800s. She got many in the audience involved. For more see: http://www.allhandfans.com/handfans/levels/language_of_the_fan.htm

I'll stick with texting.

Watching the top of mast and waving at the sailboat's passengers, the bridge tender has a eagle eye for all the river traffic. Night and day we passed any number of bridges. From New York to Florida there are 7 different kinds of bridges and you must request an opening at each bridge to pass.

First light at Beaufort with the swing bridge now serving car traffic. 

We have pulled away from our docking wharf and as usual Captain Snyder is on the starboard bridge wing making sure clearances are maintained. This man has had a captain's license since he was 18. His hobby is raising horses.