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Gary DuBose of Seneca took this picture of the Fort Sumter tour boat while cruising Charleston harbor with his family.
In this picture, you can see Fort Sumter in the background. The fort is best known as the place where the Civil War began. On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces at Fort Johnson fired the first shot of the Civil War at Union-occupied Fort Sumter. After a 34-hour bombardment, the Union army at Fort Sumter surrendered and Confederate troops took over the fort. At that moment, Fort Sumter became a symbol of Southern resistance.
Union forces on Morris Island bombarded Fort Sumter from 1863 to 1865 in one of the longest sieges in warfare. When the Confederates finally evacuated Fort Sumter in February 1865, it had sustained massive damage.
Fort Sumter became a US National Monument in 1948 and is operated by the US National Park Service. It is a popular tourist attraction which can be reached by boat from Charleston, Mount Pleasant, or any of the surrounding sea islands.
Get more information on boat tours and the history of Fort Sumter.
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