History Filled New Year

It's been too long since we've taken a field trip, so Cari and I sprung a surprise trip on the kids for New Year's Eve yesterday.  "We're going on a picnic", we told them.  That part was true.  We just didn't explain where the picnic was going to be until the car was loaded.

Even after they were told we were headed to Ninety Six National Historic Site for some hiking and history, there was very little (if any) complaining.  AWESOME!

Ninety Six is the site of a earthen works fort called Star fort - named for it's shape - and was the site of two revolutionary war battles.  The longest of these battles was a month long siege of the fort when Patriots tried to attack and take the fort from the army loyal to England.   The fort was connected to the town of Ninety Six by a three foot deep trench that provided cover for men and supplies traveling between the two.  The town was also the site of a successful trading post.  Merchants and Indians both came to town along several trading roads to buy and sell their wares.

In the park, you can see the mounds of earth that were the steep walls of the fort.  It doesn't show as well in my photos, but standing there, it is very clear how the Star fort stood to protect the town of Ninety Six.  During the siege, the Patriots dug trenches at night that slowly lead to the fort walls.  A wooden tower was built, nearly 30 foot tall, to allow Patriot sharp shooters to fire into the fort.  This tower forced the army in the fort to build their walls even taller with sandbags.

In the end, word came that thousands of Loyalist soldiers were on their way to support the fort and the Patriot force had to make a decision.  Leave or attack.  Fifty Patriots stormed the fort but were unable to breach the high walls.  Thirty of them were killed or wounded.

After the attack, the Loyalists were ordered to burn and abandon the fort and town.  The location in the back country of South Carolina was too remote from other bases to be supported in an area where Patriots were gaining.

You can see more photos and more detail of the are by visiting the website.

The promised picnic:

 The hike to history:

 Standing back where the Patriots attacked from... the path roughly follows some of the trenches dug by the Patriots.  You can see the mounds of earth near the path.  In the back of the photo you can see the larger hill - the eroded walls of the fort.  These trenches were originally 5-6' deep, providing protection as they approached the fort.  Most of the work would have been done at night in the cover of darkness.   By the way, the soil down here is red clay.  Described as digging into soft rocks.

 A partial reconstruction of the tower.  A few small cannons were also used to fire upon the fort.

 This was taken at a reconstruction of another fort at the site.  These types of sharpened poles also lined the walls of the Star fort.  If an attacker breached the first line of defense, a line of sharpened branches - like ancient barbed wire, they would have to cross into the trench and then climb up a steep hill and around these poles while being fired at and stabbed with bayonets.

Trips like these are some of my favorite family field trips.  At times, it gets so busy around here that we don't make it out as often as we'd like.  We're (Cari and I) hoping 2012 provides even more opportunity for these trips.  Not sure the kids are excited about that hope, but we won't tell them until the car is loaded.