Charleston, South Carolina
This is the place that forever changed American history.
Why?
Long story short, they declared Independence
and a war followed up.
Not just a random war,
but the bloodiest war in the entire history of the nation.
The war started right here.
Keep watching to find out how you can learn
all about this story when you come here.
[music]
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina,
and once it was among the largest and the richest
in the entire country.
It has a very well-preserved historic district.
You can see a lot of it on my first video.
The oldest liquor store in America.
The most famous dishes here in Charleston.
And in this video, I'll show you a little bit more,
probably the most beautiful area.
But to better understand the history of downtown Charleston,
and why the city went into decline,
we'll, first, get on a boat.
We're now at Liberty Square,
and we have tickets for the first boat of the day
at 9:30.
You buy online and you just show like this on your phone.
You need to schedule your visit to Fort Sumter
because you need a boat to get there,
and you need to do all this in advance.
The fort is located on a man-made island, 30 minutes away.
Oh!
Oh, my gosh!
No way!
Four dolphins here.
They are so close to the city.
Oh, wow!
- Man: Thank you. - Thank you
- Dolphins everywhere here, the most beautiful thing.
Woman: Good morning, everyone, welcome aboard.
Well, the National Park Service certainly welcomes you
on this beautiful day in Charleston, South Carolina.
- This here is a river.
Two rivers, right?
Yeah, and they're meeting here.
It's impressive how enormous...
It's not the ocean yet.
- Woman: When we get back in Charleston...
- There it is.
Fort Sumter.
On the boat, they give you information about what you're going to find here.
They explain the importance of Fort Sumter
and Charleston in the Civil War.
And they said something that was very interesting,
I had never thought about that.
This fort was built to protect the country against foreign enemies,
and it ended up becoming the main symbol
of the worst war among Americans.
As soon as you arrive here, they explain to you
what led to the war.
The Civil War went from 1861 until '65.
The Civil War was a war between North and South
of the United States.
Abroad, it's more known as the Secession War
because in essence the South declared Independence,
meaning, they seceded from the Union.
The main cause of the war was the status of slavery
in the United States.
The economy here in Charleston and in many other cities
depended on slavery.
This, most history classes and books will tell you.
What they won't is that the war began right here at Fort Sumter.
Wow, here it explains... It was two years of a siege.
Night-and-day pounding from Union cannons.
Fort Sumter was basically reduced to rubble,
and the Confederates refused to surrender.
[music]
Just raised the flag here.
We were in the very first boat, and we saw all that.
And because of the recent events,
the flag is actually gonna be lowered back...
...to half-mast.
[music]
South Carolina was the first state to remove itself from the Union.
Imagine, all of a sudden, they don't belong to the U.S. anymore.
they were then followed by other southern states,
and together they formed the Confederate States of America.
Another country.
The South or Confederacy
depended on slavery for the farms.
While the North, they wanted free citizens
to work on the industries, and buy the goods.
The U.S. government obviously didn't accept the Independence.
So have you ever imagined Charleston played
such an important role like this in the Civil War?
- No. - Everything started right here.
-Yes.
- And Charleston was such an important economy back then,
such a power force.
Charleston was important in the South.
- Yeah. - So lots of wealth,
lots of... big economy. - Yeah, yeah.
It's interesting.
It's something that we don't really hear about it.
Only when you come here.
Oh, look at this!
Do you think it is inside every wall?
They mix the seashells?
- Is this real?
Because this doesn't have it.
- Well, but this is inside.
- Oh, maybe. - See? Maybe the top blew away,
and it revealed what was really inside.
Actually, this fort has never been properly built.
The construction was still going on
when the Civil War started,
then it was badly destroyed with the war,
and it was never fully restored.
Here inside, it can be a little rushed.
They only give you one hour to stay here.
So don't waste any time when you get here.
[music]
It's a shame that it is so rushed, huh?
- Yeah.
- I didn't read half of the information they had there.
- I did. - You read everything?
I doubt it. - Uh-huh.
A pleasant surprise here.
Online I read that it cost $30 for the boat,
and when you got here, it was another $10 to visit the fort.
No, no.
When you buy the ticket for the boat, it's all included.
No additional $10.
[music]
Quick break here for lunch, and we found a rooftop.
Look at this.
Hey, let's enjoy!
- Cheers!
Just water today.
It's amazing how much warmer it already is.
In the island, one of the rangers told us that the temperature there
is normally 10 degrees colder than here downtown.
Got a buffalo dip here.
Mmm!
Wow, buffalo cream with blue cheese.
Oh, my God!
It's absolutely fantastic, so creamy.
The taste is...
It's one of the best things I've tried.
So, so good.
- Spicy. - Uh-hmm, good for you then.
- Excellent.
- Gone so fast.
When you see the city like this, it becomes even more evident
why Charleston is known as the Holy City.
Look at this, you just see the tops of the churches on the horizon.
- Hello. - Hi.
So we're just from the upstate and we're here enjoying Charleston.
It's beautiful outside.
And we really love the ice cream.
- That's nice.
- And food. - And food.
- Awesome food.
- What's your name? - Macy.
- Macy - I'm Jenna.
- Madison.
- Okay, nice to meet you, girls. - Nice to meet you.
- Yeah, bye. - Bye.
- Have a wonderful time. - You, too.
Wow, look at what a beautiful park here.
Waterfront Park.
This is along the harbor. It's not the ocean.
We passed right here earlier with the boat tour.
Fort Sumter is over there.
Look at how many people picnicking here.
This was exactly our plan B
in case we couldn't find an outdoor table.
And the focal point here is...
Tan-ta-ran...
The Pineapple Fountain.
In early America, the pineapple was considered a symbol of hospitality.
That's because it was exotic and rare.
You know, someone needed to bring it from the Caribbean.
It was considered a major achievement
if a host could get a ripe pineapple for the guests.
"No lifeguard on duty."
- No, I can't go swimming. - "Wade at your own risk."
[laughs]
Where do you think people wade here?
- The fountain. - [laughs]
- The fountain. No? I think so.
- I think so.
It might be fun then during summer you're here.
- It'd be hot and humid. It'd be perfect.
- Perfect water right here. - You betcha.
This would be a beautiful place to live right here.
- Uh-hmm.
Evolution of the city, 17th century Charleston.
- You are here. We're in the ocean.
Remember, Bay Street used to be the edge?
- Bay Street was the edge, you're right.
Yeah, that street with the colorful houses,
Rainbow Row, is this one here.
- 18th century. - 18th century. What changed?
- These.
So this is the wall.
- Those are probably piers
and you have more farmland.
- Oh, yeah, still Charles Town.
Then 19th century,
really grew, downtown. - Yes.
- Look at that. - Look at beyond Bay Street.
- Yeah, and actually the whole city grew.
-Uh-hmm. - See all the blocks?
- Yeah. - 20th century.
All over, how big. - And extended even up there.
- The bridges, see? There are bridges now.
They didn't exist before. - Yeah.
- There's also a pier here.
Not very big, look at that,
but totally free.
[music]
Two more dolphins right here.
I've never seen so many dolphins in my whole life,
especially on the same day.
[music]
We're now arriving at the area
with probably the most beautiful houses in Charleston,
the Battery.
You like to see houses, so this is perfect for you, huh?
- Yeah, fantastic.
- Yeah, actually, in every city that we go,
Gordon is always wanting to go for sightseeing, driving,
just to see the houses in the nice neighborhoods.
So this is perfect. - It is.
Look at the craftsmanship at the houses,
all the details.
Wow, it's really impressive.
These are all mansions built from 1820 on.
They are antebellum homes.
Antebellum meaning prewar. It comes from Latin.
And the war in case is the same war that I was talking about before,
the Civil War.
- It must be like three residences, that can't be...
- No, it's not. That's one.
- It's one? - Yeah.
The guides say it's the most common question they get.
It's one residence.
There is something else also about the houses.
Look at these houses here,
and note how they have something in common.
- Yeah. - Right? Very unique style.
There's a door in front.
Then a balcony always facing the same direction.
The front doors open on the porches.
This style right here is known as piazza
and relatively narrow formation.
This is what they call the single houses.
It's because it's only one room wide.
So all this here, it's one room,
one room all the way through here.
Very cool.
It's gotta be expensive.
- Yes, so expensive.
There's a reason why the porches are on the south or west sides.
It's because of the breeze.
During summer, they get the perfect breeze,
and then during winter, the breeze supposedly comes
from the opposite direction.
So they'd also feel comfortable sitting here
and enjoying the sun.
Hello, hello!
- Hello [in Portuguese]. - Hello.
Just enjoying the sun.
- No, the view. - The view!
Which is our favorite house here?
- I haven't seen it yet. - Haven't seen it yet!
Oh, my God. You're picky.
- Is that the house? - Yeah, this is the one.
Several of these houses are museums today,
like this one right here.
I checked a few online, and they were all $12.
You can combine tickets among some of them.
So look at this one here, for example,
they're not even accepting cash.
Sales are only via credit card
or online.
Here is one house that should be very interesting to visit,
the Edmondston-Alston House.
Not only because it must be beautiful, you know, inside
with the original furniture and decor,
but also because there's an interesting rumor
about the Civil War here.
Supposedly a Confederate general was standing right in that piazza
when he opened fire against Fort Sumter.
The fort is right over there.
- Imagine that back place your editing studio.
- Oh.
Wouldn't that be amazing? - Yeah.
- My editing studio right here. - It could be.
Let's see how smart you are.
- I'm very. - [laughs]
- Where does this name Battery come from?
- Oh. Well, those are the things you charge up,
and you can put in my camera, right?
Let me show you. I'll show you battery.
Battery.
- No, I thought you would get it right, baby.
- What? - Battery. It's not this battery.
- Yes, I understand. - It's battery like army, military.
- Oh! - So there was this artillery defense
right here. - Oh, it's a battery of artillery defense.
- Yes. - But don't they need batteries
because they need lots of energy to fight?!
- At the time, they didn't have those.
- No? - This is modern technology.
I bet you I could have won the war with this.
[laughs]
Now one thing I didn't mention when I talked about the Civil War before.
It started right here in Charleston,
and ended not long after Charleston surrendered.
So that goes to show the importance that the city had at the time.
As the Union, you know, the North won,
Charleston went into decline
and never regained the status it once had.
- But now, it's a tourist destination.
- That's right, that's right.
I'd say it's recovering with tourism, right?
And just out of curiosity, Charleston has more buildings
on the National Register of Historic Places
than any other American city.
The historic center is very well preserved
Look at these messages here on the windows.
[laughs]
"Great shoes," "Loving those pants,"
"You are awesome." [laughs]
"Impressing." I love this.
Another feature of a lot of houses here in Charleston
is the earthquake bolt.
You see, up there?
Those are metal gib-plates on the outside
showing that there are metal bolts inside
exactly to hold the walls together.
They had a really bad earthquake here at the end of the 19th century.
And this was the solution to avoid collapses in the future.
Look at this, how creative.
If you have a tree on the way, you change the wall.
Let's see if there's anything for sale.
It's a place for sale at the Battery.
$2 million.
Oh, there are two here downtown.
This pink one, four beds, four baths.
Almost $2 million.
And this one here is $1.9 million.
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Before we leave, let me show you something very interesting.
In Charleston, there's an area called Museum Mile.
And many of their museums are located here,
including this one, Charleston Museum.
This is the oldest museum in the entire country,
America's first museum ever.
It's from 1773.
This submarine here was the first in history
to sink an enemy ship.
This was during the Civil War, 1864.
It got lost in the ocean, actually, in 1864,
and it was only recovered more than a century later in 2000.
Certainly a place I'd like to check next time we're here.
For now, as I explained at the beginning of the series,
our plans are just to keep enjoying the outdoors.
Wow, this is probably a replica.
The real one might be inside.