Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge

Completed in 2005, the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge connects Charleston, SC with Mt. Pleasant, SC by way of US Highway 17. The bridge is a cable-stayed bridge over the Cooper River, has a main span of 1,546 feet, the third longest among cable-stayed bridges in the Western Hemisphere. The bridge has a total length of 13,200 feet and a clearance of 187 feet.

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Yorktown on the Cooper

The USS Yorktown, a floating museum ship, is docked on the eastern bank of the Cooper River in Mt. Pleasant, SC, at the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum. The USS Yorktown (CV-10) is an Essex-class aircraft carrier and the tenth to serve in the US Navy. The ships namesake is that of the USS Yorktown (CV-5), which was sunk during the Battle of Midway (June 1942). CV-10 was commissioned on April 15, 1943 and would participate in Pacific campaign of WWII. During these campaigns the Yorktown and her crew would earn 11 battle stars as well as the Presidential Unit Citation. During the VietNam War, the Yorktown and her crew would be awarded another 5 battle stars. In 1970 the USS Yorktown was decommissioned and placed in reserved. In 1975 it was moved to its current location to become the centerpiece of the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum. (patriotspoint.org)

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Castle Pickney

Castle Pinckney, located on Shutes Folly Island, was a small masonry fortification constructed by the United States government, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina in 1810. It was used very briefly as a prisoner-of-war camp and artillery position during the American Civil War.

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Charleston Coast

The Charleston, SC skyline as seen from the Cooper River, headed north up the river, towards the Ravenel Bridge. The most prominent structures on the skyline are the church steeples. Far left is (white) is St. Michaels Episcopal Church. Center left (brown/rectangular) is the Unitarian Church of Charleston. Center, (white/rounded) is St. Johns Luthern Church. Center right (red) is St. Phillips Episcopal Church.

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Castle Pickney on Shutes Folly Island

Castle Pickney was originally constructed on Shutes Folly Island in 1791 by order of General George Washington. After being destroyed by a hurricane in 1804, a second (what is seen today) was built in 1810. The fort played no role during the War of 1812 and was subsequently overshadowed by construction of Fort Sumter at the mouth of the Harbor. By the time of South Carolina's succession on December 20, 1860, Castle Pickney was only garrisoned by a few Union soldiers, who were captured when a small contingent of South Carolina militia stormed the castle. This became the first federal property seized in a southern state. Four months later Fort Sumter was fired upon by Confederate batteries. (National Parks Traveler)

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