Your Left, Your Left, Your Left, Right, Left

 Our departure from the Charleston area brought us down to Wilmington, South Carolina area, at MCRD Parris Island.

The campground backs up against the marsh, was a quiet place, and things to see on base. From time to time we could hear the recruits out in the field training.

The area was not always a marine training depot.

As we have known, the Native American Indians were here a very long time before Europeans came. 

This monument is to the French that built Charlesfort in 1562. I know you cannot read the inscription, but here is what it says: "Here stood Charlesfort, built in 1562 built by Jean Ribaut for Admiral Coligny. A refuge for the Huguenots and to the glory of France."

The Spanish and French were in constant battle of the territory from the Carolinas to Florida, and in 1565 King Phillip II charged Pedro Menéndez de Avilés with removing the French once and for all from this area. After routing the French in Florida he made his way to Parris Island to remove the French from Charlesfort. Having accomplished his goal, Menéndez established Fort San Salvador at Santa Elena in April of 1566, and manned the fort with a garrison of 80 men. In July of 1566, Captain Juan Pardo  arrived with 250 men, and Santa Elena was reinforced with a new fort, San Felipe. 

Menéndez began focusing on establishing a presence in the region, by settling farmers and artisans in Santa Elena in 1568. By the summer of 1569 the colony was made up of 193 people, married and single, and had 40 houses. Though the colony was struggling, Menéndez made Sant Elena his capitol for La Florida. In 1574 Menéndez died on a mission to Spain. One of his sons-in-laws took over the position as governor temporarily... things didn't go so well. Under his rein, there were many feuds with the settlers,  and mistreatment of the indigenous tribes, which led to attacks on Santa Elena. After the loss of 30 soldiers, the fort and town were temporarily abandoned. When they fled, all they could do was watch it all go up in flames, as the Indians set it on fire.

This is a panoramic photo of Fort San Marcos today. 

After a year of abandonment, the Spanish returned to Santa Elena and built Fort San Marcos in six days. By 1583 the fort had fallen into disrepair, and a work party of thirty slaves were sent from St. Augustine to do those repairs. There was a moat built around the fort. They actually built a new fort instead, more on the marshlands, with the same name. This was the last fort for the Spanish, and as they left the area, they burned the fort in 1587 to ensure the English and French would not move in.

Menéndez' daughter inherited the title of Adelantado of La Florida (having the responsibilities for implementing royal polices), but ultimately her husband became governor of La Florida.

In 1923, archeologist George H. Osterhout believed that he had found the ruins of Charlesfort (Huguenot), and in 1925 the obelisk was erected honoring the French explorers. In reality, what was discovered was the ruins of Fort San Marcos. It wasn't until 1996 that the ruins of Charlesfort were discovered 200 yards north of the San Marcos site.

We parked the truck an took a walk along their trail. We started at a lookout point, which overlooked the marshlands and the other side of the base. From the lookout we headed down the southern trail passed a marker identifying the location of a lighthouse keepers home, but no remnants of the home are left. Continuing down the trail there are informative placards describing the plant life and animals running around the area. Marching on we happen to march back in time.

This is the remains of a Brewster Buccaneer. The Brewster Buccaneer was a scout bomber, and not to good for that purpose. These bombers were reassigned to training at the nearby Page Field, a 1/2 mile north of its current site. This particular plane crashed, repair parts were scavenged, and the remaining carcass was towed to its current location so it would not be an obstruction to the landing field. We finished the southern loop trail, and headed to the other trail.

This is an overview of the forts I described earlier. The snake looking trail between the forts is what we walked.

The island was purchased in 1715 by a gentleman named Alexander Parris, and overlooks Port Royal Sound (named by the French). The sound is one of the finest deep-water harbors on the eastern seaboard.

The island came into prominence during the Civil War. The Confederates had forts on all sides, but that didn't stop the Union navy from attacking. the Confederacy knew the importance of the sound, so they built Fort Walker on Hilton Head Island, and Fort Beauregard at Bay Point. The U.S. Navy, under the command of flag officer Samuel F. DuPont sailed a massive fleet to the sound. Before the Union navy entered the harbor, Confederate gunboats challenged them for two days before backing off. DuPont was a shrewd commander, sending his ships into the sound in two parallel lines, then splitting one line off to guard against gunboats, the other made circles bombarding the forts. 

This was a huge victory for the Union navy in November 1861. After they captured the harbor, they used it as the headquarters for the Navy's South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, and the Army's Department of the South. This location was strategic for attacking the South. 

* Union - blue, South - red

After the war the port did not got to waste, it grew into a busy commercial port, connecting the coal fields and the port, via a new railroad. Enticed with this opportunity, the Navy chose to establish a coaling station. Throughout the 1870s this station was used to re-coal  Atlantic based ships that regularly anchored in the harbor.

The potential for the island drew the attention of South Carolina politicians (always looking for the buck), successfully lobbying for a permanent military installation. A portion of the island was purchased in 1881 for a navy base. By 1891 marines were stationed here, and in 1915 the base was turned over to the Marine Corp.

Speaking of the Marines, they have a nice museum here on base, so let's head over there. Visitors starting in the rotunda get a glimpse the Corp's uniforms through the years.
It is hard to see the uniform on the left, in the second photo, but that was the female recruit "work-out" uniform, circa 1950s. The wrap-around skirt was to cover their shorts while walking to and from PT.

Today our marines are loaded down with flack jackets, ammunition, water, guns, and anything else they can fit in their uniforms.

The outer hallways on the ground floor contain exhibits relative to the area before the military moved in. With the Navy on Parris Island, they began building a dry dock in 1891, and completed it in 1895. In that same year the first marines arrives on island, a first sergeant, two corporals, and ten privates. They were charged with keeping order among the contractors responsible for building the dry dock. Originally they quartered in tents, then in the fall of 1862 they moved to the coal storage shed. In November 1863, with 20 marines now, they moved into wooden barracks. In 1896 the detachment was formally designated "Marine Barracks, U.S. Naval Station, Port Royal, South Carolina".

After the hurricane in 1893, which devastated the island, the first ship, USS Amphitrite, went into the completed dry dock. The monitor shown here weighed in at 2,800 tons. The dry dock was able to handle larger ships as well. In 1896 the battleship USS Indiana, weighing 10,288 tons, was the largest ship serviced in the dry docks eight-year career.

1897 saw the closing and deterioration of the dry dock, and Congress wanted to build two new dry docks. With the urging of the South Carolina delegates, Congress moved the naval base to Charleston, and built a new shipyard. The naval station was still operating during the Spanish-American War in 1898, and serviced twenty-two ships. After the war the government moved the base to Charleston.

In 1901 Parris Island was nearly abandoned, with the exception of a few marines acting as caretakers. The Marine Corps moved their officer training school to Parris Island in 1909, in 1911 the recruit depot was established. The Navy established a disciplinary barrack in 1911, operated by the Marines. By 1912 the officer school and recruit depot left Parris Island, leaving only the disciplinary barracks.

October 1915 saw the transfer of Parris Island to the Marine Corps, and the recruit depot was re-established, and has been here ever since.

FUN FACT: the top of a Marine officer's cover (hat) is decorated with a "quatrefoil." Folklore has it that it evolved from rope crosses on hats, so that Marines in the ships' rigging could identify their men below on deck. The "quatrefoil" was inspired by the 19th century French uniform.

During time of war weapons are created to harm one another, no different for the Civil War. This is where the Requa-Billinghurst Battery, a 25 barrel gun. This gun was a volley style, which was a

precursor to the modern day "machine-gun." This gun contained 25 Remington-manufactured barrels in a horizontal pattern. The barrels could be loaded all at once, and could be fired such that shot was scattered over a large area. Its firing range was 1,300 yards, requiring three men to fire the weapon seven times in a minute... in other words... 175 rounds per minute. Below is the clip used to arm the gun. There was only one firing pin, which hit the center cartridge, then sequentially triggered the cartridges both right and left of the center cartridge. 

The designer of the gun has an interesting 

tale to tell. This is a photo of Dr. Josephus Requa. At age 16 he was an apprentice gunmaker under the direction of William Billinghurst. After several years though, he changed professions to become a successful dentist. But in 1861, he realized that that the Union was going to need some type of rapid-firing gun, so he designed one, and completed a prototype. In 1862, Requa and Billinghurst patented the multi-volley gun, and presented it to President Lincoln. There is a lot of history pouring through this museum, but we are going to go to the other wing... recruit.

On the ground floor to the right, is where visitors learn the life of a recruit.

The first stop for a recruit after stepping off the bus is:

After they make their way to the painted foot steps, they enter doors, similar to the ones on the left, known as the silver hatches. inside those doors is a room full of chairs and tables where the recruits will complete induction information, and make a call home letting families know they arrived at Parris island safely... this is NOT a social call... they have a script they MUST follow. At this point civilian life ends, and military life begins.

As recruits they spend a lot time in classrooms learning: Marine Corps history, rank structure, culture, insignias, customs and courtesies, 11 General orders... and much much more. Don't forget, they also get to play in the sand. Another important piece of their training is memory muscle exercise, better known as "drilling." From the first night they stepped on the "yellow footprints", they begin to learn about teamwork. Everyday they drill on the "grinder", learning commands and movements, showing off what they learned during graduation.

Their training on the "grinder" is evaluated twice before graduation. In the final evaluation, the recruits are evaluated on bearing, discipline, attention to detail, and the ability to lead the platoon.

Recruits will participate in IT (Intensive Training). This training is designed to build discipline, motivate, and correct any minor infractions. The Drill Instructors must follow the guidelines for IT. IT was created by Certified Athletic Trainers, and designed to build stamina and strength, as well as the above mentioned.

The reason for all the physical and mental training is to prepare them for the "Crucible". The task they must endure requires sleep deprivation, and a long march, culminating in the raising of the American flag and receiving pins.

The Marines have put out some fine folks back into the civilian world, people like:

Robert Remus, Sgt. Slaughter (WWE wrestler)

Leon Spinks (Boxer)

Patty Berg (legendary women's golfer)

Robert James Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo)

Hugh Brannum (Mr. Green Jeans)

John Glenn (Astronaut)

Bea Arthur (actress)

Tyrone Power (actor)

Drew Cary (actor, game show host)

Lee Trevino (legendary golfer)

... just to name a few.